Land of Enchantment

by Janet Dailey

  When the morning came for the Harrises' arrival, Diana's enthusiasm had her hearing the drone of an airplane motor half a dozen times before the red Cessna aircraft actually flew over the ranch. She raced out of the house to intercept Lije, who was just crawling into the jeep to go out to meet them.

  'Can I come with you?' she asked breathlessly. Her face was aglow with excitement.

  'Hop in.' The grey eyes smiled as Diana quickly took the seat beside him.

  They rattled over the track leading to the flat stretch of pasture where a lonely red windsock marked the landing area. Diana could barely conceal her impatience as the plane slowly taxied to where she and Lije were parked. She quickly followed Lije when he hopped out from behind the wheel and walked to meet the man and woman stepping out of the plane.

  Stacy's twinkling brown eyes sought Diana out immediately. As she gave her a quick hug, Stacy whispered, 'I feel like a matchmaker. Congratulations, although I think I'm supposed to say that to the bridegroom.'

  'Thank you.' The warm feeling of friendliness brought a sparkle of happy tears to Diana's eyes. 'I'm glad you could come.'

  'Cord is very thoughtful that way,' Stacy glanced at her husband talking to Lije before smiling back at Diana. 'He knew this trip would break the monotony of ranch life for you as well as me, although I'm already getting homesick for little Josh.'

  All the way back to the ranch yard, the two women chattered about the little boy while the men sat in front wrapped up in ranch talk. When Lije stopped the jeep near the corrals, Cord turned around to look at Stacy.

  'I want you to see the stallion Lije has, Stacy. Malpais is a fabulous animal,' said Cord.

  'I'll have Jim bring him out of his paddock so you can have a closer look, Stacy,' Lije offered, signalling to Jim Two Pony just walking out to greet them.

  The big, barrel-chested bay was led out for their inspection. Diana watched with envy as Stacy led the discussion in admiring the muscular haunches that could spring the horse into full speed in one bounding leap and the beautifully formed head with its dignified, intelligent brown eyes. Diana wished she was as well versed in the finer points of the quarter horse as Stacy was. But then it was quite obvious that Stacy was a horsewoman, while she, Diana thought with a wry smile, was a housewoman.

  The stallion was led back to his enclosure and the yearlings were paraded for Cord one at a time. Diana watched the proceedings, not understanding why three were singled out over what seemed to her equally beautiful horses. When Cord and Lije became engaged in a purely business discussion, Stacy suggested that she and Diana walk over to the corral to look at the older horses.

  'That's a beautiful chocolate-coloured mare!' Stacy exclaimed excitedly.

  'Which one?' Diana asked. She couldn't tell a mare from a stallion and all the horses looked brown to her.

  'That one there,' Stacy pointed, 'with the star on her forehead and the white front foot. She's a dainty little horse. Cord, come and look at this mare!'

  The two men walked over to where the women stood near the corral. Diana had finally been able to determine which horse Stacy was talking about and admitted silently that it was a pretty horse with soft, intelligent brown eyes. Lije opened the corral gate and walked over to the mare, taking her by the halter and leading her to the railing where Stacy waited.

  'How old is she?' Cord's keen eyes trailed over the horse.

  'A coming four-year-old,' Lije answered. 'Would you like to ride her, Stacy?'

  'Would I ever?' Stacy laughed as Lije turned to ask Jim to saddle the horse. The brunette turned her laughing gaze to include Diana and Cord. 'I have a horse of my own, but Cord won't let me ride him. I've been trying to find another horse that's spirited enough for me and gentle enough for him to approve.'

  'She looks like an ideal ladies' mount,' Cord agreed as he watched the mare standing quietly as Jim tightened the saddle cinch. 'I wouldn't get too enthusiastic about her, Stacy, Lije might want to keep her for Diana.'

  'Oh, no,' Diana spoke up quickly as Lije turned a questioning look on her. 'I don't ride.'

  'You'll have to get Lije to teach you,' Stacy said, putting her foot in the stirrup while Jim held the horse's head. 'There's nothing like exploring this kind of rugged country from the back of a horse.'

