Free Land of Enchantment by Janet Dailey

the rodeo grounds. She was going to find Lije and tell him that she was in love with him. If…if it didn't matter to him, then—well, she'd decide what to do then.
    The first place she went after the taxi dropped her off was to the stables. The buckskin was in his stall, but the red bay was gone and so was Lije. Diana paused to steady her trembling legs, then proceeded towards the arena. He was there, standing next to a group of cowboys, his back to her as he tightened the cinch to his saddle. She walked slowly towards him, the big horse blocking her from the view of the other cowboys.
    'Hey, Lije!' one of them called. 'You gonna see that pretty blonde again tonight?
    'No!' Lije answered sharply , giving a vicious tug on the cinch and causing the horse to move nervously.
    'I'd be more than glad to stand in for you,' another man replied, drawing sniggering laughs from the rest of the group.
    'Shut up, Rare.' Lije's order carried an ominous threat in its softly spoken words.
    'He's been like that all morning.' Diana recognized Lefty Robbins' voice. 'That little blonde put a burr under his saddle, I think.'
    'That's enough out of you, too, Lefty.' Lije gathered the reins and turned to lead the horse away. As he turned, he came face to face with Diana. His head came up slowly as the arrogant grey eyes surveyed her.
    'Hello, Lije,' she murmured. Her movement was frozen by the coldness in his gaze.
    'What are you doing here?' he demanded. 'You should be half-way to Dallas by now.'
    'I couldn't leave,' Diana swallowed, feeling her courage fast deserting her. She inhaled deeply. 'I'm in love with you, Lije.'
    He took a step towards her, then another. His eyes were smouldering dark fires with what Diana mistook for anger.
    'I didn't mean to, Lije,' she hurried her words. 'It just happened. Love isn't something you can turn on and off at will.'
    Her eyes pleaded up at him to understand, to stop looking so arrogantly down at her. His hands reached out and dug into the flesh of her shoulders. Diana steeled herself to endure the shaking that was coming, but instead, Lije lifted her into the air above his head, then slowly lowered her to eye level. With her feet still dangling off the ground, he proceeded to kiss her. He kissed her so thoroughly that when he lowered her to the ground amid the scattering applause from the onlooking cowboys Diana could barely stand on her shaking legs.
    'Let's get out of here,' he muttered, picking up her cases that had at some time tumbled to the ground.
    'Lije?'
    Her hand touched his arm, and he smiled down at her. It was a miracle. That was love shining out of his eyes. An arm swept around her waist as he hustled her out of the arena.
    Lije didn't stop until they reached his pick-up camper, then only long enough to open the door and push Diana inside. She would have gone back into his arms then, but he held her at arm's length.
    'We have to talk first, Diana,' he said firmly. 'And I can't think straight when I hold you.'
    'There's nothing to talk about,' Diana smiled, supremely confident in the face of his love for her. 'I'll follow you all over the country or all over the world.'
    'No. I meant what I said last night. I couldn't put you through the agony of wondering every time I was in the arena whether I was going to come out in one piece.'
    'Then I'll wait for you. Two years, three years, whatever it takes.'
    'I can't wait that long for you.' There was no mistaking the reason for the burning look in his eyes.
    'I'm in love with you, Lije. I can't let you go.' Panic crept into her voice, and involuntarily she moved closer to him.
    'There is an alternative,' he said, gripping her shoulders to halt her movement. 'But it won't be easy. I can quit the rodeo and go back to the ranch. It will mean some lean years where we'll have to do without a lot of things, but we could make it.'
    'You said you needed another two years at least,' she murmured. 'How can you do it?'
    'I can sell Red,' Lije sighed