Almost Family

STATUS: Complete Manuscript
Currently Querying Literary Agents

She didn’t mean to lose him.
And she certainly didn’t mean to take the child and run.
But grief has a way of changing people.
Now, years later, Rebecca Keller has a new name, a new family, and a life she’s fought to protect.
But lies don’t stay buried forever.
How far will she go to protect a child she loves?

She didn’t mean to fall in love with a man who had a daughter.

Rebecca Keller never planned on falling in love. Then she met Dante, a devoted single father whose three-year-old daughter, Sarah, quietly stole her heart.

When a devastating accident leaves Sarah with no one to protect her, Rebecca makes an impossible choice. Believing she's saving the little girl from an uncertain future, she leaves everything behind and begins a new life under a new identity.

Ten years later, Sarah, now Kira, has grown into a bright, happy teenager who has no idea her entire life is built on a secret.

But secrets have a way of finding daylight.

As Rebecca's carefully constructed world begins to unravel, she'll be forced to face the consequences of a decision made out of love, and answer the question she's been avoiding for years.

Was saving a child she loved worth losing everything?

Almost Family is a story about motherhood, grief, sacrifice, and the complicated truth that love doesn't always fit inside the boundaries of right and wrong.

The Story

Meet the Characters

Rebecca Keller/Gabby
Rosanno

Rebecca Keller is overwhelmed by her fast-paced city life and finds herself questioning the path she's on. When tragedy strikes, she becomes convinced she's the only person who can protect the four-year-old daughter of the man she loved. She leaves everything behind, and together they begin new lives under the names Gabby and Kira.

As Gabby, she becomes fiercely protective, deeply compassionate, and willing to sacrifice everything for the people she loves. But beneath her strength is a question she can never fully escape. Is she still Rebecca Keller, the grieving woman whose choice keeps them looking over their shoulders? Or is she now Gabby, confident mother, partner, and survivor?

Everything changes when she meets Brent, a man who sees her not as the woman she once was, but as the strong, devoted mother she's become. She wants to believe she's the woman he already sees. But Gabby knows the truth could shatter everything they've built.

Brent Rosanno

When Brent meets Gabby, he doesn't know the woman she used to be. He only sees a devoted single mother doing everything she can to give her daughter a good life.

Brent has a past of his own, one he rarely talks about. Maybe that's why he recognizes there's more to Gabby's story and never asks for answers she isn't ready to give. He understands that some stories take time to tell.

The more time he spends with Gabby and Kira, the more they quietly become his family. Brent loves through his actions. He earns Kira's trust one small moment at a time, and he gives Gabby something she hasn't had in a very long time, someone she can finally lean on.

When Brent loves, he commits completely. Once he chooses someone, he never stops choosing them. By the time he learns the truth, there isn't a decision to make. Gabby and Kira are already his family, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect them.

Kira Rosanno

Kira is the heart of the Rosanno family.
She grows up surrounded by love, completely unaware that the life she's always known began with heartbreak, secrets, and complicated choices. Smart, funny, and compassionate, Kira has a way of making the people around her smile. She's everything Gabby hoped she would become.

Avery

Avery is Kira's little sister in every way that matters. Her innocence reminds Gabby and Brent that family isn't built by biology alone, but by the love that's shared every single day.

People often ask writers where story ideas come from. Sometimes they're inspired by a news story or a personal experience. For me, this one began with a single comment from a complete stranger.

Twenty-five years ago, I had just bought my first home. As I was outside unpacking, my new neighbor walked over to introduce herself. We hit it off immediately, and as she walked back toward her house, she smiled over her shoulder and said, "You have a beautiful family."

I remember laughing to myself because the thought that popped into my head was so ridiculous.

"She doesn't even know if these are really my children."

Then my imagination did what it always does.

What if they weren't?

It was such an absurd idea that it made me smile, but for some reason, I couldn't let it go.

It stayed with me for the next twenty-five years. The characters slowly came to life. Rebecca's voice became clearer. Kira grew up in my imagination. Their relationships became more complicated, and little by little, the story unfolded until I finally sat down and wrote it.

Looking back, it's funny to think that one passing comment from a neighbor (now my best friend) eventually became a novel.

Sometimes stories don't arrive all at once.

Sometimes they quietly wait for years until you're finally ready to tell them.

Inspiration For This Novel

One of My Favorite Moments

People are often surprised when I tell them my favorite scene isn't one of the biggest or most dramatic moments in the novel.

It's the chapter where Sarah gets her first high fever.

At the beginning of Almost Family, Rebecca is overwhelmed by life. Her corporate job is wearing her down, promotions never seem to come, and the fast pace of city life leaves her questioning who she is and where her life is headed.

Everything changes when she becomes responsible for Sarah.

As the months pass, Rebecca slowly becomes Gabby, a woman who is stronger, more confident, and fiercely protective of the little girl she's raising. Watching that transformation unfold was one of my favorite parts of writing this novel.

Then Sarah gets sick.

In an instant, Gabby's confidence disappears and Rebecca comes rushing back. She questions every decision she's made, wonders if she's good enough to be a mother, and feels completely unprepared for the child she loves more than anything.

That's when Brent quietly steals my heart.

He doesn't judge her for not having all the answers. He doesn't make her feel like she's failed. He simply steps in, calming Sarah's fever, reassuring Gabby, and loving them both in the quietest, most ordinary ways.

He reminds her that she doesn't have to be perfect.

She just has to show up.

She just has to love her.

To me, that chapter isn't really about a fever.

It's about Rebecca realizing that becoming Gabby didn't mean she'd never feel afraid again. It meant she no longer had to face those fears alone.

What I love most about Almost Family is that there aren't easy answers.

Every character believes they're doing the right thing. They're simply trying to protect the people they love. Those are the stories that stay with me long after I've finished reading them, and they're the stories I like to write.

More than anything, I love watching this family become a family. It's the quiet moments, dinners around the table, scraped knees, school events, bedtime routines, that make the biggest emotional impact because the reader always knows how fragile it all really is.

What I Love About This Story

Publishing Journey

May 4, 2026
Querying continues. Every time I revisit these pages, I fall in love with Gabby's story all over again. I can't wait for it to find the right home.