That Carolina Summer (North Carolina)

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

THE LANGUID HEAT of the North Carolina sun was mildly enervating, countered by a soft breeze off the Atlantic Ocean. Bending a knee, Annette Long smoothed the tanning oil over her palely golden leg. Her smoky gray gaze idly circled the large swimming-pool area, taking note of the other guests enjoying the resort's facilities.

A young couple splashed in the pool, shrieking their laughter as they tried dunking each other, but most others lazed in the lounge chairs provided by the hotel, involving themselves in activities no more strenuous than applying suntan lotion to their bodies, as Annette was doing.

Finishing, she capped the bottle and turned to her sister. A faint smile touched her mouth, affectionate yet bemused. There was dark-haired, blue-eyed Marsha with a book in hand and dressed in a conservative one-piece blue swimsuit. At eighteen Marsha had everything it took to be a very attractive woman, but she was so quiet and unassuming she didn't make use of her assets, resisting Annette's attempts to take her in hand.

Sometimes it was difficult for Annette to believe they were sisters, the contrast between them was so sharp. Annette simply didn't possess her younger sister's retiring personality. In fact, she was the complete opposite, boldly confident and aggressive enough to go after what she wanted. Their physical appearance differed, as well. Annette's shoulder-length hair was the tawny blonde of sherry, styled in soft feather curls as opposed to the rather severe boyish cut of Marsha's brunette hair, which did nothing to enhance her natural looks. Marsha's eyes were a sky blue and Annette's were smoke colored with the fire of a keen intelligence glittering in them.

Both sisters were slim and a little above average height, but while Marsha concealed her nicely shaped figure in conservative outfits, Annette showed hers off. Her white swimsuit was one-piece, too, but it certainly couldn't be described as conservative. Its sides were cut out and it dipped low in the back.

They were as different as night and day. Their stepmother, Kathleen, had once described them as devil and angel with the roles reversed, Annette remembered, although it hadn't been a derogatory comment about either of them. It was simply that Marsha was so innocent, and Annette—she tended to make things happen rather than wait for them to occur. Occasionally that tendency got her into trouble, but she had always been clever enough to get herself out of it.

“Here.” Annette offered the suntan oil to her sister. “You'd better use this before you turn into a lobster.” Marsha had the dark complexion, but it was Annette who tanned easily.

“Thanks.” Marsha set her book aside, laying it facedown opened to the page she was reading, to keep her place. As she began rubbing the oil on her arms, an expression of dreamy contentment swept over her face. “Isn't it beautiful here, Annette? I didn't think Dad was serious when he said the family was going to spend our entire month's vacation at Wrightsville Beach."

“Why not?” Annette leaned back in the lounge chair and closed her eyes to bask in the sun.

“Well, when he's home he usually likes to stay in Delaware. It's really not surprising when you think about how much traveling he does,” Marsha reasoned.

“True,” she conceded. “But he also knows Kathleen has been stuck at home all while he's been gone. It's only natural that she'd like to get away for a while—especially now that Robby is older,” she added, referring to their five-year-old half brother.

“You're right,” Marsha agreed. “And as Dad said, with both of us in college now, it's hard to say when we'll have another chance for the entire family to be together for a vacation again."

“I certainly intend to make the most of enjoying all this relaxation,” Annette declared.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Annette let her eyes open to mere slits and peered through her lashes. A uniformed waiter servicing the poolside area stopped next to Marsha's chair, an empty tray balanced on his uplifted palm. Annette made a swiftly astute appraisal of him. In his early twenties, the waiter was blond, tanned and very good-looking—and fully aware of the last.

“May I bring you ladies something to drink?” His flashing smile was intended to charm, and Marsha blushed faintly at its flirting quality.

Raising a hand to her forehead, Annette shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun. The movement immediately drew the waiter's attention to her as his admiring gaze skimmed the sleekness of her golden-tanned body and the provocative style of her swimsuit. Marsha was forgotten, a fact that didn't escape Annette's notice—or surprise her. His kind usually ran true to type, preferring fun-loving blondes to quiet brunettes.

“I'll have an iced tea,” Annette ordered with a faintly inviting smile. Perhaps it wasn't fair to divert the handsome young man's attention from her sister, but it was a protective reaction. Marsha was so incredibly inexperienced when it came to handling men. She'd be way out of her league with this one.

“With lemon?” the waiter inquired, letting his expression show that he found Annette very attractive.

“Please.” Annette let her smile increase to show she read his message, pretending to encourage even though he left her cold. Her glance ran to Marsha, who wasn't doing a very good job of masking her disappointment. “Do you want an iced tea, too?"

“Yes ... please,” she echoed Annette's order in a small voice.

“I'll be right back with your tea,” the waiter promised. “If there's anything else you need, the name is Craig."

“I think the tea is all for now. Thank you, Craig,” Annette murmured dryly.

With a mock bow he moved away to fill their order.

Annette rolled forward, draping an arm over an upraised knee to watch him go. She wasn't interested in him, but she knew Marsha was. For her sister's sake she wanted to be sure she had the young man's measure.

“Wasn't he gorgeous, Annette?” Marsha declared wistfully.

“Don't think lover boy doesn't know it, too,” she inserted with dry cynicism. Craig took a little too much pride in his looks for her liking.

“How can you sound so indifferent?” her sister marveled. “I saw the way he looked at you. He went for you."

There was a lack of envy in Marsha's remark. She had become accustomed to men finding her older sister more attractive than herself.

“As you get older, Marsha, you'll learn that guys like Craig are in love with themselves,” Annette explained patiently. “They think they're irresistible."