All Chapters of Mermaid Thighs: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

They say we are too young to love but maybe they are too old to remember, - Wiz KhalifaThe lunch was nice.JD was pretty sure it was nice. He remembered smiling a lot. Mainly as he watched Dean. With a blanket over his uniform, he had fed his younger siblings their bottles. It was something that he discovered he had missed. Who would have thought that feeding a baby their bottle would be something that a nineteen-year-old man would miss? But he had. He had missed Janelle watching everything around her while she ate and tried to stay awake. And how Jagger would get so excited over getting to eat. There was no doubt that he was going to be just as big as his dad. And little Jaina…Her large blue eyes stared at him, and he swore she was asking “Where the hell have you been?”After he burped the youngest of the triplets, he took his niece and fed her also. “You look good doing that.” Holmes said as he sat down next to JD. “Planning on having any of your o

When you truly understand karma, then you realize you are responsible for everything in your life. – Keanu ReevesThe trip to Chicago ended too soon. It had been hard to watch JD and Dean say goodbye at the gate. He didn’t want to let her go and she refused to release him from her grasp. It had been Savannah, the driver that they had befriended and hired for the rest of their trip, that had finally pulled her away.“Trust me, little girl.” The woman said as she gently pried Dean’s hands off the uniform. “No one knows better than me how much it sucks to hand over your man to the Navy. But they own him now.”Finally releasing his uniform, she clutched his hand. “You’re going to come back to me?”“Always, baby.” He whispered with his voice also thick with emotions. Leaning in, he kissed her gently. “I love you, Dean. I will always come back to you.”Then he hugged his older brother and sisters and their partners before giving each of the babies a little snuggle

Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision. – Gina RodriguezIt was a little after nine when Reese pulled into the back parking lot behind the turn of the century dry goods store that now housed his company offices. The last store at the end was becoming available at the end of the year, and he planned on owning it. Tire of sharing a single office, his project managers had been requesting offices of their own.Most of their work was done on site, and they each had offices in their houses. He contracted with an architecture company and a separate engineering company. The trades were all self-contained within his company. Except landscaping – he had two companies that he contracted with for that. TRAAC took care of the payroll and financial side of the business.For the most part, it was just Willow at the office. And that was how she preferred it. He worried about her, but Neo always had someone keeping an eye on her. Stepping through the back door, he found himself steppi

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses. – Alphonse KarrJolene had not realized how much she had missed cooking with her mom for Thanksgiving. They laughed and joked as she did the prep work and Helen did the actual cooking. Cheryl and Dean helped where they could and Bunny sat at the kitchen island, taste testing everything.Currently Jolene was cutting and peeling apples for her mother’s now famous apple pies. As the knife slid just under the green skin, she thought about how much she nearly lost. Nearly missed out on. Her baby siblings. Her niece. JD’s high school graduation. His graduation from Navy boot camp. Neo. Her mom finding happiness.The apple in her hand blurred and her hands began to shake. The sounds of the other women around her laughing and talking slowly faded away. A warm hand gently took the knife and apple out of her hands. A ragged sob escaped her as she was pulled into a very familiar chest.Neo li

May your walls know joy; may every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility. – Maryanne Radmacher Hershey“Reese!” Cooper called from the front room of the main house. “Reese!” he called again, moving deeper into the house and heading for the laundry room just off the open concept kitchen. “Damn it, Reese!”“I keep telling you, call me JD. Reese is my dad.” He replied as he screwed in the last anchor for the shelves above where the washer and dryer will go. “I’m not used to answering to it, yet.”“Yet?” Cooper chuckled as he propped his shoulder against the door frame. “You act like you haven’t had the name your whole life.”He was a few inches taller than JD and had short dark blonde hair and pale green eyes. Having been a linebacker in high school, he was bulkier than JD was. The deep tan of his skin and dark lines of his tattoos only seemed to emphasize his muscles. Today he wore jean shorts and a dark gray tight Under Armor T-shirt.“I ha