I shook my head. “Yeah, but not like that asshole Harlan. It could just be your wolf, eager now that you’ve found your mate.”
He gave me a look that questioned my intelligence. “Maybe Harlan blamed it on his wolf too.” He sighed. “Why couldn’t she have married you?”
I wondered that also. “She didn’t. We can’t change the paperwork now. I doubt that fucker’s done with Rachel, so she has to stay protected.”
His spine stiffened. “I won’t hurt her. I’m telling you that. I don’t want to. But if you see me doing any shit that would put her in danger, you put me down. Or get an enforcer to do it. Ben, or my pack member, Clint.”
His pale eyes met mine. He was fierce in this. Intent. This was where the true Nash showed through. His integrity. I didn’t know him at all, but I trusted him now. Knew he was the scent match I’d always hoped to have.
“Done.”
He nodded, clearly relieved.
“Rachel’s going to be back in a minute and we need to get our shit together. Nothing’s changed,” I continued. “Except you might question being married to her, but it’s the way it has to be. To protect her. Chester wants her money and her family’s political standing, whatever the fuck that is.”
“We need to get Wade to look into him,” Nash said.
“Agreed. He can’t touch it, though, if she’s married to you. We want to keep her safe, and this is one way to do it.”
“Fine,” he said, gritting his teeth. “You know what you need to do.”
Another reminder for me to watch him.
“And you need to smile. Be happy you got roped into a fake marriage. Gibson told us to get our marks on her. We need to make that paper mean something. Mean everything.”
He nodded, set his hat back on his head. Resolute. “That’s how we make it all happen. Turn it from fake to fan-fucking-tastic.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Nash was back in the game.
Rachel and Norma came through the door. Rachel looked at us tentatively, but her eyes were dry and a smile was on her face. “I’m so sorry, Nash. I didn’t think my lie would turn into all this.”
Nash went over to her, leaned down, and kissed her sweetly. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for, beautiful. That douche canoe needed to be sent back to California. I’m glad you turned to me to help.”
“But marrying you?”
He laughed. “There are worse things for you than being stuck married to a gorgeous, sexy cowboy like me.”
She stepped back and poked him in the ribs. That got a smile out of both of them.
“Neither of us are like Chester,” I said, stating the obvious. “We’d want you if you were penniless and grew up in a gutter. You can count on that. We have more than enough to provide for you in every way.”
A sniff came from behind the desk, and I turned to see Norma wiping an eye. “It’s my turn to be a watering can now. Fated matings always make me cry,” she explained.
I gave a little shake of my head to impart that Rachel didn’t know what that meant, and she looked down and busied herself stacking papers.
“Thank you for getting that license together, Norma. You saved the day,” I said.
“You did,” Rachel breathed, turning to face Norma.
“I just live for a good love story, and it sounds to me like you’ve got one with these two men.”
Rachel glanced up at both of us with… hope in her eyes.
Nash reached over and shook Norma’s hand. “Thank you for your help, ma’am.”
Norma beamed at the three of us. “You three go enjoy each other. And leave that license here for me to file!”
“But we’re not really married now, are we?” Rachel asked, wide eyed. “Can’t you throw it out? I mean, Chester’s gone.”
“You heard the guy,” Nash said, repeating the words we’d discussed. “He’s not done here. We have to file it.”
Rachel bit her lip and considered. “You’re right. I mean, you’re okay with this, Nash? If he finds out things weren’t done legally, he’ll cause trouble. Did you hear how he was already laying the seeds to get me declared incompetent or something?”
“I heard it,” I said grimly. Chester was a real piece of work, that was for sure. Probably dangerous. Not physically, but legally.
The marriage license might be a human binding document, but Rachel had the entire Two Marks pack behind her. Since Nash was in the Wolf Ranch pack, she had them on her side as well. Chester had no idea how big a fight he had on his hands.
“Hmm, am I okay being married to the beautiful female who has utterly captivated my mind, body and soul? Let me think about it for a minute…” Nash mused, tapping his chin. Not a hint of Harlan was in his words or the heated looks he sent our mate’s way.