Val stared up at the stars, wondering what it would be like to travel to a new world. This one had plenty to offer, but she found that she was restless—lonely. When she first came to Dragoon, Arizona, it was supposed to be a short stop over for her and her then-boyfriend, Roger. Roger had her quit her job and leave her apartment in Texas to take an adventure traveling across the country.

It was fun and exciting, until Roger blasted through her savings. One night in Las Vegas, he lost all the money she’d spent years saving. They made it to the little town of Dragoon when her car broke down. With no money and no car, it seemed they would have to live and work in Dragoon until they could afford to leave. What she didn’t realize was that she would do all the working while Roger sat back and did nothing.

She worked at the saloon and the local diner long hours, and one night after a long shift, she came home to the single-wide trailer they rented and found that Roger was gone. All the money she had kept in a jar on the fridge, about two thousand, was also gone. He abandoned her without a second thought, and now she couldn’t even afford to get her car fixed. Luckily, the people of Dragoon took her in. If she needed food, the diner let her eat a meal after each shift she worked. The lady who rented the single-wide reduced the rent for several months until she got back on her feet again. She grew to love the people in this town and they showed her love in return. Some showed a little too much love, though.

A year ago, she had been in a lonely place and was vulnerable… and in walked Deputy Sheriff Jason James “JJ” Dawson. He showered her with attention, and for six months she loved the attention even though she didn’t love JJ. One of the things she didn’t like about him was his drinking, but it hadn’t been a real problem until his mother died. Then JJ seemed to unravel and used alcohol to hide his pain.

He drank and then he became aggressive and a little on the mean side. He never hit her but sometimes he would say hurtful things. She remembered one in particular.

“He,y babe, you could get some work done to your body. I wouldn’t mind,” he slurred his words as he took another swig of the beer.

She glared at him. “My body is healthy and fine. I’m not too big or too little.”

“Yeah, yeah, but you could have a pair of tits like Tina’s.”

“I don’t need big breasts.”

“Well, at least you have a nice fat ass… it balances it out.”

One too many hurtful remarks, and then he cheated on her with a college girl traveling through town. She ended things four months ago and hadn’t regretted it at all. In fact, she hadn’t missed him one bit. That said a lot about what their relationship had been like. Unlike Roger, who left her and didn’t give her a second thought, JJ couldn’t seem to get it in his head that they were not meant to be. He kept calling or coming in when she worked the saloon or the diner to talk to her. She cared about JJ, just didn’t want to be with him again.

Since ending things with JJ, she hadn’t felt the urge to date anyone except as a one-time thing for guys passing through. The memory of the sexy Markus in his form-fitting jeans popped up in her mind. Now, that was a man she wouldn’t mind spending some time with. He was also the type to leave her brokenhearted if she wasn’t careful.

She sat at the cheap patio set she’d bought and placed right outside the door to her single-wide. There were small potted plants lining the steps and across the way, her nearest neighbor, Jeb Jacobs, had broken-down cars in his driveway that he worked on over the weekend. One of those cars was hers. One day, he might just fix it for her and then she could drive away from Dragoon, if she wanted.

She had wrapped a quilt around her shoulders when she came out. Arizona could get up to the 90s in the daytime, but at night it could drop down as low as in the 30s. Right now it was a cool 56 degrees. A distant noise in the sky had her looking up at the stars. Was that some kind of bird? Blinking she thought she saw something large fly by but she couldn’t be for certain.

Standing up she took a walk down the dirt road, careful to stick to the lighted pathway. She didn’t want to come in contact with a rattler out there. That same strange noise had her stopping and looking up again. What was that? Suddenly feeling alone and vulnerable, she turned to go back to her trailer. Nighttime was not the best time to go exploring, not in the desert. Whatever was flying out there would have to find another snack, she wasn’t interested in getting eaten by a wild creature.