  Diana smiled, but didn't reply as she watched Stacy expertly put the mare through her paces with the wild landscape as a backdrop. The thought of riding alone out in that country intimidated her, and especially from the back of a horse. Her mind conjured up all kinds of images—rattlesnakes, coyotes, mountain lions, jagged cliffs.

  'She's perfect!' Stacy exclaimed, dismounting and hugging the mare briefly before dancing over to her husband. 'You do like her, don't you?'

  The way he looked back at Stacy gave Diana the impression that if she and Lije weren't there, he would have taken his wife in his arms. As it was, Cord just smiled and nodded, 'As if I could refuse you!'

  'Diana and I will go up to the house while you persuade Lije to sell her.' And Diana was swept away with the exuberant Stacy towards the house.

  'I wish I were more like you,' Diana sighed after she had put the coffee pot on and joined Stacy at the kitchen table.

  'What do you mean?'

  "You're so at home on the ranch. You know one end of a horse from the other and you ride. About the only thing countrified about me is my denim jeans,' Diana tried to laugh at herself. 'How did you make the adjustment from big city life?'

  'I travelled a great deal with my father, and not always to populated areas, so I was partially accustomed to remote areas,' Stacy explained. 'And my father had a love affair with nature which he passed on to me.'

  'Is the part of Texas where your ranch is very different from here?'

  'It isn't quite as untamed as this.' The glowing expression on Stacy's face revealed her admiration for the one quality about her new home that Diana most disliked. 'It really takes quite a rugged individualist to carve out a place for himself in this kind of wilderness.'

  'Don't you get worried sometimes when Cord goes out on the range?'

  'Yes, sometimes,' Stacy grinned. 'It's foolish I know, but I think it's natural that you worry about the one you love.'

  'Lije goes out by himself a lot,' Diana stared out the window, remembering the long, lonely hours she spent watching for him to return safely. 'We're so far away from any kind of help. It worries me just thinking how critical that could be if there was ever an emergency.'

  'Don't borrow trouble, Diana.' Stacy touched the hands clutched so tensely on the table top.

  'The coffee is done.' Diana hopped nervously up from the table. Yet it seemed so natural to confide in Stacy, especially since she understood so well. 'I made a coffee cake. Would you like a slice?'

  'No, thanks,' Stacy refused with a laugh. 'I still have a few pounds I'm trying to shed after the baby.'

  'Your figure looks marvellous to me.'

  'There are still a few of my clothes that are a little tight. A reminder that my girlish figure isn't quite back to its former slimness.'

  'I've put on a couple of pounds, too,' Diana glanced down at her plaid slacks, a finger sliding into the waistband that hugged her tightly. 'I've been overdoing the baking lately and sampling too much of the results, I guess.'

  'On you it looks good,' the other girl commented. 'Being a model you probably had to stay as skinny as you could for the camera's sake.'

  'It was getting harder and harder to do, too,' Diana replied wryly. 'I kept developing curves.'

  'Have you got a couple of cups of that coffee for us?' Lije demanded in a teasing voice as he and Cord walked in the door.

  'Of course.' Diana was quick to place two more cups on the table along with the plates for the coffee cake which she sat in the centre.

  'The mare is yours now,' Cord said quietly as he sat beside his wife. Her mouth formed the words 'thank you' from amidst a glowing smile.

  'I have to pick up the Hereford bull I bought, so I've agreed to tra
iler the horses Cord bought to his ranch. Then I can bring the bull back in the empty trailer.' Lije's statement was addressed to both women, but Diana knew it was specifically meant for her.

  Although he had never mentioned the possibility of Cord buying any of his yearlings since that day in San Antonio, Diana had known instinctively that Lije had counted on it. Without the money from that sale, he had been reluctant to buy the bull he needed for his herd. It would have been too much of a strain on their financial resources. So while she silently rejoiced with him, she also looked forward to his coming journey with trepidation. It would be their first separation which in itself would be a pull on her heartstrings, but it was being left alone on the ranch that she dreaded more.

