August 2006. Odessa, TX.

"I've been through the desert on a horse with no name. It felt good to be out of the rain. In the desert, you can't remember your name, cause there ain't no one to give you no pain. La da da da da da..."

Jack Killinger grimaced and turned his radio's volume down. I like this song, he mused, but right now I'm not in the mood.

Maybe some country ... nah, never mind. He clicked the radio off, trying again to concentrate on the road. He had been living and working on the West Texas plains for nearly three years. His family had wanted him to go to college, make something of himself, but Jack hadn't really been interested. I didn't do that great in school, he had explained at the time. I don't want to keep going to class. I want to get out and see the world.

Pretty lousy place I ended up in, he sighed, looking around.

There's nothing to do out here, it's so quiet and dead. If it were high school football season, I could catch a game, but that won't be for months. And the local oil fields aren't putting out right now, even though prices are high. I have a job driving this tanker for one of them, it pays well enough to keep me going, but it doesn't really spark anything in me. I keep having doubts. I can't get close to people, at work or socially. Every time I try, they push me away. It's so frustrating. But maybe tonight things will change.

He eyed his image in the rearview mirror. Pretty good, he thought. Dark brown hair slicked back, skin clear, and my eyes don't even look red tonight. They're their usual hazel shade. And

I'm dressed well enough to draw some glances. Jeans and checkered shirt are clean, boots are shiny. He adjusted the black Stetson on his head and grinned. Maybe after I get this truck back to the main office, I can go out to a bar and meet some girl. I do that a lot. I don't drink as much as I used to, it was making my loneliness worse, but I still have fun being in such places.

Sometimes I take home the women I meet in them. There's a lot of nice girls looking for fun out here. Especially on a lonely summer evening like this, with a full moon and nothing to do. The people who live in this area often tell me it's a desert. We got flat plains, dust storms, hardly anything for miles and miles.

It's not a real desert, you'd have to go farther west for that, but it comes close. He slowed down as the highway began to curve.

What am I thinking? he shook his head. The girls out here may not be interested in me tonight. And if I try to get them interested,

I might start drinking heavily again before I could stop myself.

I don't want that- the cops let me go last time, but I don't know if I want to risk driving home tipsy again right now. During football season they're busy, but ... Wait, what's that?

A car was pulled off to the side of the road, an expensive-looking black Buick. A woman was standing beside it, a cell phone in her hand. She looks pretty harried, Jack thought. I bet she's in some kind of trouble. I really should keep going, but ... He shook his head, recalling that he hadn't seen another car for miles that wasn't driving so fast they probably wouldn't see the woman. Okay, fine, I'll help her. He downshifted and began to pull over, carefully watching his mirrors as he went off the pave. I'll give her a ride to the nearest gas station, Jack decided. Or maybe fix her car if it looks easy enough, I was a mechanic a while back. Haven't done it in years, but it's like riding a bike. He shrugged, shut off his engine, then got out of the truck and walked back towards the car, hoping it wasn't more than it seemed.

"Thank you!" the woman greeted him as he approached. "I've been stuck here so long! I can't get a signal and no one's stopped!"

"You'll be fine," Jack said, looking her over. Pretty, he thought. Brown skin, long chestnut hair, nice figure under those jeans and white blouse. Sunglasses are hiding her face, but it looks familiar. He blinked, looking at her again. Nah, he thought, couldn't be. Has to be someone else. Lots of Latinas look like her. "What happened?"

"My car just started chirping," she explained, taking off her glasses. Jack blinked again. "Then it died. I got it started again, but then it started chirping again and ... Is there something wrong?"

Jack shook his head. "You look like someone I've seen in a few movies. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Hitch, Training Day..."

"I am that woman," she cut him off, smiling. She extended her hand. "Eva Mendes."

"Jack Killinger." He shook her hand, trying to return her grin.

"I'm a fan. What are you..."

"I read a book called Friday Night Lights," she explained. "It talked a lot about this Texas town called Odessa. I decided I had to come see it for myself."

