While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. – Angela SchwindtAfter Tru left, Reese drove around to the back and parked in the owners spot. He didn’t usually do this, but there was something that he needed to check on.He slipped in through the employee entrance and took the stairs up to the third floor. Two IGYS guards sat at a monitor display watching the various screens.“Any issues?”“None here.” Clayton reported. “Constellations had a fight. Parties have been removed.”“Good.” Reese replied as he headed for the door marked private. Entering his code on the keypad, he opened the door and crossed the office. The second door required another code before opening. The apartment was tucked away and hidden for a reason. Reese was here to make sure that it was ready to be used if needed.It was one of the charities that he supported. The Family Advocacy Center had a side that many did not know about. One that he and several others sup
You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. – Cayla MillsBunny had two phones. Her personal phone and the emergency phone. There were no names to any of the phone numbers stored in the emergency phone. Initials and an eight digit date followed by special characters. Each entry represented a woman, child or family hiding from an abuser.No matter where she was, what she was doing, when that phone rang, she answered. She was sleeping between the two men. Her head rested on Jaxon’s shoulder and Ty was starfished behind her. She and Jaxon were both snugglers. Ty tried, but once he was asleep, he had a tendency to take up as much space as possible. His most common position being the starfish. The emergency phone started ringing and before she could reach over Ty, he was handing it to her. Jaxon got up and went downstairs to fix her a cup of coffee. She had her advocacy uniform set aside to pull on in an event like this. Black denim jeans, dark blu
Everything is within your power, and your power is within you. – Janice TrachtmanYesterday when they had gotten together at Jaxon’s house for Sunday dinner, Helen’s adult children, had told her that she should take some time for herself. It was what she wanted to hear for years. She wanted to be noticed. To be appreciated. And finally she was. Jaxon even gave her a gym bag with goodies. Inside was the outfit that she had bought and two more. There was a cute pink water bottle that declared ‘I’m a mom of three… you don’t scare me!’ There was also a motivational workout and food log. In addition to everything else, there was a gift card to the local sporting goods store. “You’ve got this, mom.” JD told her.Jolene seemed off. More quiet than usual. But midterms were right around the corner and Hank dismissed their concerns. “My girl is going to be the best teacher this town has ever had.” He had boasted and said that he was going to get her the best school ring ever seen. She had
Whether you believe that you can or you can’t, you’re right. – Henry FordHelen laughed as a buff man with a Marine tattoo wrapped his arms around Pinky from the back. “You’re not offering me up as a signing bonus again, are you?”“That depends. Am I cooking tonight?” she asked looking up at him.“What is the correct answer?” he asked. “The correct answer is no, your beautiful wife is not cooking tonight.” She told him.“Very well. My beautiful, intelligent, sexy wife is not cooking tonight.” He gave her a quick kiss. “And neither are you.” Before she could respond, he was dashing across the building. “He’s yours.” Pinky laughed and Helen felt a pang of jealousy. “No charge.”She had never had an easy relationship like that. Bob had married her after dating for a few months because she was pregnant and his father was telling him to settle down. She was barely eighteen and he was twenty-five. He had encouraged her to continue her education and she was nearly through with her degree w
You only have one life. Make sure it’s yours. – Eleanor BrownCoordinating a date night with both of her men was a headache for Bunny. Ty was on shift for twenty-four hours every third day. She was on call for the center almost constantly since they had recently lost a crisis intervention officer. And Jaxon wasn’t ready to be out of the closet. And she wouldn't push.It was a headache. But it was one she was willing to have. The planets had aligned and she took one last look in her mirror. Her hair was curled and styled flowing around her face. Her sea green eyes sparkled with excitement and a little glitter. A pale blue sheer dress clung to her curves and the dark blue sheath dress underneath it. They were so tight that there was no doubt that there was nothing underneath. The only other things she wore were silver stilettos and a silver choker and earrings. Bunny was planning on getting lucky tonight. She went downstairs and found her men watching Thursday Night Football. They bo
Some people are so poor, all they have is money. – Bob MarleyJD looked at the message from his dad asking him to call. He never did this. Certainly never texted him during school. Walking away from the group of friends, he called his dad. “What are you doing?” Bob asked. “I’m at school.” JD replied as if it was the most obvious thing. Which, since it was Tuesday morning at nine thirty, it was.“Oh. I thought you graduated.”“In May.” The teen said as the bell rang. “I’ve got to get to class.”“Oh, well, call me when you’re done. We’ll grab lunch.”JD pulled his phone away and looked at it as if the object was stupid. Shaking his head, he held the phone back up to his ear. “I get out at four. It’s high school.”“Okay. Dinner?”“Fine. I’ll check with mom.”“Why?”“Because unlike some people, I go home every night. Text me when and where.” Rolling his eyes, JD ended the call.Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he walked into the classroom and went to his history teacher and swim
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. – GoetheSeveral of the girls from TRAAC were going out on Friday night to celebrate Tina getting engaged. Helen resisted Wednesday and most of Thursday. Then, around three, she finally caved. Having agreed, she texted Jolene and Bunny. Jolene said that she was not feeling well. Bunny insisted on getting Helen a new outfit. Looking at herself in the mirror, Helen considered backing out. She was forty-three. A size eighteen. That, she was proud of. She was about to move into a size twenty and now eighteen was getting loose. The wine colored velveteen A-line dress ended just before her knees. Bunny picked out a pair of camel color knee high boots to go with it. The gold necklace with the small pearl pendant hung around Helen’s neck. At the last minute, she added small gold hoop earrings. She had never been to Constellations since it reopened as a bar and was excited to see it. They all met
You taught me how to move the stars, one at a time, until new constellations formed in the sky. – Christy Ann MartineAfter Reese had hung up with Frank from TRAAC, he called Joshua and told him to make sure that they got in and were taken care of. Joshua knew better than to ask questions of his boss. But the next day when they were at the gym, he teased his friend about his crush. “I know you, boss man, it’s those thighs of hers.” Joshua said as Reese watched the woman in question wave at Pinky as she entered. “Me? Those tits.”Reese grunted. He liked the whole package. The thighs, tits, smile, everything. Plus, he had the advantage of having spent time with her. He made way more appointments with Frank than he needed and always showed up early. “I don’t mind charging you for an hour of my time, but don’t you think it would be cheaper to just ask her out?” Frank had asked Wednesday at their appointment about… well, nothing. And when Joshua had flashed his light at the camera, Ree