Chapters (48)
- Cover
- THEFEUD
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
Jessica shook her head. By the time they’d got home, both the twins were out for the count and they had had to carry them up the stairs. ‘It’s only for tonight, Ed. I don’t want them waking up wondering where they are. Anyway, they’ve both had a bit of a tummy bug. I want them next to me, so I know they’re all right.’
The following morning the twins were both full of beans. ‘Can we go and play outside?’ Frankie asked excitedly.
‘You can play in the garden later. Firstly, you’ve both got to have a bath and then Daddy’s gonna take us all out for lunch,’ Jessica told them.
Frankie stuck her bottom lip out. ‘I don’t want to go out for lunch, Mummy. I want to have a picnic in the tree house.’
Jessica smiled. Trying to keep the kids from getting dirty in the garden could be a real pain sometimes, but she was glad to be back home. ‘How about if we go to that pub that’s got the big play area?’ Jessica asked hopefully.
Joey and Frankie jumped up and down on the bed. They liked the pub with the play area, there were lots of other children there. ‘Can we go now, Mummy?’ Joey pleaded.
Jessica lifted them both off the bed. ‘Bath first and then we can go,’ she laughed.
Hearing Jess and the kids banging about, Eddie got up himself. ‘Good morning, sexy,’ he said, hugging his wife.
His touch felt good and Jessica returned the compliment. ‘I’ve told the kids we’ll take them to that Beefeater that’s got the big play area. Get yourself ready, Ed, and we can stop on the way and deliver our apologies.’
‘Can’t we do that tomorrow? We can’t take the kids with us, can we?’
Annoyed that he was trying to go back on his word, Jessica pulled away from him. ‘Don’t start breaking promises, Ed. We said we were gonna do it today and we will. The kids’ll be fine – we’ll only be a minute and they can sit in the car.’
Knowing he was still on a trial run, Eddie unwillingly agreed. He was dreading being marched up to people’s houses like a naughty schoolboy. Him – Eddie Mitchell? Talk about making him look a cunt but, unfortunately, he didn’t have much choice. He wanted his life with Jess to get back to normal and if a few apologies allowed that to happen, it was worth it.
An hour later, Eddie stood at Pat Murphy’s front door and rang the musical bell. Hearing it play, ‘When Irish Eyes are Smiling’, Eddie couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Trust Patrick! Fuck knows where he got that from,’ he said to Jessica.