"It's beautiful," I manage to say, and at least that's true. "Very peaceful."
"Different from where you're coming from?" Sierra asks, passing me a bowl of salad.
"Yeah. I was in Denver. Lots of noise, lots of people." Also true. I'm clinging to any truth I can find in this web of lies.
"Must be nice to get away from the chaos," says the woman Rhett introduced as Marley. She's a veterinarian, with warm brown eyes and an easy smile. "I moved here from Denver too, actually. Six months ago. Best decision I ever made."
"What did you do in Denver?" asks Harper, the woman with short hair sitting next to Colt, who hasn't stopped grinning since I walked in.
My mind goes blank. What did I do in Denver? I had three different jobs in two years: waitressing, retail, cleaning offices at night. None of which fit with Rhett's story about me being in the military.
"Administrative work, mostly," I say, repeating what Rhett suggested in the truck. "Nothing exciting."
"Boring is good sometimes," Tucker says, spooning chili onto Emma's plate. "Boring means safe."
There's something in the way he says it that makes me think he understands more than he's letting on. Like he knows what it means to want safety after chaos.
The food is passed around—chili, cornbread, salad, everything homemade and smelling incredible. My stomach growls despite my anxiety, reminding me I haven't eaten since a sad gas station sandwich twelve hours ago.
"Wade makes the best chili in Montana," Sierra says, nudging him with her shoulder. "Don't let him tell you otherwise."
"Second best," Wade corrects. "Frank's was better."
There's a moment of silence around the table, everyone's expressions quickly changing to something sad and reverent. Frank. The man Rhett mentioned, the one who took them all in.
"Frank was the previous owner," Wade says, "He passed a couple years ago. Left the ranch to the six of us."
"I'm sorry," I say, meaning it. Loss is something I understand intimately.
"He would've liked you," Boone says. He's been quiet until now, watching me with dark, perceptive eyes that make me nervous. "He always said the ranch needed more women to balance out our collective stupidity."
That gets a laugh from everyone, breaking the somber moment.
"Well, I don't know about balancing anything," I say, attempting a smile. "But I appreciate the welcome."
"How long are you planning to stay?" Mason asks. He's the one who looks most military. Rigid posture, assessing gaze, the kind of presence that suggests he's always evaluating threats.
How long am I staying? Forever, if I marry Rhett? A week, if this whole thing falls apart? I have no idea, and I can feel sweat trickling down my spine.
"As long as she needs to," Rhett says firmly, and I could kiss him for stepping in. "No timeline. She's welcome here."
"That's generous of you," Nicole says. She's pretty and young, sitting close to Boone. "Rhett's not usually the charitable type."
"I can be charitable," Rhett protests.
"You made me pay you back for a sandwich once," Colt says, grinning.
"You were twenty-five and had a job!"
"Still. A sandwich."
The teasing continues, everyone jumping in with stories of Rhett's alleged cheapness, and I feel some of the tension ease from my shoulders. This is normal. This is just family dinner banter, the kind of easy ribbing that comes from people who love each other.
It almost makes me forget I'm living a lie.
Almost.
"Did you and Rhett serve together long?" Marley asks, turning her attention back to me, and just like that the anxiety slams back full force.
