RAPTURE ALLEY No one needs Lora. Ken claims to love her, but he is married to Lora's wheelchair-ridden sister, Chris, and he doesn't really need her. And all Lora wants is to be needed. Lora feels alone, defeated by herself. Then Arty comes along. He helps her fill this hole in her heart with something better than love--escape. Through him she meets Boyd, the nightclub singer, with his own brand of addicting salvation. Soon drugs become Lora's cushion against a hurtful world. They allow her to float above her problems. But they can't keep the pain away forever. And when Lora's own needs cause her world to come crashing down around her, all the drugs in the world can't save her. WINTER GIRL "An hour after I met Lu Ann again that winter, I knew I was headed for deep, serious trouble. Only I had no idea how deep, how serious..." When Calder Fenton first saw Lu Ann that day at her rich daddy's hunting field, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He'd seen her every year growing up, but she'd never looked like this before. Soon, he's sitting in her jeep, being taunted by her, trying to figure her out. Lu Ann is only looking for thrills, and doesn't care that Calder has problems of his own--like being dirt poor, like having a pa who drinks and whores around town. But Calder likes what he sees, and he wants more. Pretty soon, he's got so much Lu Ann he doesn't know what to do with himself. And that is just the beginning of his troubles. STRICTLY FOR THE BOYS Amy can't help the way the boys look at her. It isn't her fault. But Burt doesn't see it that way. He is convinced that Amy is cheating on him and as her husband, he has a right to knock some sense into her. Burt doesn't mean to hurt her, he just can't control himself. So when Amy runs back to her mother, she expects a little sympathy. But Stella's got problems of her own and no time for Amy's change of heart. She lets her move back home but does everything she can to get Amy and Burt back together. Amy takes a new job, and still Burt follows her around, trying to find out who the new man in her life must be. And this time he's right--this time there's Terry, and a new chance at love. But for Burt, Amy belongs to him and him alone, and he will kill any man that gets in his way.