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    Land of Enchantment
    Land of Enchantment
    Land of Enchantment
    Ebook179 pages2 hours

    Land of Enchantment

    By Janet Dailey

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    About this ebook

    A New York fashion model falls for a handsome cowboy in this Americana romance set in New Mexico by the New York Times–bestselling author.
     
    Blessed with silvery blond hair, a show-stopping figure, and a creamy, flawless complexion, Diana enjoys a thriving career as a model in New York City. Still, in her heart, she longs only for the love of a good man and the simple joys of marriage and motherhood. At twenty-four, Diana has learned that most of the good men are intimidated by her looks, and she attracts only those whose egos need to be stroked by having a beautiful woman on their arm. But all of that is about to change when she travels out west for a photo shoot at a rodeo and meets New Mexico rancher Lije Masters.
     
    The desert afternoon is hot and still when a startled horse sends Diana literally falling into Lije’s strong arms. From afar, Diana had already noticed the cowboy’s rugged good looks; up close, she can feel his granite-colored eyes seeing past her exterior and straight into her soul. But is she willing to give up life in the big city for the Land of Enchantment?
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateApr 1, 2014
    ISBN9781497619265
    Land of Enchantment
    Author

    Janet Dailey

    Janet Dailey's first book -- a Harlequin romance -- was published in 1976. In the twenty years since, she has written 89 more novels and become the third largest selling female author in the world, with 300 million copies of her books sold in 19 languages in 98 countries. Her most recent bestsellers, Masquerade, Rivals, and Heiress, have all sold more than one million copies each. She is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to re-create a time and place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues, like alcoholism and sexual abuse, in her stories. All of her novels are meticulously researched, an endeavor she shares with her husband, Bill Dailey. The couple met in 1963, when Janet worked as a secretary for the construction company Bill owned. The two travel extensively to scout story locations, and have visited all 50 states; these days, they are likely to fly, but miss the time when they drove cross country, a trailer attached to their car. Janet Dailey also reads voraciously about every aspect of any subject she writes about; as she remarks, ""Accuracy is important in genre fiction; you have to get it right, zero in on the real details. That's the way to make writing come alive and not irritate the readers with carelessness."" When they are not traveling, the couple spend time at their home on the shore of Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri. It is the part of the country Dailey loves best, partly because, she says, ""The people around me are more interested in their problems and their lives, and that sort of keeps me in touch with reality. They think it's nice that I write, but they really couldn't care less."" Allison Janney has been featured on Broadway (Present Laughter), in films (Big Night and First Wives Club) and on television shows on all four networks.

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    Book preview

    Land of Enchantment - Janet Dailey

    Janet Dailey’s Americana Series

    Dangerous Masquerade (Alabama)

    Northern Magic (Alaska)

    Sonora Sundown (Arizona)

    Valley Of the Vapours (Arkansas)

    Fire And Ice (California)

    After the Storm (Colorado)

    Difficult Decision (Connecticut)

    The Matchmakers (Delaware)

    Southern Nights (Florida)

    Night Of The Cotillion (Georgia)

    Kona Winds (Hawaii)

    The Travelling Kind (Idaho)

    A Lyon's Share (Illinois)

    The Indy Man (Indiana)

    The Homeplace (Iowa)

    The Mating Season (Kansas)

    Bluegrass King (Kentucky)

    The Bride Of The Delta Queen (Louisiana)

    Summer Mahogany (Maine)

    Bed Of Grass (Maryland)

    That Boston Man (Massachusetts)

    Enemy In Camp (Michigan)

    Giant Of Mesabi (Minnesota)

    A Tradition Of Pride (Mississippi)

    Show Me (Missouri)

    Big Sky Country (Montana)

    Boss Man From Ogallala (Nebraska)

    Reilly's Woman (Nevada)

    Heart Of Stone (New Hampshire)

    One Of The Boys (New Jersey)

    Land Of Enchantment (New Mexico)

    Beware Of The Stranger (New York)

    That Carolina Summer (North Carolina)

    Lord Of the High Lonesome (North Dakota)

    The Widow And The Wastrel (Ohio)

    Six White Horses (Oklahoma)

    To Tell The Truth (Oregon)

    The Thawing Of Mara (Pennsylvania)

    Strange Bedfellow (Rhode Island)

    Low Country Liar (South Carolina)

    Dakota Dreamin' (South Dakota)

    Sentimental Journey (Tennessee)

    Savage Land (Texas)

    A Land Called Deseret (Utah)

    Green Mountain Man (Vermont)

    Tidewater Lover (Virginia)

    For Mike's Sake (Washington)

    Wild And Wonderful (West Virginia)

    With A Little Luck (Wisconsin)

    Darling Jenny (Wyoming)

    Other Janet Dailey Titles You Might Enjoy

    American Dreams

    Aspen Gold

    Fiesta San Antonio

    For Bitter Or Worse

    The Great Alone

    Heiress

    The Ivory Cane

    Legacies

    Masquerade

    The Master Fiddler

    No Quarter Asked

    Rivals

    Something Extra

    Sweet Promise

    Tangled Vines

    Introduction

    Introducing JANET DAILEY AMERICANA. Every novel in this collection is your passport to a romantic tour of the United States through time-honored favorites by America's First Lady of romance fiction. Each of the fifty novels is set in a different state, researched by Janet and her husband, Bill. For the Daileys it was an odyssey of discovery. For you, it's the journey of a lifetime.

