Did I really just say that? I really just said that.

“What?’ Rhett sputtered, looking at her like… well, like she’d just suggested they get married.

Nat took a deep breath. Okay. You can stop this. Right here, right now. Say it was a joke. But strangely, what came out of her mouth was quite different than what she was thinking.

“Well, it seems like the simplest solution. The clinic can’t lose the medical licensing and I’m certainly not going to let any of your cute woodland creatures lose their home, so if we get married, you buy yourself enough time to get that stupid law eradicated from the books, and then Durbin can’t do anything about you owning the easement.”

That is not stopping this, Natalie—that is egging it on! Adding fuel to the fire you just set! What is your problem? Don’t tell me it’s about the adorable furry animals! I know it isn’t— I am you!

God. What was wrong with her brain? She licked her lips nervously, waiting for him to say something, adopting an expectant look because otherwise he’d see the war going on in her subconscious.

“Nat, I… I appreciate the gesture,” Rhett said, his golden eyes softening. “It’s incredibly generous of you. I’m touched. Really. But I can’t do that to you.”

“You really think marriage to me would be that bad?” she asked, and when he laughed, a short huff, relief twined through her. “It wouldn’t be real,” she said. “It’s just a stupid legal document that you happen to need. It’s not a big deal.”

“Marriage is always a big deal,” he said somberly, and it made her heart squeeze, how sincere he looked.

Of course he was that type. Rhett was the kind of man who waited for the right woman, married her, and that was it. He had commitment written on his bones. He was dedicated. He was loyal.

He would be the perfect husband. Just not for her.

“It wouldn’t be an actual marriage,” she explained. “It’d be a legal arrangement between friends. Just for the paper so you can wave it in Durbin’s face. It’s a fail-safe. We’ll go get a divorce as soon as Durbin’s put in his place and we’re sure the water rights won’t be threatened.”

“Nat,” he sighed. “I can’t ask that of you.”

“Well, then, it’s a good thing you’re not asking and I’m offering instead,” Nat said. She sobered, looking hard into his eyes. “What other option is there that doesn’t leave you with a giant financial setback and no ability to run your clinic?”

After a long pause, Rhett looked away and growled, “There isn’t one.”

“Then what is the problem here?” Nat asked, confused.

He got to his feet, yanking a hand through his hair. His office in the clinic was tiny and cramped, and she suddenly, instantly, was aware of how much space he took up in this room. Her pulse pounded in that hot, aware way under her skin, her mind wandering to the span and breadth of his hands, how they would feel against her body.

“I can’t,” he said. “It’s not fair.”

“Fair? What’s not fair is that you have put all this time and money and care into River Run, but in one day, your neighbor can yank it all away from you because of a law that was made before women could even vote,” Nat explained.

He looked at her, his head tilting, a light in his eyes that made the hair on her arms prickle. “You would really do that for me?”

“For you, for River Run, for everyone who works here, and for the county. Can you imagine what it would do the tourist trade if you had to shut down even part of the retreat?” She shook her head. “What Durbin is trying to do is going to create a ripple effect. River Run is the beating heart of this place, and I’ll be damned if he tries to mess with it or with you.”

You are actually crazy, her inner voice was saying. You cannot marry him!

But apparently, she was just ignoring the sensible part of herself today, because she tilted up her chin, stubborn and resilient. “Look, I did something.”

“What?” Rhett asked, knowing her well enough to be instantly suspicious.

“I know Jace will have investigators of his own looking into Durbin,” she explained, pulling out her laptop from the canvas tote she’d brought in. “But when you told me what was going on yesterday, I put a quick call into the investigator who works for Purely Pleasure, too. I told her to make this a priority, and she sent me some preliminary info this morning.” She flipped open the laptop, and he leaned forward as she opened the email.

“You didn’t need to do that,” he murmured. She could smell him this close, that mix of hay and pine that made her stomach flip each damn time.

Concentrate, she ordered herself.

“I wanted to help,” she said. “I love—” her breath hitched, her tongue almost tripping into the word you instead of this place.

Oh my god. You are a disaster, Nat. “I love this place,” she said firmly, her cheeks reddening at how close she’d almost slipped up. “Etta’s digging deeper into Durbin’s financials right now, but it looks like he bought the O’Reilly place with cash. Which, let’s face it, is never not suspicious.”

“He had brand new cowboy boots on, too,” Rhett said.

She raised an eyebrow. “No scuffs? They weren’t even broken in?”

“They looked fresh off the shelf,” Rhett said.

“Hmm,” Nat pursed her lips, thinking as she forwarded him the file Etta had sent her. “So he may be a total fraud. Playing at being a farmer with ulterior motives.”

“He’s got plans for the water, that’s for sure. I just don’t know what yet,” Rhett said grimly.

“We need time to figure it out,” Nat said.

“You’re right, a marriage would buy time,” he said, reaching over and clicking on the link to Durbin’s Linked In account. “Oh, shit,” he said.

“What?” Nat said, looking at the screen, at the list of Durbin’s previous jobs, trying to see what Rhett saw.

“There,” Rhett said, pointing at the third line of Durbin’s resume. Manager, Peterson Gold Exchange. “Fuck,” he swore.

Nat frowned. “There isn’t any more gold in this area, is there?”

Rhett pressed his lips together tight, turning around and kicking his file cabinet hard. Nat jumped a little, surprised at the reaction.

“Rhett?” she asked. “There isn’t gold… right? It got all mined up during the Oregon Trail and all that.”

“Not all of it,” Rhett said.

Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding me,” she said. “You’ve found gold on the mountain? Like, real gold?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t,” he said. “But Gramps did.”