Promises of the Heart

by Nan Rossiter

  “Is there any other kind?” Ben teased, elbowing her.

  “No other good kind,” Harper said, grinning and elbowing him back.

  “Here we go!” Hal said, carrying in a large pizza and setting it on a pizza stand.

  Ben frowned. “When and where did we get a pizza stand?”

  “Last week at the party store,” Macey said, handing him a heart-shaped paper plate.

  “I hope we didn’t go overboard with all these hearts,” he said, eyeing her.

  “Ooh, look!” Harper exclaimed as Ruth put a slice on her plate. “Even the pepperoni is in the shape of a heart!”

  “Yes, and that took some time so you better appreciate it!” Maeve said with a smile.

  “Sit down and eat,” Ruth commanded, putting a slice on everyone’s plate. “It’s getting . . .” She looked around and chuckled. “You know what it’s getting!”

  “We’re waiting for you to sit down,” Hal said, standing behind his chair. “And I wish you’d hurry up because I’m starving.”

  Ruth sat down, and then everyone else did, too.

  “Dad,” Macey said, “will you say grace?”

  Hal nodded, reached for their hands, and asked a blessing for their family and for the wonderful homemade pizza with heart-shaped pepperoni—of all things! And then he added an extra special thank-you for Harper and her new heart. When he looked up, he saw her peeking at him, and he winked.

  Harper smiled and reached for her pizza, but then Macey started to speak. “You all go right ahead and eat,” she began, “but Ben and I have something we would like to ask Harper.”

  Everyone looked up and Ben took a deep breath. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait, Mace?” he asked hopefully, feeling his stomach fill with the same kaleidoscope of butterflies he’d felt all those years ago when he’d asked her to marry him. “I’m sure your mom doesn’t want this pizza to get cold.”

  “Go ahead and eat,” Macey said, eyeing him before plowing ahead. Ben sighed, knowing only too well that once his girl had a plan in her head, there was no turning back.

  “So,” Macey began again, “even though Cora called us last week with some very good news, Ben and I decided we wanted to wait until Harper came home.” She felt her heart race as she turned to the little girl. “And now, we can’t wait another minute because, Harper,” she said, looking intently into her eyes, “Cora told us that we have been approved to adopt you . . . so . . . if you will have us, Ben and I would love it if you would be our daughter. . . . We would love to officially be your mom and dad.”

  “Oh, wow!” Harper exclaimed softly. She felt her new heart beating like a drum in a parade, and she wondered how it knew—even though it wasn’t really hers—how to respond in a moment like this. She swallowed and looked around the table. Everyone seemed to be holding their collective breath, waiting for her answer, and she blinked back tears and swallowed.

  “Do you really mean that?” she whispered, unable to believe someone actually wanted her to be a permanent member of their family.

  Macey and Ben both nodded, and Harper pressed her lips together as the tears she was fighting slid down her cheeks. “I . . . I would love that,” she stammered. She threw her arms around them and held them for a long time—almost afraid to let go—while everyone else cheered and clapped and the dogs wagged their tails because, obviously, something good was happening. Finally, Harper pulled away and wiped her eyes. Then she looked around the table at each of them. “This means you will all be my family . . . my grandma and grandpa . . . and my aunt and uncle.”

  Macey caught her sister’s eye and Maeve felt her cheeks flame.

  “Oh, hon, Gage wouldn’t be your uncle . . . ,” Maeve said.

  “Hey,” Gage interrupted, elbowing her. “I can be Harper’s uncle!”

  Maeve laughed and shook her head. “Okay, well, if you want to be. . . .”

  “Thank you,” he said, feigning indignation.

  “Uncle Gage!” Harper teasingly rolled his new moniker on her tongue and then eyed him mischievously. “You ready to lose at checkers again?”

  “Ha! I think you need to let me finish my pizza before I let you rout me in checkers again.”

  “Okay,” Harper said with a sigh, “but before dessert.”

  “Is there dessert?” he asked hopefully.

  “There is,” Maeve confirmed. “We have a heart-shaped chocolate cake.”

