"Let them talk," Bo said firmly. "Anyone who knows me knows I don't do anything out of convenience. I do things because they're right. And loving you, Kelly, that's the rightest thing I've ever done." They sat in comfortable silence, watching the children emerge from the house to explore the storm-washed yard.
The wheat field sparkled with raindrops, and the transplanted roses by the porch, miraculously unharmed by the storm, already looked more settled in their new home. "I was so scared," Kelly admitted quietly. "When the roof started to come off and I knew the animals were trapped, I was terrified. Not just of losing them, but of you getting hurt trying to save them."
"I was scared, too," Bo confessed. "Not of the storm, but of the feeling that if something happened to you or your children, I'd never recover. That scared me more than any wind or lightning could." Kelly rested her head on his shoulder, and Bo wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. The sun continued its rise, burning away the last of the storm clouds.
And Bo thought about how just a week ago he'd ridden into this valley expecting nothing more than to collect a debt and acquire some land. Instead, he'd found everything he'd been missing without knowing it. He'd found a home. He'd found a family.
He'd found a reason to be brave again. "When should we get married?" Kelly asked. "Should we wait a few months to do it properly?" "We could," Bo said slowly.
"Or we could ride into town tomorrow, find the preacher, and do it right away. Save both our reputations and give people one less thing to gossip about." Kelly pulled back to look at him, searching his face. "You're serious? You want to get married that quickly?"
"I've wasted seven years being cautious and careful and protecting myself from pain," Bo said. "I don't want to waste another day. If you'll have me, broken walls and trust issues and all, I'd like to marry you as soon as possible." "Tomorrow, then," Kelly decided, her eyes shining. "We'll get married tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Bo agreed, and sealed the promise with a kiss as the sun rose on the first day of their new life together. But morning brought complications neither of them had anticipated. Bo woke before dawn, his body still aching from the previous night's storm work, to find Jack Devereux riding hard toward the Bishop homestead, his face grave in the gray predawn light. "Boss!" Jack called out as he dismounted.
"We got trouble. Big trouble." Bo emerged from the barn where he'd been checking the animals, immediately alert. "What kind of trouble?" "Frank Miller and his boys rode into Laramie last night, spread word about what happened here."
"By the time I heard about it in town this morning, half the territory thinks you and Mrs. Bishop have been—" Jack trailed off, clearly uncomfortable. "Well, they're saying things that ain't fit to repeat, but that's not the worst of it." "What's the worst of it?" "Miller's cousin is deputy sheriff in Laramie."
"He's claiming Mrs. Bishop used improper means to gain an extension on her debt, and he's talking about bringing charges. Says it's his duty to protect vulnerable widows from being taken advantage of by wealthy men." Jack's expression was disgusted. "It's all horse manure, of course, but he's making enough noise that the sheriff's taking notice."
"They could make real problems for you both." Bo felt rage surge through him, hot and immediate. "They're threatening to bring charges against Kelly for what? I gave her an extension of my own free will. There's nothing illegal or improper about it."
"Maybe not, but perception's a powerful thing, Boss. And right now the perception is that a wealthy rancher's been taking advantage of a desperate widow." Jack paused, then added quietly, "There's also talk about taking the children away. Putting them in an orphanage until a proper investigation can be conducted into Mrs. Bishop's fitness as a mother."