Ripples in the Stream

Michael Randolph’s death that summer sent shock waves through Copper Creek. His wife, Ruth, had begun drinking to excess. Their daughter, Rachel, had turned into a virtual recluse. And Michael’s niece, Jane, had been burdened with keeping his general store running.

All of Michael’s friends felt betrayed by the irrefutable proof of his recent duplicity. Yet, it was Olivia Kohl whose torment over Michael’s passing was most justified. As the keeper of his darkest secret, she could neither display her grief nor receive comfort for it, without divulging the fact Michael had used her.
Twenty years ago, he had married her, abandoned her, and left her alone to bear the sorrow of losing their only child at birth. Although fate had brought her to Copper Creek that July, Michael’s sudden death put an end to their traumatic past, or so Olivia thought.

A stranger’s arrival in town that October prompts Olivia to hope all is not lost, when the young man claims the impossibility of being her son, Ben. His presence soon begins to change the fortunes of everyone injured by Michael’s habitual deceit. Yet, looming doubts over Ben’s identity force Olivia to question if he could really be her son. Or are his assertions just a clever subterfuge to mask a plot for revenge? The answer could mean Olivia’s salvation or the destruction of everything she holds dear.