Harper House - in Tennessee - a long legacy... including the Harper Bride, a ghost that visits and hums to the children of the house... until..

the story begins at the turn of the century, with a woman, a mistress (knowing it was better than a common whore) who was set up in her own home by a rich man - who has at least 2 other mistresses, and a wife... she becomes pregnant, he wants the baby, she starts to want the baby too when it moves within her... a hard delivery, she heard a cry, but then was given laudum, and when she awoke she was told her baby was stillborn... and she doesn't believe it...

and then we have Stella - and a loving mother/wife with two young, typical boys... she gets the news that her husband died in plane crash... 2 years later, under the tutelage of her father & stepmother, she applies to Harper House - to Roz - for job as manager of her gardening store/business... Roz, who also raised 3 boys without their father, and is a strong, southern woman (a la Designing Women), hires her and requests that she & the boys live at Harper House for awhile as they get to know one another - David, her housekeeper (who is gay) is a wonderfully colorful addition, who watches over the boys after school...

Stella is very organized, and as she gets started she rubs Logan the wrong way... Logan is a landscape designer, and very unorganized with postits as his way of life... and in spite of their differences - control vs laize faire - they fall in love... Logan loves her son... and....

story also introduces Haley, a remote cousin of Roz's, who is 5 months pregnant, and looking for a new start... she is young, and infectious, and the birth of her baby girl wonderful... Roz's son Harper, who is a bit absent minded, and works in the plant development part of the business is tongue tied around Haley (yes, we know what that means), and managed to be there when Haley's water broke and subsequently in the hospital with her for the birth of the baby...

and the story very minimally introduces Mitch - a professor, author, and geneologist - whom Roz hires to help figure out who the Harper Bride is... and he is astonished to find out that the ghost is real, on his 1st visit to the house...

and the Harper Bride, after Stella has a bedtime conversation with her sons about Logan, and they all agree she should marry him, becomes angry, and puts up a wall that prevents Stella from going into their room... all come running, Logan bruises his hands trying to get to them... Stella reasons with the bride, and finally they can get to the boys... hmmm.. the ghost is taking things up a notch...