A Mermaid for Christmas

By Nichole Chase

A short story from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Nichole Chase.

What does a mermaid ask for at Christmas? Follow young Meena and her father to find out!

Approximately 3,000 words.

(Originally part of the Christmas Lites II Anthology--reedited and fleshed out.)

Includes a large sample of Flukes

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nichole Chase
• Release date: Nov 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310733826

Nichole Chase

Nichole Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Suddenly Royal and Recklessly Royal. She lives in Georgia with her husband, little girl, superhero dog, Sulcata tortoise, and two cats. When not devouring novels by the dozens, you can find her writing, painting, crafting, or chasing her daughter around the house while making monster noises.

Book preview

by

* * * *

A Mermaid for Christmas

A Flukes Novella

Copyright © 2013 by Nichole Chase

ISBN: 9781310733826

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For other titles by Nichole Chase, visit Smashwords

Table of Contents

A Mermaid for Christmas

Preview of Flukes

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

About the Author

Daddy? What are those animals with sticks on their heads?

Those are reindeer, sweetie. Daddy ruffled my hair and smiled down at me. Noise from all the shoppers echoed around us, so I tightened my fingers around his. I wasn’t used to this much racket.

Looking at the fake animals, I tried to understand how they could fly if they didn’t have wings. Maybe they were like me and always had wings, even if you couldn’t see them. I don’t put on my legs all the time, so maybe their wings were hidden like my tail. Their feet kind of looked like the horse I saw once in a parade, but I didn’t see anything to give away the wings. I guessed someone could keep their wings when they were around humans. That was part of the fun of being a mermaid—switching back and forth between my tail and my legs.

Craning my neck, I looked down the line to see what everyone was waiting for. The old man sitting at the front of the line was sweating heavily, and his red jacket had stains under his arms and around his neck. Why would he wear something so hot?

Daddy? Why is that man wearing a coat and hat? He looks really hot. I pulled on Daddy’s hand to get his attention. Doesn’t he? Look hot?

What? Oh. Daddy kneeled down in the line we were standing in. Remember? Santa lives somewhere very cold, so he probably forgot how warm it is here in the islands.

Oh. Looking back at the man, I thought about what Daddy said. Shouldn’t Santa remember what it’s like everywhere? Why doesn’t he take it off now?

Well, he probably didn’t bring anything else to wear. He tugged on my hair and smiled.

And he’s the one who brings everyone their presents? My nose squished up while I thought about it. He didn’t look like he could make it around the world in one night. In fact, he didn’t look like he could move very fast at all. But he did look jolly—which I was pretty sure meant happy. I watched as he laughed with a little girl. Yeah, he looked jolly.

Yep. He brings all the little boys and girls a special present to open on Christmas Day. Daddy’s smile widened a bit. Do you know what you’re going to ask for yet?

I shook my head and leaned