    Preface

    When I first started writing back in the Seventies, my husband Bill and I were retired and traveling all over the States with our home—a 34' travel trailer—in tow. That's when Bill came up with the great idea of my writing a romance novel set in each one of our fifty states. It was an idea I ultimately accomplished before switching to mainstream fiction and hitting all the international bestseller lists.

    As we were preparing to reissue these early titles, I initially planned to update them all—modernize them, so to speak, and bring them into the new high-tech age. Then I realized I couldn't do that successfully any more than I could take a dress from the Seventies and redesign it into one that would look as if it were made yesterday. That's when I saw that the true charm of these novels is their look back on another time and another age. Over the years, they have become historical novels, however recent the history. When you read them yourself, I know you will feel the same.

    So, enjoy, and happy reading to all!

    Chapter One

    I'M out of hair-spray, Diana. Can I borrow some of yours?' Stella hovered behind the blonde-haired girl, taking care not to move her head too much for fear a brunette lock might slip out of place in her elaborate hairstyle.

    'There.' Diana pointed to an aerosol can on the table with the end of her eyebrow pencil before returning her concentration to the reflection in her make-up mirror.

    Perfect, beautiful features stared serenely back. Large, luminous blue eyes that seldom revealed her inner thoughts were superbly framed by long curling lashes. Their thickness was increased now by the application of artificial eyelashes while a turquoise shade of eyeshadow intensified the colour of her eyes. Her nose was exactly right, not too short, not too straight, not too large. Her lips were proportioned correctly too, with her upper lip forming a perfect cupid's bow, and the lower lip was just enough larger to appear sensuous under the application of layers of lip gloss over the pink-tinted lipstick. She had an oval face and her creamy clear complexion was the envy of all the models. The pale, ivory base make-up seemed wasted since nothing could improve it.

    From long experience, Diana added light feathery strokes of the charcoal-grey eyebrow pencil to fill in and accent her finely arched brows. Removing the blue band that had held her silvery blonde hair away from her face, she began briskly brushing the long silken tresses. The ends of her hair curled naturally upwards, including the fringe that she always brushed away from her face. She had been endowed with hair that naturally looked windblown and was beautifully rumpled when it actually was tossed about by the wind.

    The door of the trailer swung open to admit a willowy chestnut-haired girl in a swirl of cool air. She shivered in her halter outfit as she quickly closed the door behind her.

    'They're ready for you, Stella,' she announced through chattering teeth.

    'Tell them I'll be just a minute,' Stella replied, inspecting her reflection for any last-minute adjustments.

    'You tell them. I'm not going out there in that cold again until I have to,' the other girl retorted sharply. 'I'll never get adjusted to wearing summer clothes in the winter. I'll die of pneumonia first!'

    'It's not usually this chilly in February, Vanessa,' Diana reminded her.

    Vanessa shrugged indifferently at that claim, choosing instead to call after the dark-haired Stella just leaving the trailer, 'Watch where you step or you'll be getting manure all over your shoes!'

    Diana hid her smile at that warning, but not in time for the disgruntled Vanessa to miss. She let the glowering look slip by without comment.

    'Wait until you get into that white outfit and have to wander around all those cows and horses with Connie shouting at you all the time not to get it dirty,' Vanessa grumbled, slipping out of the brilliant flame-hued halter dress and into her long smock. 'I don't understand how Connie comes up with these hare-brained ideas. Whoever heard of clothes being photographed at a rodeo? It's positively ridiculous!'

    'It is not ridiculous. It's a perfect background for this particular design blending Western and Indian with modern styles. What better place to do that than San Antonio and their annual rodeo?' Diana reasoned, glancing away from the mirror long enough to see the thawing in Vanessa's face.

    'Well, I win admit one thing. I've never seen so many good-looking, rugged he-men in one place before,' the other girl relented. 'And they aren't bashful about making their admiration known.' Vanessa smiled at herself in the mirror. 'I don't know when I've had so many whistles, winks, and invitations from the male sex.'

    'Don't let it go to your head,' Diana warned. 'You'll never meet a more footloose and roving bunch of men than these rodeo riders. They've got to be the land equivalent of the proverbial sailor with a girl in every port.'

    'You're always such a spoilsport.' Vanessa shook her head sadly at the blonde girl methodically brushing her hair until it glistened and crackled. 'Not every guy you go out with has to be the one you marry. There is such a thing as a fun date, you know. And I bet these cowboys can really swing!'

    'You can have all the swingers as far as I'm concerned.' Diana put the brush on to the little table and fluffed the ends of her hair with her hands. 'You just point me to a nine-to-five-man with a little home in the suburbs and I'll be happy.'

