Excerpt: Highway to a Stranger

Kerri laughed and took the glass James offered her.
Filling the rest of the glasses, James held his high. “I propose a toast, to new beginnings, to memories that will last a lifetime and that Kerri will finally get her room clean one day.”
“To less stress” Crystal put in.
“To love,” Jeff added softly, looking at Crystal.
“And last but not least, to learning.” Kerri smiled and took a sip of her wine while the adults stared at her in disbelief.
“You want to learn this summer?” Jeff finally spit out, the first to regain his voice from the shock of what Kerri said.
“Of course I want to learn. Starting now. Is that alright?”
“That sounds good to me,” James said, sitting back in his chair. “How long until dinner will be ready Crystal?”
“About fifteen minutes I believe. But it will be plenty of time for Kerri to tell us exactly what she plans on learning this summer. As I recall you bounded into the house this afternoon exclaiming how happy you were that summer was here so you would NOT have to learn. But now you say you want to learn. I am quite intrigued.” She sat down on the plush love seat, and Jeff took a seat next to her.
“So tell us, what is it you want to learn?” James asked, setting his wineglass down and leaning forward in false anticipation.
Kerri pulled the photo of her mom and that Adam guy out of her pocket and laid it on the table. “Is this man my father?” she asked, dropping the bomb.