  Ben groaned and shook his head, and Harper looked up at him. “How about you, Be—I mean, Dad?” she asked, grinning. “Ready to lose at checkers?”

  “Sure,” he said, laughing. “Right after I finally get to eat my pizza.”

  Harper laughed. “Hear that, Keep?” she said. “This is going to be my forever home, too.” And both dogs wiggled all around her, wagging their tails happily.

  AN HOUR LATER, AS THEY WERE GETTING READY TO LEAVE, RUTH PULLED her daughter into a hug. “We are so happy for you, Macey, dear. You and Ben are going to be wonderful parents!”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Macey said. “I hope so! And thank you for the yummy pizza, too.”

  “You’re more than welcome,” Ruth replied as she and Hal knelt to give Harper a hug.

  “We’re so happy to have a dog lover like you for a granddaughter,” Hal said. “You take good care of that new heart!”

  “I will,” Harper said, nodding.

  “We’re going, too,” Maeve said, coming up behind them.

  “And we’re taking our crazy dog with us,” Gage said, smiling. “I think he wore Keeper out,” he added, gesturing to the golden retriever snoring in front of the fireplace.

  “And poor Big Mac can come out of hiding now, too,” Maeve said, laughing. She gave Harper a squeeze. “Lunch and shopping again soon, girlfriend?”

  “Yes!” Harper said, smiling.

  Macey nodded and put her hand on Harper’s shoulder. “Harp has a birthday coming up . . . and it’s a big one, so we’ll have to do something special.”

  “All right!” Maeve said. “When is it?”

  “March first,” Harper replied. “I’m going to be ten!”

  “Wow! Double digits!” Maeve said. “I’m in!”

  “Me, too,” Ruth chimed. “We can have lunch at the Olde Pink House, my treat!”

  “That would be fun,” Macey agreed. “What do you think, Harp?”

  And even though Harper couldn’t understand why an old house—especially one that was painted pink—was such a special destination, she nodded enthusiastically.

  69

  AFTER HARPER WAS TUCKED INTO BED WITH KEEPER CURLED CONTENTEDLY next to her, Macey collapsed on the couch with her laptop and pulled up the custom greeting card she’d been designing. “What do you think of this?” she said, nudging Ben.

  He opened his eyes and looked at the pink card with tiny red hearts sprinkled around the edges. In the center, Macey had downloaded the picture she’d taken of Harper with Keeper and Big Mac on Thanksgiving, and under the photo, the greeting read:

  MAY YOUR HEARTS BE FILLED WITH LOVE!

  HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

  THE SAMUELSONS

  BEN, MACEY, HARPER, KEEPER & BIG MAC

  “Cute!” he said and then eyed her curiously. “You think we need to send Valentines?”

  “Well, with everything going on we didn’t send Christmas cards this year, and it’s kind of an announcement, too—you know . . . of the new addition to our family.”

  Ben nodded. “She’s such a funny kid—and so different from the tough little kid we met back in the fall. And the way Keeper and Gus and Big Mac are so drawn to her? And she to them? It’s amazing. I really think they made a huge difference in helping her adjust to being here.”

  Macey nodded. “If we had been able to have a daughter of our own, I think she’d be like Harper.”

  “That’s because she’s just as stubborn and feisty as you,” Ben teased, kissing her softly.

  “Maybe,” Macey said, sinking into the couch next to him. “Maeve th
inks she’s an old soul . . . ,” she added, recalling her sister’s comment, but when Ben didn’t respond, she looked over and realized he’d dozed off.

  “Must be nice,” she whispered.

  She turned her attention back to her card, clicked ORDER, closed her laptop, and gazed at the embers glowing in the fireplace. In her mind, she replayed the events of the day: from bringing Harper home to the look of surprise on the little girl’s face when they asked her to be their daughter. Just then, one of the embers flickered brightly, and as it caught on a piece of wood and flamed higher, her thoughts turned to Harper’s birthday and the plans they’d made. Suddenly, a thought struck her and she nudged Ben. “Do you realize Harper was born around the same time we bought this house?

