Civilized Love
by Diane Collier
With the civil war over, young William returns home to visit his family in the south. His family had always been slave owners, but William disagreed. He stood for the north and it didn’t sit well with anyone back home. The devastation hit them harder when one of the soldiers who died fighting for slavery in the south was his brother.Returning to town, he is outcasted by most everyone, but he finds restitution in the wilder ways of his Aunt and the blacks he fought to save. The salvation he found in them went deeper when he discovered his childhood friend Denny – a black waitress from town - had grown into a beautiful woman. They learn more about one another after William is injured during an altercation. With the oppositions of the towns people, their love would be put to the test, but neither was willing to let the narrow minds of the confederates extinguish the fires that kindled in black and white.