Choosing Happiness Read Online Free Page A

sleep. It was handy when we had to stay up for days, but a pain when he'd had too much and wanted to sleep."
    The waitress approached. A young woman, probably no more than 20, with pale skin and red hair that obviously came from a bottle. "Have you decided if you’re going to eat?"
    "Yes, please." Jake hadn’t even picked up the menu.
    "All right. What can I get for you?”
    Jake looked at Andrea, waiting for her to place her order.
    Once they'd both ordered and the waitress left to turn it in and get a pot to refill Jake's coffee, he turned back to Andrea. "So, I know all about your brother, and what he told me about your family, but there’s one thing I’d like to know.”
    “What?” she gave him a confused frown.
    “What do you do?"
    Andrea laughed, realizing her brother had probably never told him what she’d been studying the last time she’d seen him, and really why would he? "I'm a nurse."
    "So you work at Grant County Hospital?"
    "Yep, been there for a little over a year."
    "What ward?"
    "I don't work the wards. I'm strictly an emergency room RN."
    "That's pretty high stress.” He tilted his head to one side and watched her.
    "At times, yes. Thankfully, those times aren't often here. I mean, sure, we see the occasional car wreck, or traumatic injury. Most of those are sent out to Tucson though, we only have to deal with stabilizing them until they can be transported. Most of what we deal with are accidental injuries and weekend illnesses."
    "That's good, too. It means you live in a good community, where people aren't trying to kill each other on a daily basis."
    "It's good for you, too, fewer violent call outs, less chance of being hurt on duty." She agreed, it was a good town. Big enough to have the services most people wanted and retailers that handled most of what you could want, without having the impersonal, lost in the crowd feeling of a city.
    "There is that." He drained his cup and held it as the waitress refilled it.
    “You sure you don’t want any cream?” the waitress asked.
    “I’m good, thanks.”
    "You're food should be out in just a few minutes. Is there anything else I can get you until then?" She looked at Andrea. "Would you like some more tea?"
    "Yes, please." Andrea said.
    "I'll be right back with that."
    True to her word, she was back in just a few seconds with a pitcher and after she refilled the glass she left them alone, going back to refilling salt and pepper shakers on the other end of the restaurant.
    "So, now that you've spent some time with all of us, not just heard Ben talk about us, you still sure you want to adopt us?"
    "Without a doubt. The way everyone pitched in and did whatever needed to be done to ensure that today was successful and happy for Ben and Jeanie. That's what I’ve always dreamed a real family does."
    "I'll warn you though. We were all on our best behavior to make it special for him. We often bicker and argue, sometimes at the top of our lungs."
    "But at the end of the day, you're all willing to set aside any differences of opinion in order to do this for him, right?"
    "Of course."
    "That's what I mean."
    “But if you’re family, then I’m not sure I should be going home with you tonight. It would be too much like incest.” She looked at him from the corner of her eye, as if trying to see if he bought it.
    He laughed. “There’s more than one way to be family. You consider Jeanie family, don’t you?”
    “Of course.”
    “So I can adopt you as my family for now, maybe I’ll find a different way to make it official later.” He gave her a cheeky grin
    “You’re getting ahead of yourself there, but I see what you’re saying.” She shot him a shy smile. "You know Ben well enough to know what you're getting into. You should know though, he’s scared off every one of the few guys I’ve ever brought home to meet my family."
    "Then you've been dating the wrong kind of guy, sweetheart."
    "That may be true, but it wasn't my family like you saw