Cynthia Hearne Darling

West by God Virginia Cynthia Hearne Darling

It is 1970. A young woman, Dana, who lives and works in Washington, D. C., finds herself returning to the home of her deceased grandparents in West Virginia. Through a letter left by her grandmother written years ago and addressed to Dana, she finds inherited money, jewelry, and a plea from her grandmother Ada to find out why her own father had abandoned her years ago. At the same time, Dana, in her capacity as a federal employee, goes to Southern West Virginia and in the process of her work meets a little boy who is about to become a foster child. She finds herself establishing a strong emotional connection with him through the area's social services. Now armed with sufficient funds from her grandmother, Dana quits her job and moves to Wheeling, in Northern West Virginia. She learns of its history in manufacturing and the steel industry and her family's relation to it. She falls in love with the city and a man who wants to marry her. The help and love of two older people who knew her family sustain her. She discovers that an empty lot on which her grandparents' house resided can be purchased. The deed done, she and her fiance Jim walk around the property, sit down to rest on the grass, and encounter a curved bone they think may be from a deer. They have it identified and to their surprise it is found to be from a young Caucasian woman, possibly murdered in the 1930's. Dana is determined to solve the murder before they build on the property. In order to do so, she has to delve deeply into the lives of her grandparents, aunts, uncles and servants who lived in the house called Echo Point. Learning about the past becomes a life-changing process for Dana, as the puts the pieces together from events that happened years ago. She finds out what happened to her grandmother's father as well. The ending is happy. Their now adopted son Seth, Dana, her husband, and her old friends help celebrate Christmas with dinner in the new house. A new baby is coming.