Interconnected Families, Entangled Lives.
— For generations The Everlys have grown citrus on their vast holdings of land, south of Grapefruit Grove. Greening disease no longer makes that profitable. The family represents a segment of old Florida that is rapidly vanishing, as the orange groves of my childhood give way to suburban sprawl. Dylan Everly was a talented football player in high school. After an injury ended a promising career, his life spiraled out of control. Meanwhile, his cousin Ella works to protect the land. At the time of these stories she has just returned home with a degree in Environmental Studies.
Ella is best friends with Kim Phillips, who researches hurricanes. Kim and Cousin Matt have a history of chasing storms.
Ana Clark and her husband came to Florida from Jamaica, some forty years before my stories take place. For many years they labored in the Everly groves. Ana runs Miss Ana’s Native Plant Nursery now, while raising her granddaughter, Cherry. Miss Ana has become a powerful influence on the younger generation, sharing knowledge about plants and birds.
Ben Russell’s grandfather co-founded a local software company, Russell & Ross Solutions. These days R&R is run by Ben’s dad, mathematician Graham Russell. Named for his grandfather’s business partner, Benjamin Ross, and soul beneficiary of Ross’s will, Ben became a multimillionaire at twenty-two months old. Supremely confident, Ben views himself as untouchable. He also sees himself as the white knight, rushing in to rescue damsels in distress. Protective of family and friends, he genuinely believes that the world cannot touch him.
Ben befriended a brilliant classmate, Antonia Perez, back in seventh grade. She was the peculiar girl at school, forever lost in a world of numbers and patterns. While nobody really understands the friendship, those two have remained close for over a decade.
Antonia, usually called Nia, lost her mother in a car crash two weeks before high school graduation. Putting college aside, she refused to abandon her distraught father. She has helped her dad run Anton Perez Manufactured Home Sales ever since.
Minh Phan is a programmer at Russell & Ross Solutions.On Saturdays she helps her mother run a small shop that specializes in restoring vintage wedding gowns. It is there that she meets newcomer to town, Destiny Marsh.
Ever since witnessing the deaths of her parents as a child, Natalie Collins has lived with panic attacks and anxiety. These days she stays close to her home and garden, and makes a modest living as an online gardening writer. Her good friend Morgan is best known for a YouTube series on beekeeping.
A recurring character in the stories is Professor Foley. He taught Florida history until forced to retire from the university—due to some unpopular teachings. The young people of Grapefruit Grove resent how he was treated, and often turn to the elderly man for advice. The professor’s granddaughter, Alyssa, now an ICU nurse, always makes time to look after the professor.