IN THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Read Free Page A

her parents were not in bed. They were not even home. That was more than a little weird to her considered her mom refused to go anywhere. She pushed the thought out of her mind and headed to her room to turn in for the night. She had no trouble falling asleep that night. All and all the day hadn’t been nearly as bad as she thought it would be. Matter of fact in her mind it was kind of perfect. She woke up earlier than usual and to her surprise her parents hadn’t returned overnight like she thought they would. She was starting to worry, but there wasn’t anything that she could do until she heard from them. Even though she was worried she welcomed the peace and quiet.  She decided to take advantage of being alone and fixed herself some breakfast.
    After she was done eating she headed into the deli for what she knew would be a long day. She went through her usual routine taking her time to get into work. When she arrived she had another surprise waiting on her. Joe was standing out front patiently waiting on her. He was knelt down leaning against the brick wall. When Ashley came into view he immediately jumped up into the standing position. She could tell by his actions that he had been very there for a long time. “Good morning beautiful woman. I was beginning to think that you quit your job and left town to get away from me.” He said toying with an unopened pack of cigarettes. “No, I was just taking my time getting here. Besides if I quit my job I wouldn’t have any money to leave town with.” She said with a giggle. “Well that’s a good thing then. I would hate to have to spend my hard earned money tracking you down.” He said as the smile disappeared from his face. Ashley didn’t say anything but that statement had creeped her out.  After thinking about it for a while she decided that it was just his attempt at humor.
    After studying her face for a brief moment Joe decided that it probably wouldn’t be in his best interest to say something else like that.
    CHAPTER:8
    He could tell just by looking at her that Ashley was very mature for her age. He could also see that she wasn’t one for playing games. He knew that if it came to games she would be gone in the blink of an eye. That wasn’t an option for him. He had already invested time on winning her over and he always got what he wanted. To him it would have been a waste of time investing in something that you might lose interest in. “Did you sleep well?” he asked attempting to lighten the mood. “Actually I did.” She responded. She thought a minute about telling him about her parents not coming home. Then she decided against it. She hadn’t mentioned the fact that she still lived at home to him. She was certain that if she mentioned that he wouldn’t want her anymore.
    “Well I hate to cut this short, but I don’t want you to be late for work. We are still on for dinner tonight right?” He asked suddenly looking uncomfortable with his surroundings. “Sure, as soon as I’m off work.” She said. Just as she finished the sentence he was gone. Her only thought was how mysterious this man was from the short time that she had known him. That was okay though. She found his mystery attractive. She then walked into the deli prepared for what could be very well the longest day of her life. Today hadn’t been very busy especially for a Friday. The only people that where there were just a couple of the regulars. James Jenkins, one of the local farmers who had stopped for lunch because his wife was out shopping. Everyone knew him as the strong but silent type. I had never heard him speak of anyone. The only talking he ever did was of his farm. Other than that he would sit quietly and eat his meal. As soon as he was finished he would pay the bill and rush back off to the farm.
    Nancy Peters, she was known as the town busy body. She knew everyone’s business before they did. She was a short stocky Christian woman. She always wore her grey hair up in a