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Husbands of the Outback
Two tough, powerful men no woman can resist…
MARGARET WAY—Genni’s Dilemma
Genni has loved cattleman Blaine Courtland since childhood—so why is she about to marry another man…and will Blaine really let her?
“With climactic scenes, dramatic imagery and bold characters, Margaret Way makes the Outback come alive.”
—Romantic Times
BARBARA HANNAY—Charlotte’s Choice
Lady Charlotte Bellamy is torn between love and duty: to please her family, she must accept a marriage of convenience, but her heart longs for rugged rancher Matt Lockhart….
“Barbara Hannay’s debut offers a pleasing premise with engaging characters, wonderful tension and good pacing.”
—Romantic Times
Margaret Way is a true legend in the world of romance writers and readers. She has been published for almost thirty years and is renowned for her strong, passionate characters and her wonderfully lyrical and evocative descriptions of Australia. She was born and educated in the river city of Brisbane, and now lives within sight and sound of beautiful Moreton Bay in the state of Queensland. She delights in bringing her country alive for readers. Prior to beginning her writing career, Margaret had a musical one—she was a pianist, teacher, singing coach and accompanist. She still plays the piano seriously; she also collects art and antiques and is devoted to her garden.
MASTER OF MARAMBA by Margaret Way (#3671)
Barbara Hannay was born in Sydney, educated in Brisbane and has spent most of her adult life living in tropical north Queensland, where she and her husband have raised four children. While she has enjoyed many happy times camping and canoeing in the bush, she also delights in an urban lifestyle—chamber music, contemporary dance, movies and dining out. An English teacher, she has always loved writing, and now, by having her stories published, she is living her most cherished fantasy.
OUTBACK WITH THE BOSS by Barbara Hannay (#3670)
Husbands of the Outback
Genni’s Dilemma
Margaret Way
Charlotte’s Choice
Barbara Hannay
CONTENTS
Dear Reader,
It’s with greatest pleasure I join Barbara Hannay in this special novel—Husbands of the Outback. It’s a nice touch to team us together. Barbara is at the start of her career. I’ve been blessed with thirty wonderful years writing for Harlequin®. I’ve carved out a rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable career in the process, giving pleasure and comfort to many thousands of women all around the world. Could anyone ask for more?
Although I’ve written many books with different settings, my Outback stories are the ones my readership tell me they love best. Writing can be a solitary business, so it’s lovely to get feedback from loyal fans. Through all my travels around my own great island continent, Australia, washed as it is by glorious blue oceans, it’s the cloudless cobalt skies that speak directly to my heart. The great open, silent immensity of it! I stand in awe of the rugged grandeur, the starkly beautiful and dramatic landscapes. One has to see the beating Dead Heart then experience the wilderness after rain as the endless mirage-haunted plains are woven with wildflowers.
I want to share my feelings of utter bliss with you, my fascination with the great Inland, so absolutely, so distinctively Australian. The same with our Outback man. He’s a unique breed. Full of strength and tremendous energy. The quintessential rugged male who still manages to exhibit an almost “old-worldly” gentleness and courtesy. Wonderful stories have been written about the pioneers of Outback Australia, inspirational and enthralling. I want to tell you the mighty Outback man hasn’t disappeared. He’s still out there for the rest of us to be proud of.
CHAPTER ONE
The Wedding Eve
GENEVIEVE stood outside her mother’s bedroom door bracing herself for the inevitable confrontation and, she guessed, copious tears. Angel was perfectly capable of it. Generally believed saccharine-sweet, no one knew better than Angel how to make a lot of people uncomfortable. She could turn it on. And off. At the flip of a coin.
Genevieve didn’t know if she could stand it, feeling as bad as she did. After a month of agonizing about this soon-to-be-taken trip to the altar, she had lost weight to the point she was looking more spindly than slim; she had a permanent headache; she was sick to her stomach and trying to smile through it; her emotions so barely under control it hurt.
About to tap on the door and await entrée into her mother’s opulent bedroom that stopped just short of mirrors on the ceiling, Genevieve suddenly remembered with a great sense of relief Angel was going out to dinner with Toby Slocombe. She marvelled she could have forgotten, but then her brain was firing on less than four cylinders.
Toby was one of the high rollers around Sydney Town, recently divorced from his long-suffering wife of thirty years. For once Angel hadn’t been involved having just come out of a rather unsettling experience with a toy-boy a little older than her daughter. So tonight no tears to spoil the mascara. No tears to stain Angel’s ravishing little heart-shaped face. Even so she wouldn’t take it without a bit of light screaming and the usual attempt to talk Genevieve down. Genevieve felt she could just about endure that. Angel’s soft breathy voice raised a few decibels arguing nonstop. No one was home except Genevieve’s beloved Emmy, their long-time housekeeper, baby-sitter, nanny, confidante, social secretary-assistant, referee, who had been more of a mother to Genevieve than Angel the perennial beauty and social butterfly had ever been.
This is supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life, Genevieve thought, avoiding all self-pity. Indeed she felt very isolated and quite guilty, tempted to do a runner. Please God help me through this,