A Season of Secrets

by Fern Michaels

Genres: Women's Fiction

Synopsis

In search of long-lost family and a little holiday magic, a young woman and her adopted mother go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to London for Christmas in this humorous, heartwarming standalone novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels.

Signing up for an ancestry report starts as a fun diversion for Ashley Chandler, but the results throw her life into upheaval. Ashley is not biologically related to the people she’s always assumed were her parents. Finally, the truth emerges—Ashley was adopted, and her real birth family is in England. She’s due to travel there soon to start a research position at Oxford, but first, she’ll take time to try and answer the questions that matter most.

Across the ocean, Emily Evans has found something shocking in a box of papers—a birth certificate that proves she has a twin. The discovery leads to hard conversations and an admission from her mother: Emily’s sister was put up for private adoption, and there seems to be no way to trace her. Meanwhile Emily’s father, Henry, has spent years on the run after witnessing a murder and being implicated in the crime. He’s kept himself estranged from his loved ones to protect them, relying on a police officer to act as a go-between.

Now these different strands start to come together, and Ashley and Emily’s lives intersect in extraordinary ways. It will be a holiday season like no other, offering the chance for a remarkable family reunion, and the promise of reconciliations and joyful new beginnings . . .

Release date: September 29, 2026

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 272

Sample

Ashley Chapman

Swarthmore College, Four Years Ago

Ashley Chapman was a senior at Swarthmore when she and her college friends approached the idea of ancestry lineage reports with lighthearted curiosity, joking about the possibility of dating a relative and seeking explanations for endearing personality quirks they all had. They made a pact to read their results in Ashley’s dorm room. The day the results came back, the girls brought in their laptops and sat on the bed and floor, eager to learn more about their heritage. The atmosphere was charged with excitement, but Ashley’s mood shifted dramatically when she saw her results. Her friends quickly noticed her distress, and Dora, one of the young women, grabbed Ashley’s laptop to investigate. The report revealed no DNA connection between Ashley and her parents—the people who had raised her.

The group insisted that Ashley surely resembled her mother, with her dark blonde hair and slightly rosy complexion. The only difference was their lips—Ashley’s were fuller, but other than that, she and her mother were both the same height and had similar body types. Despite Dora’s protests that it had to be a mistake, a seed of doubt had been planted in Ashley’s mind.

It has to be a mistake, Ashley thought to herself, but she wanted clarity. She exited the program and searched for another reputable DNA mapping service. Encouraged by her friends, she ordered a new kit, which promised results within seven to ten business days. She’d have to be patient, but Ashley felt somewhat reassured knowing this would all be cleared up soon.

Over a week had gone by when the second kit arrived. She carefully followed the instructions, registering it, and preparing the sample for shipping. The anticipation of learning the truth about whether she was genetically related to Jessica and Todd Chapman weighed heavily on her. She considered the possibility of asking her parents directly but hesitated, wary of raising questions she was not prepared to hear the answers to. For now, it was vital that she maintain her focus on her studies.

Ashley grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, a little over an hour outside of Philadelphia. On the weekends she would often take the SEPTA into Philly and visit the museums. The Penn Museum was her favorite. She marveled at the differences in cultures and countries. It astounded her that the world was a vastly different place depending on what continent you lived on.

Ashley’s fascination with different cultures crossed over into her academic studies. She enjoyed studying world literature and analyzing the cultural influences on great writers of our time and of the past. Her friends teased her that she always had her nose in a book, and Ashley definitely tried to balance work and leisure, but she also respected the sacrifices her parents made to send her to college. She was determined to make the most of her schooling, squeezing every ounce of education from her curriculum. She was focused and kept her eye on the prize: earning a PhD in literature and becoming a college professor.

Final exams were approaching, and Ashley was determined to maintain her perfect GPA. It was essential for securing scholarships or grants for her master’s degree in Comparative Literature. She had been accepted to Dartmouth, where the cost of attendance was over $100,000, and she didn’t want to graduate with a mountain of debt. Thus, it was incredibly important that her impending DNA results didn’t interfere with the tasks at hand. Still, she was on pins and needles waiting for the new report.

The timing of her academic tests, word of a scholarship, and the DNA results seemed to converge. Ashley knew that no matter how nerve-racking it was, the only thing she could do was keep on moving ahead. Regardless of the results, she could and would handle it. She decided to wait until after graduation to read the DNA results. She rationalized that if she didn’t know for sure, then there wasn’t any need to bring it up with her parents. Besides, there probably wouldn’t be anything to bring up anyway. That first test must have been a mistake.

