Swans, Signs, and Strays

Lawton Brickell lives his life by the book. Anne Wiley treats the book like kitty litter.

Lawton is a man of rules, starch, and municipal codes. As the interim Parks official for Lakeland, his promotion depends on one thing: keeping the peace at Lake Morton. But peace is the last thing on the menu when a territorial royal swan “kidnaps” a stray kitten, and the local news starts sniffing around for a scandal.

Enter Anne Wiley. She’s messy, she’s loud, and she’s the heart of the Kitty Kafe Rescue. She doesn’t care about City Ordinance 10.4; she cares about the tiny ginger furball currently shivering under a swan’s wing.

Forced into an unlikely partnership to save the kitten—and Lawton’s career—the two must navigate swampy banks, “Purricane” recovery, and a chemistry that’s more explosive than a Florida thunderstorm. Lawton is prepared for a PR nightmare, but he isn’t prepared for the woman who makes him want to break every rule he’s ever written.

Can a rigid bureaucrat and a chaotic rescuer find a furever home together, or will this rescue mission end in a feathers-flying disaster?

• Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Opposites Attract, Forced Proximity.
• Themes: Small Town Florida, Animal Rescue, Midlife Romance.