Bo and Sally kept their engagement a secret, seeing as they didn't feel they could make it official until Bo got her papa's blessing. Only Luke, Daisy, and Jesse knew, and her family back in Texas of course. Bo had nervously called to ask her father's blessing, which was still to be given. He insisted on coming out to Georgia and meeting the boy before he gave his full consent to giving his baby girl away to him.
So as the school year wound to a close, with less than a month left, the Hazzard county hotel found itself full as Sally's mother, father and brother took up residence. There was an April picnic and bake sale to be held and Sally made sure her family was in Hazzard by the day before so they could attend festivities in the town that had grown so much on her.
Bo was all duded up for the occasion, nervouser than a hen with a snake in the coup. He could not settle down, no matter how much Jesse and Daisy assured him that everything would be fine before leaving the house to get things set up in the park. He and Luke drove out to the park, parking the General in a sane fashion for once, not screeching to a halt. Luke knew Bo was all nerves at this point. They got out and Bo spotted Sally, selling pies.
"I'll buy one" he said smiling and handing her a dollar. She smiled, took the dollar, and he handed the pie to Luke. "So your folks, are they here yet?"
"They should be any minute" she provided, slipping out from the behind the table, leaving Daisy in charge of sales. "And don't worry, they already know that I'm stubborn enough that I'll marry you anyway" she whispered. He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her as they walked, and kissed the top of her head. He bought her a necklace from a rummage sale and some ice cream from the ice cream stand. Just as she was finishing off her cup of ice cream she caught site of her parents strolling across the park lawn from the parking lot.
"Daddy!" she said running towards them, launching herself into the arms of her tall broad shouldered father.
"Babycakes!" he said hugging her tight "You look fresh as a daisy and twice as pretty." He said smiling proudly. She moved on and hugged her mama, who as practically in tears, and her two big brothers hugged her at the same time, Bo just shyly leaned on his arm against a nearby tree, watching the whole scene. He felt that if they did deny him their blessing he'd have to let her go, her and her family were just too close for him to want to risk busting up the love they had for his own selfish motives. "So this must be the fella that's wantin' my blessing" the deep voice of Mr McKinney drawled.
"Yes sir" Bo said stepping forward.
"Cindy Lee, would you kindly take our daughter somewhere so me and this boy can talk in private" he said.
Her mother took her arm, and her two brothers hesitated, did they help their dad interogate the poor farm boy or did they spend time with their sister who they hadn't seen in almost a year.
"You too boys, I don't need no help" he said shaking his head. He was trying to look serious but the wide-eyed look on Bo's face had him half in laughter.
"So, Bo is it?"
"Yes sir"
"You wanna marry my little girl?"
"Yes sir"
There was a brief pause as Daddy McKinney gathered his thoughts.
"You a God-fearin' man?"
"Yes sir" Bo could answer this question a little more confidently than he might have a year back, going to church with Sally had done more than just give him time to hold her hand under the table at Sunday school.
"You love my Sally?"
"Yes sir!" Bo was very confident with the answer to that.
"If she were going to take a bullet, or get hurt in anyway, would you step in the way and take the blow for her?"
"Yes sir" Bo replied.
"Well then son" David McKinney said "I regret to inform myself, that you have my blessing boy" he said, a smile breaking out across his face.
Bo grinned "You mean it?"
"Boy, I always mean what I say" he said seriously.
"Yes sir" Bo said. "But I got a question"
"Why am I not surprised" he said laughing again.
"Those questions, you didn't need to come all the way out to Hazzard to ask me them, we've talked on the phone."
"I needed to see your face as you answered them. You have to look a man in the eye to know what he's thinkin'" he said leading Bo to where Sally and her mother were. Sally had introduced her brothers to Luke and they were talking up a right storm about cars and girls. "He's all yours sissy" he said leading Bo right up to her. She smiled and her parents found something distracting to look at as Bo swept her up in his arms and kissed her with a happy ardent passion.
An hour later, while everyone was settling in to their food Sally's father David and Uncle Jesse were becoming fast friends, even if Jesse was a bit rustic by David's standards, and David a might stuffy and full of himself by Jesse's. Cindy Lee was talking with Daisy about Sally, and the boys, were still talking cars together. Which allowed Bo and Sally to sneak just out of sight for some quiet time to themselves, away from all the chatter and the eyes of the townsfolk.
