“Stop! Please. Stop,” Melah cried out. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the pain. Her breaths came fast while fear engulfed her. Darkness consumed her as she fought to get away from him. Another strangled cry burst from her.

 

Not again.

 

She attempted to move her arms, but they were restricted. She struggled even harder to break free from whatever held her down. She turned to run away but slammed into something rigid and unforgiving. The air in her lungs flew out of her from the impact.

 

“Melah!” a familiar voice called her name.

 

Melah froze and inhaled sharply. Something was different. She moved her arms again, and this time they were free. She reached out and felt around. There was something hard underneath her. She opened her eyes and blinked.

 

She was on the floor.

 

Not the dirty ground of the desert. Melah Battle lifted her head and took in the blurred vision of a woman standing in the doorway patiently waiting for her to get her bearings. She blinked again to get her gaze to focus.

 

It was Aimee, one of the hands at the Silver Creek Ranch.

 

Melah exhaled and dropped her head to the floor in embarrassment. She didn’t even want to know what was going through Aimee’s mind.

 

“You okay, there?” Aimee asked. She hadn’t come fully into the room. She waited by the door for Melah’s answer.

 

“Yeah. Just another nightmare,” Melah answered quietly. She squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled. Why did this keep happening? Why couldn’t she shake the nightmares? It had been a few years since that night.

 

“Need any help getting off the floor? I heard you cry out. I figured I’d better come and make sure you were alone in here,” Aimee said.

 

Melah glanced up again. Aimee held a small gun. Melah felt damn good that her fellow female cowhand was coming to protect her if need be.

 

“I got it.” She pushed up off the floor and winced. She glanced over at the bed where her blankets were all askew. The scarf that had been wrapped around her head was on the floor. She bent down and snatched it up. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

 

“I was up. I have a hard time sleeping. You know. Nightmares.” Aimee shrugged. She leaned against the doorframe and stared at Melah. She was slightly older than Melah and had been very welcoming when Melah had arrived at the ranch. She’d been there two months longer than her. With them being the only women working the ranch, they had already started to get to know one another in the two weeks that Melah had been there.

​

“Thanks for coming to check on me. What time is it?” Melah glanced around at the small room that held a couple of bunks. It was one of two sleeping rooms. This was the women’s bunkhouse where they could stay on the Silver Creek Ranch. They’d each taken a room.

 

“It’s a little after four.” Aimee yawned.

 

“I think I’m going to go for a run. I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep,” Melah said. Nor did she want to. This dream had been all too real, and it had shaken her to the core.

 

She walked over to her nightstand and turned on the lamp. She snagged her smart watch off its charger, strapped it on, and moved over to one of the dressers. She didn’t have many clothes here. It had been pointless to bring tons of stuff. She hadn’t planned to be on the ranch long, nor did she think she’d be settling down in Ironhaven.

 

What had she planned for when she left here? She had no idea. It was just her and her horse she had to worry about.

But for now, she was going take advantage of everything the ranch had to offer women like her and take each day in stride. She had plenty of time to figure out her next move. She’d saved up some money when she’d been in the service.

 

“You be careful out there. I’m going to try to get some shut-eye before my shift.” Aimee pushed off the doorframe and waved.

“Goodnight.”

 

Aimee shut the door, leaving Melah alone. She opened the drawer and eyed her measly clothing. She had plenty of Army t-shirts and grimaced. Maybe she should invest in new clothing. Something that didn’t advertise how she had spent most of her life.

 

She fingered the soft gray shirt and sighed.

 

Twenty years of her life had been dedicated to the military. At eighteen she had decided she’d follow into her father’s footsteps and enter the service. She smiled, remembering the day as if it were yesterday. Vernon Battle had been a proud dad down at the recruiter’s office. His smile had been wide and bright as she’d echoed the oath to serve.

 

It had been a tough decision. Life as an Army brat hadn’t been glamorous. Hell, life for the two of them had been tough. It had been just her and Vernon while she grew up. Vernon was lucky to have the support of his brother and sister-in-law. Melah and Vernon had moved around a lot. She’d gotten the opportunity to live all around the world, and when he was deployed, she’d go and stay with her uncle and aunt. Even though they hadn’t had much, Melah appreciated what she did have.

 

She snagged the shirt from the drawer and opened another one for a pair of shorts. She hurried and got dressed, dipping into the bathroom to make herself decent. After her run she’d shower before she reported to work.

 

“He can’t hurt me anymore.” She wouldn’t mention he who shall not be named. Her life had been a living hell, but she had taken it back.

 

She brushed her thick hair up into a high ponytail. She set the brush on the counter and stared at her reflection. Her big brown eyes were wide. Her tawny skin was flawless, thanks to her skin routine. No longer was she the skinny young girl with acne and blackheads when she’d first enlisted.

 

She was now more mature with a curvy frame toned from her workouts. She may not be in the Army any longer, but that didn’t mean she gave up on keeping in shape. She cleaned up her mess she had created and stored her belongings in the drawer. She exited the bathroom, snagged her fanny pack and cellphone, then made her way through the house. She left the building and breathed in the fresh South Dakota air.

 

The sky was painted a multitude of orange hues as the sun prepared to rise. Now she was able to inhale the fresh air, her nerves calmed slightly. She clipped her pack onto her waist then unzipped it to obtain her earbuds. She’d need to listen to some music to help keep her mind from wandering back to her dream. Once she found a good playlist, she tossed her phone in the pack and zipped it up. After doing a few light stretches, she began her trek.

 

The Silver Creek Ranch was a beautiful spread. She was lucky to find such a place to stay after she’d retired from the Army. The ranch had come highly recommended, and she was thankful that it was shared with her. This was what she needed to start the second phase of her life.

 

Melah loved to run. It allowed her to have time to herself and work out the kinks in her body. It always gave her a sense of freedom with the wind gently blowing in her face and the beautiful sprawling lands that surrounded her. She loved the feeling of her muscles relaxing and her feet pounding on the ground. The dirt road wasn’t ideal, but it would do. It honestly reminded her of the runs she and a few of her battalion members had gone on when deployed or stationed somewhere away from civilization.

She missed her friends like crazy. Terri, Issac, and Cora had been her closest, and they had stood by her side through the toughest time in her life. She inhaled sharply and pushed down those memories. Instead, her last night as a member of the US Army came to mind. Her friends had surprised her with a retirement party of just the four of them. They were the siblings she’d never had.

 

That night, they’d gone out to a local bar where they’d consumed plenty of alcohol and good food. She smiled at the memory and made a mental note to reach out to them. They were still enlisted. Terri wanted to do another year or two before submitting her paperwork, while Issac and Cora were both staying in until they reached retirement eligibility. Melah had been in the longest. She missed them fiercely. She could see Issac out here on the ranch riding a horse. He’d love it. He was a Texan at heart, and they both had a love for horses. Terri and Cora were city girls, from Atlanta and Chicago. Neither would be caught dead mucking stalls or roping cattle.

 

She grinned. How the two of them survived the Army, she didn’t know, but there was no one else she’d trust to have her six than Terri, Cora, and Issac. Melah pushed herself faster. She ignored the burn in her lungs. She was going to have a great day today. She wasn’t going to allow a little nightmare to get to her.

 

She was stronger than that. She’d proven it with everything life had thrown her way. Melah Battle would figure out life. She took in the acres of land and the cattle off in the distance.

 

Right now, this was where she belonged and she felt safe here. The men and women she’d met and worked with respected her and made her feel welcome.

 

 This was her new beginning.