Exam week passed in a haze of all-night study sessions and killer tests, but Ashley survived. More than that, she aced them all. She never took anything for granted, including her grades, but now she was graduating with a perfect grade point average. Now she just had to wait for the notice from Dartmouth, and the DNA results. Two pivotal pieces of information were close at hand. She nervously checked her email every hour while she packed up her dorm room.

She scrutinized her wardrobe, which consisted of several pairs of jeans, sweatshirts, and a few long-sleeve shirts. She had one basic black dress, several scarves, three pairs of sneakers, and a pair of flats. It was typical college attire. She knew she was going to have to step it up for grad school. She would be among highly regarded published and awarded professors. Not that the educators at Swarthmore were slackers, but she knew the next step was a big one and she wanted to make the best impression possible.

Ashley planned to return to her camp-counselor job for the summer. It would enable her to purchase more appropriate attire and still contribute to the family’s bills. Her mother insisted that it wasn’t necessary, but Ashley was determined to pay for her share.

Her parents divorced during Ashley’s freshman year of college. It was amicable. Even friendly. They both realized they married young, and their interests had taken different paths. Jessica was a teacher and wanted to get her master’s in education administration. Todd started out as a UPS driver and worked his way into management. After thirty years on the job, he decided to retire. He wanted to plot his own driver’s schedule. Todd was attractive; not necessarily handsome, but he was charming, fit, and in his early fifties. He wanted to spread his wings. Not with other women. With an RV. Jessica wanted nothing to do with that. Living as a nomad held no appeal for her. In some ways she was relieved. The first few months after he left his job, Todd was underfoot. Constantly. She welcomed the space, literally and figuratively.

It was clear that her parents loved each other but didn’t want to live together—Jessica in a two-story colonial; Todd in a house on wheels. As they worked out their finances, Jessica bought Todd’s half of the house and Todd spent the money on a Winnebago with an “F-53 Ford chassis!” He was like a kid who got his first bike.

Todd pursued his wanderlust and stayed connected with Ashley and Jessica on a regular basis with weekly catch-up calls, even if it was simply to say hello. They would FaceTime often and shared the details of their lives. It was as if the family was still intact. And in many ways it was. They even spent the holidays together. Ashley was in awe of how “adult” her parents were with each other.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ping on her computer. It was an email from Dartmouth.

Dear Ms. Chapman,

We are happy to inform you that you have received a grant toward your tuition to commence this fall at the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies. Please check your application portal for details. Bear in mind that all other expenditures shall be your responsibility. We look forward to your matriculation. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions.

Ashley read and re-read the notice. She let out a squeak and giant exhale. The next step was to finance the rest of it without bankrupting herself, but this was outstanding news. Things were falling into place.

Her hands were trembling when she phoned her mother to share her good news. She could barely speak when Jessica answered the phone.

“Muh, ma. Mom!” Ashley gasped.

“Are you alright?” Jessica asked with concern.

“I am great!” Ashley caught her breath. “I got the fellowship!”

“That’s wonderful news, darling!” Jessica was truly proud of her only child. “Does your father know?”

“I haven’t spoken to him yet. I wanted you to be the first to know.” Ashley beamed.

“Oh, honey, I am thrilled. You certainly deserve it.”

“Thanks, Mom. And what about you? Any word?”

“Well, I don’t mean to brag but I have good news too.” Jessica chuckled. “I too got a fellowship. Drexel, in Philly.”

“We’re going to be students at the same time!” Ashley squealed. “And did you tell Dad?”

“Not yet. I was waiting to hear from you so we could give two-barrels’ worth of good news.”

“What about Sugar Babe?” Ashley was referring to the family dog, a cockapoo, a mixed breed of cocker spaniel and a poodle. Sugar Babe was considered a standard size, weighing in at twenty-five pounds.

“She’ll be fine. I have to go into the city once a week and the rest is online,” Jessica said. “And I can substitute teach if I want to pick up a few extra dollars.”

Jessica was fifty-four and had recently retired from teaching. After twenty years she had a respectable pension. The house had been paid off and she purchased Todd’s half with money she made in bonds. Once she got her master’s in administration, she planned to work for another ten years and finally retire at sixty-five. She would still be young enough to travel and enjoy the next phase of her life.

Both mother and daughter were ecstatic with each others’ news. Their conversation was animated and continued for several minutes talking about life, the world, and everything.

“Shall we call Dad and break it to him? His two favorite women in grad school?” Ashley snickered.

“Splendid idea,” Jessica chirped.

“Super. Hang on and I’ll dial him in.” After a few beeps and rings Todd answered.

“What’s up, my sweet?” Her father’s clear, baritone voice resonated through the phone. The two women started talking at the same time.

“Whoa! Hold on. Jess, you go first.”

“We have some very exciting news.” Jessica paused. “Both of us got fellowships for our master’s degrees.”

