"Me too, son. Me too." After tucking Thomas in, Bo found Kelly in the bedroom they now shared, the master bedroom he'd had built for Catherine but never shared with anyone. Kelly stood by the window looking out at the prairie stretching endlessly under the stars.
"Penny for your thoughts," Bo said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm thinking about how strange life is," Kelly said softly. "Two weeks ago, I was terrified you were going to take everything from me. Now you've given me everything I ever wanted and things I didn't even know to dream about."
"Well, two weeks ago, I was a rich man who owned everything and had nothing," Bo countered. "Now I'm a rich man who has everything that matters." "Funny how things work out." Kelly turned in his arms to face him.
"Do you ever regret it? Giving up your peace and quiet and independence?" "Every day," Bo said, then laughed at her shocked expression. "I'm kidding."
"Kelly, I don't regret a single moment. Not the debt that brought me here, not the decision to stay, not the chaos of five children or the gossip or any of it. You and the kids, you've given me a reason to be more than just wealthy." He touched her cheek.
"You've given me a reason to be good." "You were already good," Kelly insisted. "You just forgot for a while." "Maybe, but you reminded me."
"You reminded me what it means to be brave, to fight for what matters, to choose love over safety." Bo cupped her face in his hands. "I love you, Kelly Callahan. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone."
"I love you, too," Kelly whispered. "Even though you're stubborn and bossy and you think you always know best." "I do always know best," Bo said with mock seriousness. "See? Impossible man."
But Kelly was smiling as she kissed him, and Bo thought if this was impossible, he never wanted anything possible again. The weeks turned to months, and the Callahan family settled into their new life with surprising ease. The children thrived. Sarah bloomed under Miss Warren's teaching.
Thomas discovered a love for horses and spent every free moment in the barn. The twins became the terror of the ranch hands with their mischief and charm. And baby James grew fat and happy under the care of two doting parents and four protective older siblings. Kelly took to being the lady of the ranch like she'd been born to it, though she never lost her habit of hard work or her fierce independence.
She transformed the big, cold house into a warm home, filling it with laughter and love and the kind of casual chaos that comes from five children and two adults who adore each other. The townspeople eventually came around, though it took time. The Callahans didn't attend church in Dry Creek, too many ugly memories, but instead made the longer trip to a church in Laramie, where they were welcomed without judgment or gossip. Slowly, through their actions and the obvious happiness of their family, they won over even the skeptics.
Frank Miller left the territory entirely after Judge Henderson quietly suggested he'd be happier elsewhere. Deputy Morrison kept his position but never troubled the Callahans again. The old Bishop farm was eventually sold to a young couple just starting out, and Bo took satisfaction in knowing the land that had brought him and Kelly together would help another family build their dreams. As summer turned to fall and fall to winter, Bo found himself constantly amazed by the life he was living.