  “So?” Ben said, his eyes still closed.

  “Sooo, when we were a young couple signing our lives away on our dream house . . .”

  “Umm . . . may I clarify that it was your dream house?”

  Macey sighed. “The house we both dreamed we’d raise our family in. And around that very same time, Harper was born . . . and in all the years since, while we were working on the house and trying to have kids, Harper was going through some tough stuff of her own. Ben, don’t you see? It’s more than just a coincidence. It’s—as Grandy would say—serendipity. It’s as if it’s all part of a plan that’s been unfolding for ten years—a plan we couldn’t see until now.”

  Macey sat up, her voice growing more earnest. “Now I can clearly see the beauty and grace of everything that’s been happening: how the events in our lives played out until we were each given—actually, until we were each ready to receive—the deepest desires of our hearts. It’s so amazing and unbelievable, but that little girl asleep upstairs with a new strong heart beating in her chest is absolute proof that everything Grandy taught me to believe about the tapestry of life is true.”

  Ben smiled. “I love the way you see life, Mace. I think it’s one of the things I love most about you. No matter how many times life knocks you down, your wonderful, buoyant, resilient spirit gets right back up and you find some new amazing way to see things. I think you’re more like your grandmother than you realize, and you inspire me to try to see all the little nuances in life . . . and that’s what makes me such a blessed man.”

  Macey swallowed and looked away. She always had something to say . . . she always spoke her mind, but now, with his kind words—telling her she was like her grandmother—her husband had just rendered her speechless. She looked back at him, her eyes glistening. “And the way you see me is one of the things that makes me such a blessed woman.”

  Ben reached for her hand and nodded to the front window. She followed his gaze to the candle he’d given her so long ago—the candle that would guide their family home. It was flickering more brightly than it ever had before.

  Epilogue

  “MAY I LISTEN?” LANA ASKED AS MACEY, BEN, AND CORA WATCHED, their eyes glistening.

  “Yes,” Harper said, lifting her shirt.

  Lana gently traced the long scar on Harper’s chest and then leaned forward and lightly placed the stethoscope Macey had brought on Harper’s chest.

  “Oh my,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “Oh my, oh my, oh my! That is the loveliest sound I’ve ever heard.” She listened for a long time, and then sat back and searched Harper’s eyes. “Thank you, child. I’m so glad you’re the one who ended up with Kari’s heart. She would be pleased, too, because you’re such a good, fine person.” She paused and gently touched Harper’s cheek. “You know how I know that?”

  Harper shook her head.

  “Because way back when I suggested you donate your beautiful hair to kids who’d lost theirs, you didn’t even hesitate. You didn’t blink an eye. That’s how I know what kind of person you are, and I also know you’re going to do wonderful things with your life. Kari wanted to help people, and she has done that—she has helped four kids! It wasn’t the way she or I expected, but I know you will bless lots of people with your life, too, Harper. You and Kari are a team now.”

  Harper nodded. “I’ll take good care of Kari’s heart, Lana.”

  “I know you will, baby, and I would just love it if you would carry her spirit with you, too.”

  “I will, Lana,” Harper said, nodding solemnly.

  “Yes, you will,” Lana said, smiling. “Will you also come visit me sometimes, so I know how you’re doing . . . and so I can listen to that good strong heart again?”

  “I will, Lana. I promise,” Harper said, hugging her. “Cross my . . . and Kari’s heart!”

  Acknowledgments

  WITH HEARTFELT THANKS . . .

  To my amazing agent, Elizabeth Copps, who encouraged me to “write something new,” and then patiently replied to every worried email I sent with calm encouragement—an antidote that always lifted my spirits!

  To my wonderful editor, Hannah Robinson, who read Promises in a weekend and said YES! And who went on to work beside me, guiding my words until the story was perfect!

  To the entire Harper Paperbacks team who have worked so hard to make this book the best it can be!

  To Dr. Diane D’Isidori, who took the time to share her knowledge and make Harper’s condition, symptoms, and treatment authentic.

