Emma's Folly — Carolyn Brown

Arriving in Guthrie, Oklahoma, from Atlanta at the same time that the local sheriff is asking about a tall blond from Georgia, Emma quickly finds herself married to Jed Thomas, a farmer who answered her pleas for help.

Emma Maureen Cummins is fleeing from an overbearing father and the prospect of a loveless marriage in Atlanta, Georgia. She's intrigued by stories of the Oklahoma land rush the year before in 1889 and buys a train ticket to Oklahoma. After all, that's where the excitement is. Trouble arises the moment she steps inside the general store in Guthrie coming face to face with the sheriff, who has received a telegram to be on the look out for a tall blonde from Georgia.

Jed Thomas just came to town to buy supplies for his homestead. The sheriff asked a strange lady a question just as she begins mouthing the words, "Help me, please," in Jed's direction. In half an hour Jed was married to the woman and wondering just how in the world it had all come about.

They're married on paper only but slowly come realize through daily living, arguments and compromises they've fallen in love. However, Jed doesn't think a blue-blooded southern belle could ever really love a dirt farmer like him. And Emma thinks Jed will always love Anna Marie, the woman he almost had an agreement with before he married her.