Forks in the Road

Only making the right choices--for you--can lead to happiness or protect you from ruin, and the characters in these stories show that it's never too late to begin discovering and making those choices.

The Pinch Hitter and the Trout On the last play of the final playoff game, veteran ball player Rick Chalmers makes a snap decision that ruins his team's opportunity to play in the World Series. Rick considers himself immune from sportswriters' criticism, but one writer especially gets to him, and it doesn't help that his marriage is in trouble. So, to help sort out his feelings, he goes fly fishing in Montana where he finds new adventure, romance--and potentially, a new career.

Blind Wager California's mandated shop closings during COVID-19 threaten the hopes, dreams, and marriage, of talented restaurateur Hugo Bernard Sargeant, aka "Hibs." Under financial pressure, he feels like commiting suicide. But he goes on the streets of LA instead, where he meets fellow hobo Toffler, whose failed medical career--and a peculiar taste for roast duck--bring the two together around a bet that helps them both come out winners.

Old Man Arnold's Rebellion An old soldier kills a wolf to save the livestock on his ranch from destruction. He knows that he faces retribution from militant environmentalists and a corrupt government. But he goes on the offensive, converting the wolf's pelt into a fine coat which his wife wears at the town's Easter Parade. Events go from bad to worse and finally, he and his wife and friends come under open physical attack. Desperate, he calls for help from reliable old comrades to help him address a seemingly hopeless confrontation.

The Spirit of the Marsh A young architect and his wife both work for a powerful, corrupt real estate developer who uses his connections to get control of the Truesdale Estate, a foreign-owned property in the Florida Everglades. The disilusioned architect quits his job and, against his wife's wishes, starts his own company. When his former boss steals his designs and tries to put him out of business for good, the architect forms an alliance with an unusual member of the Truesdale family and her lawyer to oppose the Eminent Domain action underway against them, destroy the corrupt developer and his syndicate, and regainhis wife's confidence and admiration.