Ashley Merrick

Ricky Ashley Merrick

Ricky Donovan is the black sheep of the family. He's the most successful at business, but no one really understands what he does, or how he does it. He's a charming flirt and a regular at the local saloon. Work hard, play hard. That's Ricky. But he's also ambitious and wants to run for Mayor. His friends, successful businessmen themselves, think he has a good shot at it, but only if he gets married. He needs to work on his image and presenting himself as a family man, with a wife and possibly even a child, would help. Ricky can be a bit impulsive as well, and decides to ask Sarah, the newest saloon girl, to marry him. Sarah is pretty and blonde and even better, she has a young son, Andrew, who is ten. It seems like the perfect solution. And it is--sort of. Sarah is a recent widow, who accepted the saloon girl job as a last resort, when no other job opportunities were available in her native Philadelphia. The position includes living quarters for her and her son, a tiny, cramped apartment above the saloon. Sarah accepts Ricky's proposal as a business arrangement that will benefit them both. Until she realizes that not everyone in town thinks that marrying a saloon girl is a good idea, and she's afraid that she might be more of a liability, than an asset, to Ricky.