Josephine “Josie” Marie Avery

Josephine “Josie” Marie Avery is one of the main characters and first-person narrators in this novel. She is a young woman who has sacrificed and worked hard in order to put herself through culinary school. She has gotten her first job opportunity working with the world-renowned chef Douglas Anton at his new restaurant in Seattle. Because it was going to be several months after she graduated culinary school before she could begin her work at the restaurant, Josie took a job working as the chef at Caribou Lake Lodge in Ponder.

While in Ponder, Josie met and fell in love with Palmer, a native of Ponder. Palmer proposed to Josie on the night before she was to return to Seattle but Josie turned him down because she did not see any way they were compatible. She knew that Palmer would not like living in Seattle...