  It was some time later when Cord rose from the table, signalling his wife that it was time for them to be on their way. Diana insisted on refilling their thermos of coffee and preparing sandwiches for their plane ride home, stating that it was the least she could do since they weren't able to stay for a meal. Neither Cord nor Stacy put up any argument. Stacy stayed with Diana to lend assistance while her husband and Lije went out to pre-flight the plane.

  'Do you think you can persuade Lije to let you come with him when he brings the horses?' Stacy sliced efficiently at the cold roast beef while Diana cut generous portions of her homemade bread.

  'If I asked him, he would. But as much as I would like to, I won't.' Her blue eyes turned apologetically towards Stacy, 'Without me along, he'll probably drive right through, settling for a nap in the cab of the truck. If I were with him, he would feel obliged to stop at a motel. And I would know no matter how well he would hide it that he was anxious to get back to the ranch,' Diana sighed. 'I'll stay home like a good rancher's wife.'

  'Diana.' Stacy laid the knife down and turned to the bent blonde head that revealed, just as the wry bitterness in Diana's voice at her last words had done, her resigned acceptance of her decision. 'I know this life and this country must seem strange to you. It's only because it's different from what you've known. It's perfectly natural for people to be apprehensive and even dislike things they don't know about. This ranch and the land must seem like a God-forsaken place to you.'

  Stacy's words were so accurate that an ironic smile tilted the corners of Diana's mouth. God-forsaken was such an appropriate word.

  'It isn't.' Stacy's voice lowered in her earnestness to get her new friend to understand. 'This is probably one of the more God-beloved parts of our country. Nothing is what it seems on the surface. You must get closer and inspect it, see how it lives and grows. Unseeing eyes look at this land and perceive a wild, rugged and harsh place that's forbidding and hauntingly beautiful at the same time. You must open your eyes and see not just the grotesque caterpillar but the butterfly as well.'

  'I know what you're saying is probably true, but how can I do it? I'm not like you. I don't ride, and once out of sight of the house, I'm lost. The only vehicles we have are the jeep and the pick-up. I doubt whether I could drive either one,' she answered.

  'Have you ever been outside the ranch yard?'

  'No.'

  'Then ask your husband to take you around, to show you the ranch.' Stacy held Diana's hands that were still trying to slice away more bread. 'This is your home now. It would be a natural request.'

  'Lije is so busy. He has so much to do that I don't want to interfere with his work.' Diana shook her head.

  'You wouldn't be. Don't you see? There would be things he could do, too. Check on fences, and waterholes, predators. A hundred things, I'm sure, and at the same time he would be showing you the country. Promise me you'll do it, Diana,' Stacy implored. 'And look beneath the strangeness of the land.'

  'I promise,' she agreed, unable to do anything else in the face of those caring brown eyes and the friendly sprinkling of freckles. Immediately a grin spread across Stacy's face that was filled with impish fun.

  'I do hope you were cutting some of this bread for yourself, because Cord and I can't possibly eat that much,' she said.

  Diana looked with surprise at the towering slices of bread before joining in with the other girl's laughter. The light touch relaxed the tension that had been building up inside her. She was still smiling when Cord and Lije returned from the plane, but with their entrance, depression settled once again. Stacy was leaving and there was no way of knowing when she would see her again.

  The ride from the ranchyard to where the plane was parked seemed extremely short. The smile on Diana's lips was forced, as was the gay wave of her hand in a last good-bye to the couple in the plane. A lump rose in her throat as the plane turned and made its run down the grass strip. When the wheels left the ground, she felt her last contact with civilization had just been broken and she was left behind in this desolate land.

  As the red object winged out of sight, Diana turned to the man standing beside her. Blue eyes looked at the harsh, uncompromising lines of his face. It was during moments like these when the alienness of her surroundings overwhelmed her that her husband seemed a total stranger to her and not the man she snuggled against at night.

  'The excitement is over. It's back to just us now,' Lije said quietly.

  'Yes,' Diana sighed heavily. Lije moved towards the jeep. 'I think … I think I'll walk back to the house.'

  'Don't be ridiculous! It's too far to walk. Get in the jeep.' The reprimand and order were snapped out with the autocratic ease of one accustomed to being obeyed.

