Still Water - A Small Town Romance #1007671

FMC: Nora Callahan (35) — Boston architect who inherits her father's lakeside Vermont inn mid-renovation. Efficient, guarded, grieving through logistics. Arc: from "assess and sell" to "stay and build."

MMC: Sam Greer (27) — local carpenter and restoration specialist who spent eight months working with Nora's father on the inn. Warm, patient, rooted. Knows what the building wants to be before Nora arrives.

Best Friend/Sidekick: Jess (Nora's oldest friend, landscape architect in Providence) — Providence RI; calls Nora out on her own feelings before Nora admits them.

Secondary: Diane Werner — retired inn manager who takes over operations; Mark Greer — Sam's older brother, protective and perceptive; Carol Marsh — Hadley Lake librarian, town memory keeper; Invoice — the cat.

Antagonista/Ostacolo: Nora's own emotional avoidance; the Burlington Capital Group developer; the Hudson Valley mill project offer in Act 3.