“Like mother, like daughter. My two brainiacs.” Ashley could tell her father was beaming. He always said how proud he was of “his smart girls.” Not that he was uneducated or unintelligent; he just enjoyed listening to Ashley and her mother talking about music, art, and literature.

When they ended their call, Ashley noticed a new email had arrived in her inbox. It was her DNA test results. She reached toward the laptop, then with her finger in midair, she slammed it shut before she could open the report. Ashley decided to “live in the moment” and enjoy the exciting and wonderful news she just received.

Graduation was in a few days and she planned to celebrate it grandly. Her parents, and three of her closest friends, agreed to share the expense of a private dinner at one of the finer dining establishments in the area. Jessica had Face-Timed with the other girls’ mothers, and they planned out the menu. Jessica had a flair for floral arrangements and decided she would decorate the dining table with the “Swarthmore” hybrid tea rose, a pink blend of color with double blooms. Ashley and her gal pals agreed to wear all-white dresses with red shoes. Ashley’s mother purchased four identical scarves for them to wear with their dresses, and the scarves would serve as a memento of their time together.

The commencement ceremony was a joyful event, filled with inspirational speeches. As she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, Ashley spotted her parents in the audience. They were beaming, their eyes filled with happy tears. She knew they were proud of her accomplishments.

After caps were thrown in the air and pictures taken, Ashley and her friends headed to the restaurant. Champagne was served as the guests arrived and then each girl made a short speech. The young women waxed poetic about the fun, exams, and a few things they had neglected to tell their parents before. No one was surprised that they drove to Churchill Downs to watch the famous “Run for the Roses,” the Kentucky Derby. They justified it by saying the school flower was a rose. Ashley gestured her champagne flute toward one of the many displayed on the table to punctuate the story. Everyone laughed, inviting more stories of their college antics. It was a bittersweet ending to four years of hard work, and good fun.

The following day everyone gathered on the sidewalk waiting for their ride into the next chapter of their lives. There were lots of hugs and tears and promises to “keep in touch.” Ashley was realistic enough to know the odds of having more than one friend stay in your life were slim, especially since everyone lived at least an hour’s drive from each other. Ashley was from Doylestown, and her friends were scattered throughout Upstate New York, North Carolina, and Delaware. Plus, next year she would be studying in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Ashley was both excited and nervous about this next step. Although she travelled a bit on family vacations and outings with her friends, this would be the first time she would be living anywhere but Pennsylvania. She grew up in Doylestown, a small suburb on the outskirts of Philadelphia; and Swarthmore, also a small town outside of Philly, was just an hour from her hometown. From what she could tell online, Hanover didn’t seem much different. It was also a small town, and only a six-hour drive away. The transition shouldn’t be too difficult, although the workload and pressure of graduate school would be much more intense. Ashley planned to get her master’s in a year and then on to her PhD, which would take another five. It was a noble goal. Challenging but doable.

As the vehicles pulled up in front of the dorms, Ashley spotted her father’s Winnebago. All of her friends recognized his home on wheels and waved enthusiastically. Todd Chapman honked his horn twice in greeting.

Jessica and Todd exited the RV. Ashley took an exceptionally long look at their faces, their stature, and their mannerisms. There was no mistaking that they were her natural parents. A sense of relief washed over her. She didn’t realize how much the doubt in the back of her mind had been weighing on her. Her eyes welled up with tears of joy and relief.

Her father, a spry fifty-six-year-old, hoisted Ashley’s steamer trunk and banker boxes into his motorhome. More hugs and tears followed as she bid adieu to her “college-fam,” ready for her future.

Dartmouth College

The summer went by in a blur. Before she knew it, Ashley was preparing for a three-day orientation at Dartmouth, a prestigious Ivy League college that was founded in 1769. The graduate student body was slightly over 2,000 with a 2:1 male-to-female ratio. People teased her about how easy it was going to be to “find a husband,” but that wasn’t the first thing on her to-do list. For Ashley, the immersive learning experience was what she was most interested in. She decided when she had all of her degrees in her back pocket she could make room for another person in her life. For now, romantic relationships were simply a distraction.

The only downside to the location of Dartmouth was the lack of ease getting there from Doylestown. One option was taking a six-hour train ride from Philly to Boston, then driving another two hours by car; flying took almost six hours with a stop in Boston, the same amount of time as if she simply drove. Her father offered to be her transportation and accommodations, which was something she could not refuse. It would save her several hundred dollars, plus give her an opportunity to spend a little more time with her dad. This would be their first road trip together. Todd extended the invitation to Jessica, who graciously declined.

