A Persistent Bride for the Lucky Shopkeeper — Debra Samms

Adele must leave her home in the East or be forced to marry the most repugnant opportunist imaginable. After conjuring up a plan with her sister to go West, Adelle takes a dramatic leave in the early morning before dawn and heads to a life of even greater challenges and surprises. Life in the mining camps was nothing like Adele could have ever imagined.

Manny Arkieros owns the only mercantile shop in and around a mining camp in the Sacramento Valley. A sweet and determined young man who immigrated from Greece, he has worked hard to build his business. He needs companionship and a helpmate to work the business with him.


After receiving a disturbing letter from home, Adel and Manny must face the prospect of losing everything, including their marriage. In this second book of the California series, find out how the persistence of Adel and the luck of Manny brings everything full circle.

This is a clean western romance set in the Sacramento Valley of California during the 1880's. It is a novelette of about 19,000 words.