Desert Dreams by Cox, Deborah

of hell, this would have been it. The sun pressed down on her like a scorching flatiron. The barren terrain stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. Short, scrubby trees dotted the gray-green landscape in irregular clusters, but they provided no shade. Once again, life had set her on a course not of her own choosing. The words of the banker, Mr. Sampson, echoed in her mind. "I'm sorry, Miss Cameron, but the house is scheduled for auction. You may bid on it like everyone else, but..." She knew he hadn't been sorry. He hadn't cared one bit about her or her problems. He'd wanted her gone. She'd known from the first caustic words he had spoken to her that the battle was lost. "She was my aunt," Anne explained, knowing it would do no good. "I came here to live with her." "I do sympathize, Miss Cameron, but your aunt did not leave a will. You will have to take your chances with everyone else." Mr. Thaddeus P. Sampson of the Bank of Ubiquitous had been unmovable. The house would be auctioned off at the end of the month. She couldn't let that happen, but what options did she have? A hotel room would cost at least two bits a night, which would mean she could bid even less by the end of the month. And she had to eat. Maybe she could get a job, but she would never earn the money she needed to live until the end of the month and purchase the house. If she fell just a dollar short of the highest bid, she would be homeless. From the bank, she had returned to the hotel where