The two of them were so happy, just laying out on their blanket, talking about their future and stealing kisses. Soon enough they were wrapped pretty tight in each other's arms, and their happiness was about to be put in danger. You see, Bo had one ex that was just green-eyed with jealousy, because Bo was getting serious, and it wasn't with her. She had seen them disappear, saw them making out, and then went and got her aunt, a pruny spinster of a teacher, who disliked Sally anyways, and showed them the two of them all curled up with Bo's hand up Sally's back under her blouse. Triumphant with her overthrow of Sally McKinney, the rival and her aunt marched back to the picnic grounds and told all the parents. And she may have beena mean old spinster, but the girl's aunt was known throughout the town for always speaking the truth. Outrage and scandal were brewing and Daisy left the pie stand to seek out her cousin and Sally before things blew up.
"Bo! Sally!" Daisy said calling out as she went into the woods.
"Yeah?" Bo said sitting up, Sally on his lap. Both of their's hair in a mess.
"Y'all better get straightened out, and quick, apparently Anne Garner and her aunt spotted y'all and now the town wants to hang Bo and send Sally out by sundown."
They scrambled to their feet and Daisy helped them straighten out their clothes and hair. The two of them nervously reentered the park, Daisy trailing behind, in case they had to run and she could block the way, or talk sense into them.
"There they are" Anne said with malice in her tone.
"Now you two have gone too far" came the voice of Boss Hogg "I warned you this day would come, but you didn't listen. You Duke boys never do."
"It's not Bo, it's that green-eyed teacher who's bewitched him with her mantraps"
"Now wait here" came the booming voice of Daivd McKinney "That is my daughter, and she does not have any mantraps, other than the ones God give her, and she can't help having those."
"She's always readin' them books though" Anne protested.
"It's because she knows there's more to a girl than just her looks, she should have a good mind too, it's a novel idea, you might wanna try it out some day Anne" Daisy said as she entered the park.
"But still, who's to blame doesn't matter. The point is our teacher's reputation is now in question. We can't have a woman like that teachin' our children" Boss protested.
"But what's wrong with a man kissin' his fiancee?" Bo pleaded plaintively. "Ain't like any of y'all wouldn't do the same" he accused.
"fiancee" everyone murmured.
"You mean to tell me, Bo Duke, that you are contemplating matrimony to this little lady?" Boss asked doubtfully.
"I can tell you for sure he is" came the voice of her father "I gave him my blessing not two hours ago. And furthermore, little man" he said looking down at Boss from his towering six foot four inches height "if you ever, I mean ever, try to stir up trouble for my girl and her fella Bo again, I will see to it that you get put behind bars, where you justly belong for all your many crimes and corrupt actions" he said severely.
"You can't talk to me like that! I'll... I'll"
"You'll do nothing. I'm David McKinney, I own one of the biggest spreads in north Texas, I have friends in Atlanta and Savannah and Nashville and everywhere across the South. You cause trouble for my Sally and her beau, I will cause trouble for you, plain and simple." He said.
"But engaged or not, she's still a teacher, it's indecent" Anne's aunt plead. And some of the townsfolk concurred.
"Tell me something Bette Anne Garner" came Jesse's serene voice "you ever been young and in love? I went to school with you, I know you have. Now why can't you let these two in peace. I love how old fashioned Hazzard is as much as you, but some of our old fashioned ways could do with a little updating. She's a teacher true, but she's also human. And were she not a teacher would any of you be makin' this big ole fuss about her and Bo being caught kissing in the woods. How many of you have taken a sweetheart for moonlight drives or kissed behind the schoolhouse?" he asked fastening his eye on all their faces in turn. "So let them be, they've got as much right to be happy together as any of us, in fact maybe a little more." He said flatly.
The angry mob disbanded. They couldn't bring themselves to persecute Bo and the teacher any further.
"Say" Bo said, an idea coming to his mind. "How long are y'all in town for?" he asked her mother.
"We planned on visiting for about a month."
"Sally, that's enough time to plan a wedding right?"
She pondered "with a lot of trips to Atlanta it should be" she said smiling.
"So we could get married before your parents go back to Texas" he said, feeling that the idea was quite brilliant.
"We could" she said grinning ear to ear and he picked her up in his arms and spun around.
"YEE-HOO!" he shouted in glee.