Henry Johnson just wanted to get away from his family and spend some time alone. Finding out the truth about his parent’s death has angered him, and even though he knows it isn’t right, he can’t help but blame his sister Lily. He decides to spend a few days in McMinnville to cool off and think things through. Never in a million years would he have thought that he’d have to come to the rescue of a young woman and buy a bride that day.Samantha Simmons is just eighteen when her stepfather brings her into McMinnville in the back of a wagon and then begins to auction her off to the highest bidder. Sam is becoming desperate and doesn’t know how to stop what’s happening as the men start digging into their pockets to see what they can afford to spend. She doesn’t know if she should be angry or scared when one of the most handsome men she’s ever seen buys her and then suggests they marry quickly.Henry and Sam seem to get along well, and after a trip over Henry’s knee for putting herself in danger, she realizes she feels safer than she has in a long time and agrees to marry him. It’s been a long time since Sam’s family was bigger than just her and her Ma, and she hopes she can trust Henry when he tells her his family will welcome her with open arms. Everything is going perfectly, and Henry and Sam are so focused on each other that they forget that men outnumber women ten to one in Oregon, and not everyone that was in town that day is ready to accept that Sam now belongs with Henry.