The traffic was unusually light for a summer weekend. By three o’clock they had arrived at the Mascoma Lake Campground, ten miles from the campus. That’s when Ashley realized one of the cons of living in an RV: You couldn’t park wherever you wanted. Her father remedied that by having an electric bike attached to his motorhome for such situations. But Ashley wasn’t about to show up for her orientation wearing a helmet and biker’s gear. She praised the Lord for Uber but soon discovered they weren’t as available as one might be accustomed to.

Todd pulled the RV up to the small cabin-like main office where they registered and asked for suggestions on local transportation. The manager gave them a business card for a local taxi service. “The most reliable way to get around if you don’t have your own vehicle.” He chuckled. “Are you folks here to do some hiking or are you headed to the college?”

“My daughter will be getting her master’s from Dartmouth.” Todd beamed.

“You must be a smart girl,” the man addressed Ashley.

“You bet she is!” Todd responded. “Her mom and I couldn’t be prouder.”

“And I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all the opportunities my parents gave me!” Ashley smiled at her father.

“Well, it sounds like you’re both very lucky to have each other. Enjoy your stay and good luck to you!” the man said and gave Todd directions to where he should park.

Todd drove past rows of tiny houses and cabins that faced a pristine lake, which was surrounded by greenery as far as the eye could see. When they arrived at the designated area for RVs, Todd pulled into his spot. He quickly began to connect the auxiliary power cables, then he hit the buttons for the slide-out wall that made the RV wider. Ashley watched the ritual in amazement. In the summer, he would park the RV in the driveway for the few days he visited, but she really never explored the home on wheels. It was apparently full of surprises. Still, she could appreciate her mother’s reluctance to live on the road. She wondered what her father had planned for dinner. Would he cook?

He immediately answered her thoughts: “How about I grill a couple of steaks?” He grinned at the expression of surprise on Ashley’s face. “What? You didn’t think I would have considered food?” He chuckled. “Remember, I do this every day.” He winked. “How do you feel about a couple of baked potatoes?”

Ashley’s stomach was making sounds in anticipation of a juicy sirloin. “Sounds great! I’m a bit peckish.”

“Listen to you sounding all fancy.” Todd enjoyed teasing his daughter. He often thought she was too serious and had to snap her into a more relaxed mode.

Ashley stuck out her tongue. “Do you have anything for a charcuterie?”

Todd burst out laughing. “Charcuterie? But of course, m’lady.” He hopped inside the RV. Ashley looked on with wonder. She really had no clue what to expect.

Todd pulled out a few plates then opened the small fridge. Inside was a platter of cheese, salami, and fruit. He placed it on the counter, then unhooked two folding chairs and brought them outside. Next was a small folding table, which he situated at an angle so they had a 180-degree unobscured view of the lake. Todd bounded back into the RV and returned with his appetizing platter.

“Impressive!” Ashley cooed sincerely. But she still wasn’t convinced this was the life she would sign up for.

The two sat and gazed at the view.

“It’s quite beautiful,” Ashley mused. “The entire area is beautiful.” The countryside was not dissimilar to Swarthmore, and she appreciated the continuity. When her nose wasn’t in a book, she was hiking. Nothing strenuous. Simply a walk through the woods.

While combing through her options for graduate work, the location and scenery were an important part of the equation. The main campus of Dartmouth boasts some of the oldest and largest oak trees in the state. In 1807, the state of New Hampshire granted a 27,000-acre forest near the Maine border to the university, one hundred miles from campus. Seasonal walking tours are arranged by the campus arborist. Ashley believed she would have the best of both worlds: nature and academia.

“What time do you plan on serving dinner?” she asked.

“What time do you want to eat?”

“This hit the spot.” She nodded at the empty platter. “How about in an hour? I’d like to take a quick walk near the lake.”

“That’s fine but stay out of the water,” he teased.

“Roger that!” Ashley said as she tied the sleeves of her sweater around her neck.

Todd watched as his grown-up daughter wandered toward the shoreline. She was as pretty as her mother, he thought to himself. It was uncanny.

When Ashley returned, the fire was ready for the beef. “Can I do anything?” she asked.

“There’s a bottle of cabernet in the bin. Why don’t you fetch it and grab a couple of glasses.”

Ashley hopped up the steps to the kitchenette area. A photo of her and her mother was taped to the inside door of one of the cabinets. She smiled. She knew her father loved her and her mother. She wondered if he missed living in a two-story home with all the comforts and amenities. Then she reminded herself that he had been doing this drive-about for almost three years. She opened another cupboard looking for glasses and discovered a basket filled with maps of all the national parks. She smiled and thought, He must be thoroughly enjoying himself.

Ashley made a salad while Todd supervised the meat. A radio playing music by some punk band could be heard in the distance. Ashley grimaced. The lead singer sounded like he was moaning and whining. She stuck her head out the door. “Hey, Dad! Do you have anything that can drown out that annoyance?” sh. . .