Del Hayes Press

The Old Man

The Old Man

He sits alone in the aging tavern, haggard, despondent, blind to the nervous glances of the patrons who drift in from the unpleasant night. Who is he, this stranger in their midst? Why is he there?

Speculation swirls, whispers of sea battles, promises to a dying shipmate, but only the pretty, young barmaid cares enough to draw out the truth. What she learns is a story of naked ambition and revenge, opportunities lost and the depths of grief, but above all, the power of transcendent love.

It’s spring of 1812. Ignoring the fears of a pending war with England that grip the new nation, Benjamin McNair leaves his home in Philadelphia to start off on his own. In the small village of Worcester in the hills of Massachusetts, he becomes the proud new owner of the Worcester Gazette, a struggling local newspaper.
After three months of working to make it prosper, he finds little reason to believe he will find happiness in this new life. Then, Abagail Winterhalter appears in his doorway.

She’s beautiful, radiant, intelligent. He’s handsome, shares her love of good books. Falling in love with each other is as sudden as it is inevitable. But she’s trapped in a loveless marriage to the most ambitious and ruthless politician in the state. She knows he will never willingly divorce her. Benjamin, a good newspaper man, has a plan, a way for them to have a life together.
But not all plans succeed, and they find their lives swept up in the tide of history. Decades later, he learns that even when love seems to have been lost, in the end love proves it can be found in the most unexpected places and unexpected ways.