The world seemed to tilt sideways. Bo grabbed Jack's arm, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. "They're threatening to take her children?" "It's just talk right now, but—" Bo didn't wait to hear the rest.
He strode toward the house, his mind racing. Kelly was already up, probably had been for hours, making breakfast for the children. He found her at the stove, humming softly, looking more peaceful than he'd seen her since he'd arrived. That peace was about to be shattered. "Kelly," Bo said from the doorway.
"We need to talk. Now." Something in his tone made her turn immediately, her smile fading. "What's wrong?" Bo told her everything Jack had reported, watching the color drain from her face with each word.
By the time he finished, Kelly was gripping the edge of the stove so hard her knuckles had gone white. "They want to take my children," she whispered. "Because of me. Because I let you help me. Because I—"
Her voice broke. "This is my fault. If I hadn't been so weak, if I just figured out a way to manage on my own—" "Stop." Bo crossed the room and took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him.
"This is not your fault. This is Frank Miller being a vindictive bastard because I hit him. This is small-minded people with nothing better to do than destroy what they don't understand. But it's not your fault, and I'm not going to let them hurt you or take your children."
"How are you going to stop them? They have the law on their side, or at least the appearance of it." Kelly's eyes were wild with fear. "If the deputy really pushes this, if they start an investigation, Bo, I can't lose my children. I can't."
"I'd rather die than—" "You're not going to lose them," Bo said firmly. "We're going to fix this right now." "How?" "By getting married."
"Today. This morning. We ride into town, find the preacher, get married in front of witnesses, and make it clear to everyone that our relationship is legitimate and honorable." Bo tightened his grip gently on her shoulders.
"Once we're married, they can't claim you used improper means to settle the debt. You'll be my wife, and a husband helping his wife is perfectly natural and legal." Kelly searched his face, her expression anguished. "Bo, I can't ask you to do this, not like this, not because you're being forced into it by ugly rumors and legal threats."
"That's not fair to you." "You're not asking. I'm offering, and I'm not being forced into anything." Bo's voice gentled. "Kelly, I asked you to marry me last night."
"That hasn't changed. The only thing that's changed is the timeline. So instead of tomorrow, we do it today. Instead of a nice ceremony with time to plan, we do something quick and simple."
"But the outcome's the same. You become my wife, I become your husband, and we build a life together." "But you deserve better than this," Kelly protested. "You deserve a proper courtship, a real wedding, not some rushed ceremony born out of desperation and scandal." "What I deserve," Bo said, "is to wake up every morning next to the woman I love."