Revenge, death, deception… These are the things Cyrus Dodd has to overcome if he is to give Ruth the life he’s promised her. The problem is he’s got a prideful nature and when a seemingly innocuous argument leads to a bitter feud with his neighbor, his life changes forever. The plans he has falls by the wayside and before he finds a way to fix it, he comes to understand the meaning of regret.In … regret.
In this early twentieth century family saga, two men come up against each other—both are iron-willed and stubborn. One will lose his farm; the other will lose his family. In a tale of betrayal, murder and revenge two West Virginia farmers will discover that being right does not necessarily mean being happy.
Believing he has lost everything Cyrus Dodd is forced to start over. He promises Ruth that this time it will be better, but the truth is he doesn’t know if it’s a promise he can keep. Cyrus Dodd
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As the elderly Cyrus Dodd looked back over his life with his beloved Ruth, the regrets he held near to his heart were many. But the biggest regret of all was the feud with his neighbor back when they were young married men – their futures ahead of them. One night during a storm the piglets get out and thus begins the battle between the two men The farms of the two families were side by side, even though they were seven miles apart. Cyrus relied on the water for his crops that ran from the river on his neighbor’s farm and down through his land. The day the feud began saw the damming of that river; livelihoods were lost and life changing events happened from that day forward. Cyrus and Ruth decide to leave their farm and travel to Wyattsville. Cyrus learns of a job in Virginia outside a small town of Wyattsville, working for a railroad but, they are stuck on the side of the road, then they meet Prudence Greenly [who is alone because of her husband passing away] and she offers them a room for a few days . As it happens fate stepped in for Cyrus and Ruth. Do things work out for Cyrus and Ruth. To find out you need to read this book. I truly loved this book!!
I am reading this series and I am enjoying it so much. The story goes along with the history of the time and the author did an amazing job of making it all make sense.
This story focuses on a man that moves forward, but still hold in his heart all the regrets of his past life. He also has a very good quality of putting his wife’s happiness as a priority and in the end that is what saves him.
An elderly Cyrus Dodd begins the book with a review of his life with Ruth. As a young married couple, he is a farmer and she is a housewife. The trouble begins when his pride gets in the way of common sense. His pig had a better litter than his neighbor Virgil Jackson. Virgil has a temper and one should not get on his bad side. His pig had a litter of seven with one stillbirth. Cyrus’ had a litter of nine, all surviving. From there, the situation goes downhill. Virgil’s pond feeds Cyrus’ fields, so Virgil dams it up. Cyrus’ field become barren and yield little. In the meantime, Ruth, seven months pregnant, decides to walk over to the Jackson farm and talk with Bethany, woman to woman. It was hot and humid and Ruth loses the baby. Still, Cyrus continues to try to hold on to his farm. He sells off the litter of pigs as needed to provide food, heat, and seed money for the next year’s harvest. Life continues to be trying for Cyrus and Ruth. She becomes pregnant again, and loses that baby as well. Finally, Cyrus swallows his pride and tells Ruth that perhaps they should move to Wyattsville where he can work for the railroad and make good money. He puts the farm up for sale, but there are no takers after Virgil makes it known that he will not let water flow once again into the Dodd farm. So they sell their belongings and give away many things. They board the train for Wyattsville and the next chapter in their married life. Once there, Cyrus gets directions from someone at the train station for boardinghouses, but it appears that either Cyrus misunderstood or the person gave vague directions because they end up at least ten miles away from where they wanted to be. However, because of this mistake, they meet Prudence Greenly who has a profoundly positive impact on their lives. Cyrus gets a job and they settle in to stay with Prudence for short time, “until they get on their feet”. The short time turns into months and then Ruth is pregnant again. Thanks to Prudence and her care, this pregnancy results in their only child, Joy. Months turn into years and they are still there. However, when Prudence takes ill and dies, their world is once again turned upside down as the house has been willed to a nephew twice removed. He tries to take advantage of their attachment to the house when Cyrus asks to buy it, asking several thousand dollars over a realistic price. The Dodds purchase their own home. Joy grows into a young woman and falls in love. After her marriage, Cyrus and Ruth are empty nesters. Then Joy’s husband gets transferred to New York. After adjusting to this change, they start living their lives normally until Cyrus’ job is transferred to Richmond. Rather than move again, he takes early retirement. He and Ruth adjust once more. On a vacation trip to Virginia Beach, their house burns down amid a terrible storm in Wyattsville. Unbeknownst to them, Ruth’s friends realize whose house burnt down and take steps to help the couple when they return. They end up at Wyattsville Arms (a familiar apartment building for fans of Bette Lee Crosby’s Memory House series).
The title comes from the many changes in Cyrus’ life that he considered regrets. At one point, a character states that regrets are only for actions taken. I disagree. Regrets can be about things done or undone, said or unsaid.
Love her writing style