Police chief Scott Gordon has the integrity and loyalty that give
him, as his friend Hannah describes it, "that boy scout thing."  
He is determined to woo fiery-tempered Maggie Fitzpatrick,
even though she is on the fence about romance.
Bookstore owner Maggie Fitzpatrick is smart, independent, and
known to speak her mind. Having her heart broken once was
enough for Maggie, and she is determined not to make the same
mistake again. Now, if she could just convince her wayward
heart...
Animal control officer Hannah Campbell has her hands full in
a town overrun by feral cats that seem to multiply faster than
she can capture, spay, and neuter them.  She is Maggie's best
friend and the town's best resource for  juicy gossip.
Hannah's husband Sam Campbell was wounded in the Gulf
War, and is still recovering from the violence he witnessed and
the injuries he received. Now a techno-genuis/recluse, he is
devoted to his wife, who wooed and won him by making him
laugh.
Ed Harrison owns and operates the Rose Hill Sentinel weekly
newspaper, following in the footsteps of his father and
grandfather. When a young boy comes to work for him as Rose
Hill's only paper carrier, he quickly works his way into Ed's
heart.
Patrick Fitzpatrick works in the family owned service station
by day and the Rose and Thorn bar by night. Sexy and
charming, his heart belongs to his beautiful sister-in-law Ava,
the one woman he can't have.
Ava Fitzpatrick has two children, a successful bed and
breakfast, and a loving, supportive extended family. She
struggles with the demands of her Catholic faith, an
overbearing mother-in-law,  and the lonely longing for a
forbidden love.
Characters