Land of Enchantment by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online Page A

shirt. 'I forgot to tell the bull I was taking you out to dinner.'
    'I don't mind waiting,' Diana laughed as they stopped beside a pick-up truck with a camper mounted in the bed and over the cab.
    'I won't be long,' he promised, adding with an impish twinkle, 'I would invite you in, but…'
    'I'll wait outside.' A rising tide of warmth started up her neck. She had been in those types of campers before and knew very well there wasn't any real privacy when it came to dressing and undressing. A smile crinkled his eyes as he nodded and entered the trailer.
    True to his word, Lije was out in a matter of minutes. He hadn't just changed his shirt, though, but his entire dress. Now he was wearing a Western-cut suit of brown corduroy with an open-neck shirt in a cream yellow. The outfit enhanced his rugged good looks, intensifying the colour of his grey eyes while it complemented his dark brown hair and accentuated the width of his shoulders and the slimness of his hips. Lije Masters looked every inch the commanding rancher, and the effect awed Diana.
    'Will I do?' he mocked as she continued to stare at him.
    'Now I'm the one who feels she should change, ' Diana laughed nervously, glancing down at her suddenly plain denim slack suit with its white stitching.
    'It's too late. I'm hungry,'he decreed, taking her arm and guiding her to the front of the truck. 'And you would attract attention no matter how you were dressed. I don't think any man would ever look to see what you were wearing.'
    'I'll take that as a compliment,' she murmured, a little overwhelmed by this charming side of Lije Masters.
    'Good,' holding the door as she climbed into the cab. 'That's the way I meant it.'
    There was a caressing quality to his softly spoken words that quickened her pulse. All day she had been wondering how she could get close to this remote and sometimes arrogant man, but Diana was learning fast that it was he who set the pace of their relationship. She could only follow his lead. She had always resented anyone who was dominant or dominating to others, including herself, but this time she thought it would be nice for Lije to rule her.
    The restaurant he took her to had a friendly, informal atmosphere; it was decorated with Western trappings that were a perfect background for Lije. Last night Diana had discussed her past with him with ease and tonight she found herself doing it again. Lije Masters had the rare quality of being able to listen with sincere interest and draw people out with gentle, probing questions, while Diana learned little more about him than she had before. After their meal was finished, she switched the position.
    'Tell me how the son of a rancher came to be named after the Biblical prophet Elijah?'
    The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile as he studied his coffee for a minute before looking up to meet her frank gaze. There was a velvet quality to the colour of his eyes that was oddly soothing.
    'My father's name was Daniel, a common name, although it's found in the Bible. But my mother, Naomi, was a religious woman. She had had several miscarriages before, in her middle thirties, I came along. Elijah was considered the messenger of glad tidings in the Bible and lived in the mountain wilderness, and she felt it was doubly appropriate. My father was the one who shortened it to Lije."
    For the first time in many years Diana was struck by the sadness that she would never be able to recount personal stories like that. When she was left at the orphanage there hadn't even been a note telling her name.
    'You haven't said when you're leaving tomorrow,' Lije stated when Diana didn't speak.
    'I don't know,' giving herself a mental shake to remove the slight depression. 'There's a chance we won't be leaving—something about Rick wanting some action shots. Connie was supposed to let us know this evening.'
    'Should you phone the hotel?'
    'She'll tell Stella if I'm not there? Diana glanced at her watch. 'I probably should call Stella,