  To the men in my life—my husband, Bruce, our sons, Cole and Noah—and my daughter-in-law, Leah, who fill my life with joy and inspiration!

  To my family, friends, and fans who faithfully read and share my books. I couldn’t do it without you!

  And to the good Lord above, who has blessed my life so richly!

  About the Author

  NAN ROSSITER IS THE AWARD-WINNING AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF seven novels, including The Gin & Chowder Club. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, Bruce, and a noble black Lab named Finn. They are the parents of two handsome sons who have decided to grow up and strike out on life journeys of their own. When she’s not working, Nan enjoys hiking or curling up with a good book.

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  The Story Behind Promises of the Heart

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  About the Author

  Meet Nan Rossiter

  NEW YORK TIMES and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter grew up in Pelham, New York. Some of her earliest memories include riding a green Sting-Ray bike—complete with a banana seat and sissy bar—to the Pelham Library, which, at the time, was a tiny cavelike space tucked beneath Hutchinson Elementary School. It was from the shelves of this library that Nan first discovered the magic of books. Some of her favorite characters included Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Pippi Longstocking, and Harriet the Spy. Nan later moved with her parents to a quiet country road in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, and went on to graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design. After freelancing for several years, she began writing and illustrating books for children, including Rugby & Rosie (Dutton Children’s Books), winner of Nebraska’s Golden Sower Award, and The Fo’c’sle: Henry Beston’s “Outermost House” (David R. Godine). In recent years, Nan has turned her attention to writing contemporary fiction. Her books have been highly acclaimed by reviewers from Publisher’s Weekly to Booklist, and her seventh novel, Summer Dance, was the 2018 winner of the Nancy Pearl Book Award.

  Nan continues to live on a quiet country road in Connecticut with her amazingly supportive husband, Bruce, and a noble black Lab named Finnegan, who diligently watches her every move and can be roused from a nap in a distant room by the sound of a banana being peeled or a cookie crumb hitting the floor. Fi
nn finds writing to be a humdrum pastime and makes sure Nan doesn’t spend too much time doing it, insisting on two long walks a day, no matter the weather. Nan and Bruce are the parents of two handsome sons, Cole and Noah, who have struck out on life journeys of their own, and are both pursuing careers in aviation. Their family has also grown to include their wonderful daughter-in-law, Leah, who adds joy to their lives, and some much-needed female support! Nan is a member of PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization) International and she hopes that her PEO sisters—and other new readers—will find that her books always include the threads of faith and family.

  For more information, please visit www.nanrossiter.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, or follow her on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NanRossiter.

  About the Book

  The Story Behind Promises of the Heart

  IT HAS BEEN a long-standing tradition for my family to vacation on Cape Cod. It’s part of the reason I set several of my books there. It’s also a tradition for us to try to take in at least one Cape Cod League baseball game. That’s how it came to pass, one balmy night five years ago, that we were all standing on the hill overlooking the Orleans Firebirds field when a young girl—she must’ve been between ten and twelve years old—spied our black Lab, Finnegan, and came over to say hello. The girl cheerfully greeted Finn and then told us her parents had gotten her a dog to help her through her recent heart transplant surgery. As she continued to scratch Finn’s ears, she shared her love of dogs and told us how much her dog had helped her. Her story was so moving that, when she walked away, my son Noah said, “Mom, you have to write about her!” I had to agree—it was an amazing story, but it was a year before I had the opportunity to draw on that encounter.

  I usually know the direction a story will take, but I never know exactly what a character will do or say on any given day. It isn’t until I type the characters’ names that they perk up and start to lead the way. When I first typed Harper’s name, she instantly came to life, and every time I started a chapter with her name, she stepped right up to the plate—as any good character will do—and asked Cora for a big-ass coffee, or started pulling off her bandages, or made an unladylike gesture to Connor, or pulled Keeper into a fierce hug. Harper’s character was inspired by a chance encounter with a young girl who loved dogs and needed a new heart, but she went on to become so much more.