Martha was clapping, and even Sarah, mature, worried Sarah, was smiling. "I guess we have an audience," Kelly said, blushing. "I guess we do," Bo agreed. Then, surprising himself, he took Kelly's hand and led her toward the house.
"Come on, let's go talk to them. If I'm staying, and I am staying, we should do this right." They walked into the house together, dripping water everywhere, and faced five pairs of expectant eyes. "Children," Kelly began, her voice slightly unsteady, "Mr. Callahan and I have something to tell you."
"You're getting married!" Martha shouted, bouncing on her toes. "We haven't exactly—" Bo started. "Can I be in the wedding?" Mary interrupted. "Me, too," Martha added.
"Does this mean we get to call you Papa?" Thomas asked, his voice small and hopeful. Sarah just smiled, that knowing, too-adult smile that said she'd seen this coming all along. Bo looked at Kelly helplessly, and she looked back at him with laughter and love and exasperation all mixed together in her beautiful face. Then she shrugged as if to say, Well, are we getting married?
And Bo, who'd sworn never to trust anyone again, who'd spent seven years building walls around his heart, who thought he'd learned the lessons love had to teach him, found himself getting down on one knee in the middle of Kelly's kitchen, covered in mud and blood and rain, with five children watching and his heart pounding so hard he thought it might break through his ribs. "Kelly May Bishop," he said, his voice rough with emotion, "I didn't come here looking for this. I came here to collect a debt, but somewhere between that first day and now, you've given me something far more valuable than money."
"You've given me hope. You've reminded me what it means to be brave, to fight for what matters, to put love before safety. You've shown me that being strong doesn't mean being hard, and that mercy isn't weakness. It's the truest form of strength."
He took her work-roughened hand in his. "I don't have a ring, and this isn't exactly a romantic proposal, but I'm asking anyway. Will you marry me? Will you let me help you raise these beautiful children? Will you let me spend the rest of my life trying to deserve the gift you're giving me?"
Kelly was crying openly now, tears streaming down her face to mix with the rain still dripping from her hair. "Yes. God help us both, yes." The children erupted in cheers, and suddenly Bo was surrounded by small bodies hugging him, climbing on him, talking all at once. Martha insisted on planning the wedding right that moment.
Thomas wanted to know if they could have a dog now that they'd have a papa who could afford one. Mary asked if this meant they were going to be rich. Sarah just hugged him and whispered, "Thank you for making my mama happy." Baby James, woken by the commotion, started crying, and Kelly laughed through her tears as she went to fetch him.
"Welcome to your new family, Bo Callahan. It's chaos and noise, and nobody ever has a moment's peace." Bo, surrounded by children and looking at Kelly holding her baby with love shining in her eyes, thought it was the most beautiful chaos he'd ever seen. They spent the rest of the night drying off and calming the children, answering a hundred questions about the wedding and what their new life would look like. By the time the sun rose, painting the storm-washed world in shades of gold and rose, Bo and Kelly were sitting on the porch steps, shoulders touching, watching the dawn together.
"The debt," Kelly said quietly. "I can still pay it. The wheat's almost harvested, and I—" "Keep your money," Bo interrupted. "Use it for the children."
"New clothes, better food, whatever they need. The debt is forgiven." "Bo, I can't accept—" "Consider it a wedding gift, or an investment in our future, or whatever makes you comfortable accepting it." Bo took her hand.
"Besides, I'm fairly certain that once we're married, your debts become my debts anyway. So technically, I'd be paying myself back, which seems like a waste of effort." Kelly laughed, then sobered. "People really are going to talk, you know, about how quickly this happened, about how convenient it is for the poor widow to snag the wealthy rancher."