The Crape Myrtle Tree — Lucile Vernon Stevens

Home Sweet Home...
A little selfish, more than a little spoiled, Lisa Hallford wanted to be back in college -- going to parties with wealthy, attentive Lane Wetherell -- not stuck in a sleepy old town like Fairlake. But her father was ill and his insurance business -- what was left of it -- was in chaos. Lisa plunged in to help straighten out her father's affairs. Gradually she began to think less about herself and more about what was going on in Fairlake -- plans for a new factory for instance, and an anti-pollution drive. With a little help from Boyce Blake, the boy next door, she even began to think less about Lane Wetherell -- or would have if he hadn't been a constant visitor. But Lane hand another reason for coming to Fairlake. And Lisa learned how far apart they had grown -- and how much she really loved her "hick" hometown -- when she discovered how Lane planned to exploit it to further his own ambitions...

Also published as: Heart Everlasting

Back in Fairlake for the wedding of her older sister, Di, it took Lisa Hallford some time to realize that she must remain in Fairlake for a considerably longer period than she had thought. All Lisa could dream of was a return to the gay world she had known in college, with handsome, desirable Lane Wetherell in constant attendance.

Lisa's father was no a well man; Martin Hallford's insurance business was rapidly disappearing and the rental properties that had come through Lisa's mother were not paying their way.

To Lisa, who had graduated in Business Administration, it was a challenge to go into her father's office and bring order tout of chaos, to visit the various renters and weed out the undesirables. Somehow, the thought of becoming Mrs. Lane Wetherell lessened in importance, and helping Boyce Blake -- the boy next door -- in his campaign for anti-pollution assumed new proportions.

Then Lisa learned that there were other reasons behind Lane's visits to Fairlake than herself -- and all her fighting spirit was aroused.