Brief Autumn — Nancy Kennedy

Bill was dear and safe and kind, but Sterling was then handsome Prince Charming a "plain" girl like Stacy always dreamed about and never hoped to meet...

Enchanted Heart...

Old Mrs. Gower would never have rented the room to Stacy Lowell if she had dreamed that her grandson, Sterling, would waste a second glance on the tall, red-haired girl with freckles -- too many freckles. Shy Stacy, a stranger in a strange town, was grateful for the room and for her friendly neighbors, Eddie Abbott and his pretty wife, Lee, old Mr. Dodson, and warm-hearted Bill Bradley who so obviously liked her. She was truly happy... until the day Sterling Gower gave her a lift home from the library where she worked. He was, she thought, the handsomest man she had ever seen. She was flattered when he indicated that he'd like to see her again. It bothered her a little that he insisted on a secret meeting -- obviously he didn't want his grandmother to know. It bothered her more to lie about it to Lee and Eddie and Bill... especially Bill. But Stacy was under a kind of spell. Could she break it, before it was too late...?

Tears in the Dark...

Touched, flattered and confused, Stacy hated herself thoroughly, but she repeated the lie: "I'm sorry Bill, I just can't go out with you tomorrow night. I promised this girl at the library I'd have dinner with her."
Bill said, I'm sorry, too. Well, some other time, huh?"
In the darkness of the movie theater, Stacy let the tears brim. She felt a complete fraud. Never had Bill seemed so sweet. It was all she could do not to bury her face, in his strong shoulder and cry...

Hero: Bill Bradley
Heroine: Stacy Lowell