Mercy Thompson is trapped by a stepmother she can't stand. Penniless, she works at a shelter during the day to have a place to sleep at night. Picking up the paper one afternoon though, she sees an advertisement for a mail-order bride. Will Kale Preston provide the safety and security she longs for? 
Kale Preston is tired of living alone. Unfortunately for him, he lives in the great state of Texas, which boasts about ten men for every woman. Take out the married women and that ratio doubles. Feeling desperate for a companion, Kale places an ad in several eastern newspapers in hopes of finding a woman willing to at least think about marriage. When he hears from Mercy Thompson Kale becomes intrigued almost instantly. Will she turn out to be everything he wants in a wife, or will the two of them find that mail-order marriage is the worst tie that binds?

A Standalone Short Story with no cliffhanger!