Counting Miracles
by Nicholas Sparks
Contents
Chapter Four
Overview
Kaitlyn and Tanner spend Sunday at the zoo with Mitch, deepening their connection through wide-ranging conversation about their lives, values, and overseas experiences, while Mitch bonds easily with Tanner. Casey threatens to move in with her father George after he promises her a car, shaking Kaitlyn deeply. On Monday, Tanner surprises Kaitlyn by volunteering at Our Daily Bread—inspired by her father's Monday philosophy—and asks her to dinner, which she tentatively agrees to consider.
Summary
Kaitlyn wakes on Sunday morning reflecting on her happiness and dismissing Casey's suggestion that she's missing something in her life. She spends extra time choosing an outfit before picking up Tanner from the Hampton Inn. On the drive, Tanner chats easily with Mitch about video games and animals, impressing Kaitlyn with his natural rapport with her son. Mitch innocently reveals that Kaitlyn and Casey had a "fight" the night before and that Casey snuck out that morning to avoid her mother.
At the North Carolina Zoo, Mitch races ahead from exhibit to exhibit while Kaitlyn and Tanner walk together in extended conversation. Tanner shares vivid stories about his time in Cameroon—playing pickup soccer with his friend Vince, protecting aid workers in volatile regions, and falling in love with the country's people and culture. He also describes his subsequent postings in Côte d'Ivoire and Haiti, where bureaucratic burnout eventually led him to take a break. Kaitlyn, in turn, talks about her house calls, her volunteer work at Our Daily Bread, and her father's philosophy about using Mondays to practice generosity. She shares her father's inspiring backstory—growing up in rural Kentucky poverty, earning a scholarship, and building a life defined by service—and describes her colorful grandmother. Mitch mentions the white deer sighting to Tanner before they finish the zoo.
Over lunch, Mitch and Tanner bond further over animal trivia. Afterward, they buy a Frisbee at Walmart and play together at Bicentennial Park. Kaitlyn notices that her ex-husband George never did anything like this with Mitch. Tanner drops a warm but noncommittal farewell at the hotel, leaving Kaitlyn slightly deflated that he doesn't suggest seeing her again—until she later finds his text expressing interest in seeing her around. She goes to bed feeling happily unsettled.
Back home, Casey confronts Kaitlyn about using the Suburban and escalates an argument about wanting her own car. Casey reveals she's spoken to her father, George, who promised to buy her a car if she moves in with him. The threat shakes Kaitlyn deeply, and later that night Mitch voices his fear that Casey might leave. Kaitlyn reassures him but privately worries her daughter may be serious. She spends her evening making house calls—injecting joints, immunizing children, treating infections, and delivering prescriptions—before returning home.
On Monday morning, Kaitlyn goes to Our Daily Bread for her regular volunteer shift and is stunned to find Tanner already there slicing tomatoes. He tells her he was inspired by her father's Monday philosophy and wanted to see her again. The other volunteers are visibly delighted. After serving more than seventy meals and treating a man with bronchitis, Tanner walks Kaitlyn to her car and asks her to dinner. Though an inner voice warns against it, she tells him she'll check with her kids and text him later, leaving the door open.
Who Appears
- Kaitlyn CooperDivorced internist and mother who bonds with Tanner at the zoo, makes house calls, and volunteers at Our Daily Bread.
- Tanner HughesVisiting ex-military aid worker who joins Kaitlyn and Mitch at the zoo, shares stories of overseas service, and volunteers at Our Daily Bread.
- Mitch CooperKaitlyn's enthusiastic nine-year-old son who bonds with Tanner at the zoo and fears Casey might leave.
- Casey CooperKaitlyn's seventeen-year-old daughter who threatens to move in with her father George after he promises her a car.
- GeorgeKaitlyn's ex-husband who tells Casey he'll buy her a car if she moves in with him.
- Dan HendrixKaitlyn's insurance broker who calls on Sunday to handle the car accident claim.
- LindaLong-time Our Daily Bread volunteer and Kaitlyn's friend who teases her about Tanner's appearance.