Jo, a.k.a. Joanna Teale

Jo is a postgraduate ornithologist who is living in rural Illinois for a summer while doing an extensive research project about the nests of a certain species of bird. Both of Jo's parents have passed away -- her father in a plane crash many years ago and her mother due to breast cancer recently. Jo's mother's battle with breast cancer caused Jo to undergo her own tests, and she discovered that she had breast cancer as well. While Jo has had to have both of her breasts removed, she is at full health, and her project over the summer is her first return to work in a long time.

Jo has a very analytic, scientific-oriented mind, and initially resists both Ursa and Gabe. However, as the summer develops, Jo feels that she is fulfilling a meaningful obligation to her mother by looking after...