    'No one who's as domestically minded as you are should have been born with such looks. You're a disgrace to the modelling profession!'

    'Don't be ridiculous!' Diana laughed. 'I bet you sit home alone at night just as often as I do. You have to or you wouldn't get enough sleep to keep those circles from clinging under your eyes or those inches from being added to your waistline from all the food and liquor.'

    'Being a model does have its limitations,' Vanessa admitted reluctantly. 'But that's just because we're here in Texas where the Miss-America look is idolized. New York is a different story.'

    'Pooh!' Diana shook her head. 'Dallas models are not any different from any high-fashion models you want to name. The work is-just as hard and demanding and not at all glamorous, as anywhere else, whether you're modelling clothes in a store or for a photographer as we do. And it's certainly not one big swinging party in any part of the country!'

    'It does have prestige.'

    'I'd sooner have the prestige of being a wife and mother,' Diana retorted, walking over to take the white jumpsuit off its hanger.

    'Not me. I don't want some kid spoiling my figure.'

    Diana winced at that, the unfeeling statement hitting a wound that had never healed. But it was something she never discussed with anyone, mostly because there had never been anyone who had ever been close enough for her to confide in. She hid her loneliness behind the serene mask of beautiful composure and no one guessed it was there.

    'Di, honey, what you need to do is go out a little more. It's about time you found out that there's more to life than marriage and kids.'

    Laughter rolled out easily at that superior remark. 'You say it as though all I have to do is snap my fingers and I'll have a string of admirers standing at my door,' Diana replied. 'Do you know why I sat at home by myself on New Year's Eve? Because nobody asked me out. Everyone assumed that I was invited somewhere else. The nice guys in this world figure that a beautiful girl has all kinds of men ready and willing to date her, so they don't want to join the throng. Girls like you and me end up attracting the duds, the ones who need their images and egos boosted by being seen with a beautiful woman on their arm. They don't care anything about us as individuals.'

    'Lord! I never realized you were so bitter.' Vanessa eyed her curiously. 'You must have really been burnt.'

    'A long time ago,' Diana answered grimly, remembering the shock she had suffered when she discovered she was just a beautiful possession to a man she had liked very much.

    It had hurt at the time, but now she could barely remember what he looked like. It hadn't really made her bitter; although she might have sounded that way. It only reaffirmed her desire to marry and settle down, but not with just anybody, only Mr. Right. At twenty-four, she was beginning to wonder if he would ever come along. Like everything else, Diana bottled that question inside her, keeping the poised, confident mask in place for the outside world.

    'Oh, honey, you look beautiful in that!' Vanessa exclaimed as Diana locked the zipper in place and turned to inspect the slack jumpsuit in the full-length mirror.

    The white fabric was one of those new lightweight synthetic knits that stretched and moulded over a figure. There was only the slightest flare of the pants at her ankles before the material tightened at the knee and over the thigh to hug her waist, stretch over her breasts and around her neck in a halter, leaving her back bared. The striking feature of the outfit was the embroidered thunderbird design in bold turquoise colours that adorned the slack portion like a stripe up the side. It accentuated the blueness of Diana's eyes just as the white fabric complemented the pale colour of her hair.

    'You don't think it shows too much, do you?' she asked, as she pulled the plunging vee front closer together in an attempt to hide part of the cleavage of her breasts.

    'Of course it does,' Vanessa laughed, 'but it's supposed to.'

    At that moment the trailer door opened again and an older, auburn-haired woman walked in. She was dressed in a tailored corduroy pant suit with a heavy walking jacket. The rusty colour accented the red in her hair. Glasses hung from a gold chain about her neck and there was a no-nonsense look in her face.

    'Good,' she said briskly, looking Diana over. 'You're just about ready. Here's the jewellery that goes with that outfit.'

    Diana slipped the heavy turquoise and silver bracelet over her wrist and began putting on the matching earrings, aware of the scrutiny she was receiving from her employer, Connie Deveronne. After six years of modelling, the impersonal minute inspection still made Diana uncomfortable, but she never let it show.

    'Have you been gaining weight?' Connie demanded in an accusing voice.

    'No.' Diana remained unruffled, knowing the scales had not changed in over three years, thanks to a closely watched diet.

    'Your measurements are shifting, then.' Her employer's eagle eye settled on the rounded curve of breast the low neckline revealed. 'We're trying to sell the dress and not your body. Are you wearing a brassiere?'

    'Yes,' she answered, keeping her eyes firmly averted and concentrating on the last earring being securely fastened. Only Diana knew that the light pink in her cheeks didn't come from any rouge.

    'Take it off. It might flatten you a little to be without it.' With that order given, Connie turned and walked towards the door. 'Rick will be ready for you in about ten minutes.'

    'The old baggage!' Vanessa made a face at the door. 'Doesn't she realize you're only going to look more sexy without it?'

    'Haven't you realized that it's all right for us models to look sexy as

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