Best Family Ever by Karen Kingsbury & Tyler Russell

Author:Karen Kingsbury & Tyler Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

12

Choosing Happy

ASHLEY

That night Ashley wanted to sketch a bit. Drawing made her feel happy and calm. Like maybe God had created her to draw the way He created some people to dance or sing.

She found her new journal in her suitcase and took it out onto the upstairs back deck. Then she found a quiet spot with a view of the whole ocean and she turned to an open page. Today she would sketch two things.

A sand castle bigger than anything on the beach.

And a cloud shaped like a tree.

For a long time she sat there drawing. When she was finished she smiled at her work. Perfect, she thought. Just how she saw it in her heart. She sniffed the air. Her dad was grilling chicken for dinner and it smelled like home and vacation all mixed together.

“Dad.” She ran down the stairs and found him standing at the grill. “Your chicken smells professional.” She tucked her journal under her arm and smiled at him. “How do you do that?”

“Hi there.” He laughed and closed the lid of the grill. “It’s all in the marinating.” He winked at Ashley and they took chairs beside each other.

Just then Brooke and Kari came up the sand, laughing and talking.

“Hi!” Kari waved at them. “We had the most fun day!”

Ashley looked down at the journal on her lap. She rolled her eyes. Never mind her own great day. She wasn’t going to tell Brooke and Kari. They didn’t care about her news, anyway. Not when they had ignored her all day.

Kari didn’t seem to notice Ashley’s hurt feelings. Ashley watched her carry a pail full of seashells. She couldn’t stop talking about their great time. “After we played in the waves, we walked the whole beach and picked up the prettiest shells.” She stared into her bucket. “But we never found a single sand dollar.”

She held the pail up for Dad and Ashley to see.

Ashley crossed her arms and huffed. “No one cares about your shells.”

Her dad gave her a look. “Ashley!”

She put her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.” She hadn’t actually meant for those words to cross from her heart over her lips. They were supposed to be for her insides only.

Her dad looked more hurt than angry. “That wasn’t very nice. Your sisters are excited about their shells.”

Tears were starting to come again. Ashley turned to her sisters. “I didn’t mean it.” She ordered her tears to stop. “It’s just . . . you two left me out all day. Every day.”

“You could’ve joined us anytime.” Brooke’s answer came quick.

Kari just looked down at the pail of shells. Like maybe she felt a little bad.

“We never left you out.” Brooke’s tone was impatient. “So don’t pout about it now.”

“I’m not pouting.” Ashley stood and stared at Brooke. “You’re being mean.”

“Girls!” Their dad wasn’t having any more of this. His tone made that clear. “That’s enough.”

Ashley couldn’t stay another minute. She held her journal tight and ran back upstairs. Once inside the house, she raced down the hallway to the spiral staircase.

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