[Cedar Hollow 02] • Return to Crutcher Mountain

No one with Jessie’s history of childhood trauma could make it through unscathed, and Jessie is no exception. As recounted in Appalachian Justice, Jessie is an adult survivor of horrendous childhood abuse suffered at the hands of her stepfather. At the age of thirteen, on a stormy night on top of Crutcher Mountain, Jessie was rescued by reclusive mountain woman Billy May Platte.

Now, at the age of forty-seven, Jessie is a success, at least by all outward appearances. But underneath it all, Jessie still struggles to reconcile the broken pieces of her past. Little does she know, Billy May’s dying wish may just bring her the peace she so desires.

In honor of Billy May’s final request, Jessie has invited an agency that works with children with developmental disabilities to establish a wilderness retreat on top of Crutcher Mountain. Everything has come together beautifully, until a series of strange events threatens to shut down the operation.

Unsure what to expect, Jessie returns to West Virginia in search of answers and finds more than she bargained for. Along the way she falls in love with the residents of the Platte Lodge for Children, none more so than ten year old Robby O’Brien, a freckle faced, earnest little boy who was diagnosed at birth with Down Syndrome and who, upon the death of his grandfather, finds himself alone in a scary world.

As Jessie searches for answers, determined to save not only the Lodge but Robby as well, she must open her heart to the truths she discovers and place her trust in a lonely little boy. It’s only by doing so that she can save herself.