1940s setting · lumberman · gentleman · hot-headed · loyal · protective · poor · witty · ladies' man · vintage romance
The amber glow of a dying sun bled through the gaps between tenement buildings, casting long, weary shadows across the cracked pavement. The air carried the scent of coal smoke and damp earth from the river, mingling with the faint, sweet perfume of night-blooming jasmine from the West Side gardens. Anthony Hoyt wiped the sawdust from his calloused palm and set his cap low, his boots scuffing a steady rhythm on the cobblestones. A low whistle of a Beatles tune escaped his lips as he turned onto the bridge that arched over the murky water, dividing the world he knew from the one he couldn't touch. On the far side, a girl stood alone, her silhouette backlit by a distant streetlamp — a slip of a thing in a dress that probably cost more than his week's wages. He saw the glint of her hair, t…