Jack smiled. He had been drawn to the area by the same book and found it every bit what the writer had talked about. "You're a little early for the football."

"Well, I can wait," Eva shrugged. "I'm between movies right now and need a vacation. This looks like a quiet place to take one.

Reminds me of Melbourne, but not quite as far out."

"You were in Australia?"

She nodded. "I did a film there. Ghost Rider. Heard of it?"

"Yeah, that comes out next year. I'm looking forward to it. I like comics." He looked at the ground, then back at her. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too." She looked at her car. "Do you think you can help me?"

"I can try. Pop the hood?" Eva did so, and he raised it, then looked beneath. "Okay, this is easy. Looks like a loose gasket.

Just a sec." He reached into the engine and twisted the gasket he'd noticed, then stepped back. "Okay, try it."

Eva reached through the car's open window, turned her key, and smiled as the engine immediately caught. "Thank you. I should know more about cars, but..."

"It's okay. I used to be a mechanic." He looked back at her, still feeling awkward. "There's a garage just up the road. I can guide you there. They have a landline if you want to call someone."

"I couldn't get a signal."

"Yeah. That's still a problem out here." Jack slammed the hood.

"Just follow me up the road, and you'll be fine."

"Thank you so much. Do you want some coffee when we get there or..."

He grimaced. "No, it's okay. I was glad to help."

"Alright," she shrugged. "Sorry. It's just ... it's so lonely out here. Have you noticed that?"

Her words seemed to shoot through to the core of Jack's mind. I was just thinking that before I stopped, he mused. Maybe ... No, I shouldn't. I'm sure she has someone. She's a famous actress, and beautiful as hell. She has to have a boyfriend. But she did say she was on vacation, and she's alone. Maybe...

"I have to return the truck to the main office. I'm done with deliveries for the day, but it's due back. After that, if you want to get coffee, I know a place. It's not that ritzy, but..."

"Yes!" Eva interrupted him, grinning again. "I don't know this area, so I'll wait for you at that garage. Whatever you have in mind will be fine."

"Okay," Jack said, ordering his chest to calm down. "See you soon." He turned and headed back to his truck, Eva's smile still gleaming in the back of his mind.

Three hours later, he was still having trouble quieting his insides. He had dropped his tanker off and returned to the garage expecting Eva to be gone, but she was still there. His mechanic friends had promised to fix her car by the morning, she'd told him. They had gone to the restaurant and started talking, and Eva had seemed interested in every subject Jack brought up. She liked the same movies he did, the same music, and the same sports. He enjoyed hearing about her time in modeling and show business, and she too was interested in his experiences trying to find home on the road. Coffee had turned into dinner, and now they were still talking long after the food had been eaten and taken away. Damn,

Jack thought. I'd always considered myself nobody special. I never thought I could connect with a famous woman, even if I met one. But now...

"Jack," Eva's voice caught his attention, and he looked back at her. "You've done a lot for me today. I don't usually hang around people this much. They think my life's interesting, but it's really not. It's just another life. Maybe it's not as boring as what I used to do before I got into it, but it still isn't all I thought it would be."

"My life's been like that too," he said. "I didn't think I would end up in a place like this when I started out, but here I am.

They say it's boring, but it doesn't have to be. You just need to find things that keep it fun."

She nodded. "You know, you're the first person in a long time who's done something for me expecting nothing in return. It really surprised me."

"Hell, I was surprised to meet you out there. I've never bumped into anyone famous before."

Eva smiled. "How would you like to go farther than just a meeting?"

Jack stared at her, catching the look in her eye. Shit, he thought. I told her earlier about how I pick up girls sometimes, and she laughed, but I didn't think... "Uh, well, don't you have a boyfriend or something?"

"Not right now. And I'm lonely being out here. You've been my friend so far today, so I thought ... Forgive me if you're not interested."

I might never have a chance like this again, Jack grimaced. But do I really want to... "Okay, but we'll have to keep it short.

Don't expect much from me. I just met you and..."

"I don't want that much," she said. "Only companionship. Can you give me that?" She reached out and softly took his hand.