BooksBarbecue
Back The Jump
Chapters (52)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. BOOK ONE
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. BOOK TWO
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  46. BOOK THREE
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Epilogue

‘No, I don’t. And I’ll give you a bit of advice, Stephen. You’re Georgio’s brother and he loves you, but like me, he can see right through you.’ And Paddy watched as Stephen’s face hardened.

A plump woman came on to the stage in a tight red satin basque. She would never see forty-five again, and as the strains of ‘Ma, He’s Making Eyes at Me’ blared out of the loudspeaker, Paddy stood up to leave. Leaning closer to Stephen, he winked and said, ‘Now this one is much more your cup of tea, eh? Old enough to be your mother.’

Laughing loudly, he walked from the smoky club, leaving Stephen fuming, not because of what Paddy had said about the stripper but because he had been foolish enough to come out into the open.

Settling back in his seat he watched the woman’s act until the end. Then he left the club as unobtrusively as possible.

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Dolly looked into the room Georgio used as his office and tutted loudly. ‘Did you find what you were looking for last night?’

Donna was walking down the stairs. ‘I’ll clear it all up when I get back later,’ she promised.

Dolly flapped a hand. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll clear it up for you after breakfast.’

‘I’d really rather you left it alone, Dolly. I want to put the stuff back myself so I can make some rhyme and reason out of it, all right? Thanks anyway for offering.’

Dolly nodded, bewildered. ‘Whatever you like, love. My, you look beautiful. You’ll knock your man’s eyes out. New, is it?’

Donna smiled. ‘I bought it a while ago and never wore it. I thought I’d give it an airing today. How did you know I was going to see Georgio again?’

Dolly walked through to the kitchen. ‘Oh, Maeve mentioned it when she rang. Why? Is it a big secret or something?’

Donna found herself getting annoyed. ‘No, it’s just I wondered how you knew, that’s all. It seems to me lately that everyone knows everything about me before I do.’

Dolly faced her and said gently, ‘You need a rest, darlin’, to get away for a bit. You’re getting paranoid about everything.’

‘And where do you suggest I go, Dolly?’ Donna sighed. ‘Or haven’t you and Maeve sorted that out yet?’ Even as she spoke, Donna was aware how unfair she was being. She put her arms around Dolly’s waist and said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. But I’ve got a lot on my mind lately. I hate all this constant questioning, you see. You never wanted to know so much before.’

Dolly hugged her back, thinking: You never had Lewis hanging over you before - but she kept her own counsel.

‘I worry about you, ducks.’