  Lije was already sitting stiffly behind the wheel when Diana made slow, reluctant movements to join him. There was an awkward stony silence between them. Diana didn't want to give voice to her thoughts. She had been so sure of her ability to adapt to her new home and its surroundings, and in Stacy's presence, she had been more than hopeful that her new friend's advice would work. Now, looking at the emptiness of the horizon, she doubted that anything could bring her to like this barren land when she couldn't even do it with the strength of her love for her husband.

  'I can't make it any easier for you, Diana.'

  The jeep was halted in the yard. His words forestalled her movements to leave the vehicle as her head jerked around to face him.

  'What are you talking about?' The murmured question was directed at the cold glitter in his eyes.

  'I can't count the number of times I've seen that mask steal over your face to prevent me from seeing what you think and feel.' Diana winced inwardly at his cutting tone. 'I thought this visit would help, but it's only made it worse, hasn't it?'

  'Lije?' The apology was forming, but he didn't give her an opportunity to complete it.

  'Why don't you just admit that you're homesick for the excitement of city life and stop trying to kid both of us?' he snapped.

  'All right, I am,' she retorted sharply, stung by his sudden attack. 'But that doesn't change anything. I'll get over it.'

  'Will you?' An eyebrow raised mockingly over his disbelieving gaze. 'Some women never adjust to country life. They end up resenting their husbands for forcing them to lead such an isolated existence and hating them when they won't leave it. Divorce is inevitable in those cases.'

  'Is that what you think is going to happen with us?' Diana gasped in shocked but suppressed anger. The carved profile was turned towards the distant mountains and she couldn't see the expression on his face.

  'Why couldn't you talk to me about the way you feel?' Lije's voice was cold as a mountain stream. 'Why did you discuss it with a virtual stranger instead of me?'

  'You mean Stacy?' The flint-grey eyes turned accusingly on her at her question. 'She's a woman. She would understand how I felt, having more or less made the transition herself,' Diana explained defensively. 'I didn't want to worry you or add to your burden. How did you know I'd talked to her?'

  'I'm not so selfish and blind that I don't know what a difficult adjustment you've had to make,' Lije sneered. 'And I've been around enough married couples to know the compassion that springs into a woman's eyes when the wife confides what a rotten life
she has.'

  'Rotten life?' Diana exclaimed angrily. 'I love you, Lije Masters!'

  'Love can happen between two people at the wrong place and time.' That terrible remoteness was in his face as if the distance between them was a hundred times more than the few inches that separated them in the jeep. And his voice was ominously soft. 'I told you even before the subject of marriage was brought up how much this ranch meant to me. I love you, Diana, but I would never give it up even for you.'

  'I know that.' Did she? she asked herself. Or had she subconsciously hoped that some day she might be able to persuade him differently? She was so upset and confused she couldn't think straight. She hated arguing, and this argument was making her feel physically ill. She seized on the subject of the ranch in a last attempt in placating his cold anger, however justified. 'I … I've never seen the ranch. I … I mean, you've never taken me around and shown it to me. Would you?'

  'I'll be too busy the next couple of weeks with the horses and so on, but Jim will be checking the fences. He can take you with him if you really want to go.' Lije's hand was massaging the back of his neck as he ground out his reply.

  'No.' Diana refused too quickly, bringing the sharp, condemning look back in his eyes. 'I'd rather go with you when you have time.'

  'I thought you'd got over that ridiculous prejudice towards Jim,' he observed contemptuously.

  'I'm not prejudiced,' Diana protested. 'It's just that Jim doesn't like me.'

  'I think it's you who don't like Jim rather than the reverse.'

  'Lije, I don't know him well enough to like or dislike him.' Diana's shoulders lifted in an uncertain shrug. 'Knowing how he feels towards me makes me uncomfortable to be with him. Besides, this ranch is where we live and I want you to show it to me, not some man who works for you.'

  'You make him sound like a servant instead of my friend.' His eyes had narrowed to glittering slits of silver-grey.

  'You're misunderstanding everything I say.'

  'Am I?' he jeered.

  'Why are you acting this way?' She swallowed desperately at the growing lump in her throat and the sobbing pain centred around her heart. 'What great sin have I committed, to make you so cold and remote?'