‘The old man ain’t gonna shoot you. He knows we’re a couple and he likes you. Come and say hello to Shelby with me,’ Georgie said.

‘You all right, Georgie girl?’ Lola asked, spotting her stepdaughter appear from the shadows. Lola was only seven years older than Georgie, so they were more like sisters than stepmother and daughter.

‘Is Shelby awake?’ Georgie asked hopefully. She loved her little sister dearly.

‘No, she’s soundo,’ Lola answered, lowering the sleeping child in her arms to prove it.

‘You all right, darling? Been looking after her for me again, have you, Ryan?’

Ryan grinned. ‘Of course! Your daughter won’t come to no harm while she’s with me, so you’ve got no worries on that score.’

Bursting with pride, Georgie couldn’t help showing off the ring that Ryan had given her. ‘This was my surprise birthday present from Ryan. It’s an eternity ring. Do you like it, Dad?’

Chapter Thirty-Three

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Frankie felt bright and breezy when she arose the following morning. The migraine she’d had the previous day had now cleared and she felt ready to face the world again.

‘You look nice. Are you looking forward to seeing Matty?’ Frankie asked her friend as she ventured into the kitchen.

When Matilda had briefly dabbled with heroin, Babs had been devastated and so disappointed with her, but since her daughter had got herself clean their relationship had got back on track again.

‘Yeah, I am. Kelvin’s coming with me and I’m gonna take both of them to Oxford Street. Then later, my mum’s gonna cook us all chicken, rice and peas for dinner. I’m gonna stay at my mum’s tonight. Jordan’s gonna stay at his mate’s house. Will you be OK on your own, Frankie?’

‘I’ll be fine. I’m gonna let Brett have a day off school and Stuart’s gonna take us both for lunch.’

‘Is that the same Stuie-wooie who wants to get into those panties of yours?’ Babs asked teasingly.

‘No, it’s the same Stuie-wooie that we were meant to go out with yesterday, but couldn’t ’cause I was ill. I only said I’d go today ’cause I felt horrible about letting him down.’

‘Pull the other one, it’s got bells on,’ Babs said, laughing.

At the other end of Great Britain, Georgie O’Hara was sitting in Josie’s trailer and was desperately trying to comfort her friend, who had just been told that her mother’s cancer had returned. Georgie wasn’t very good with situations such as these and as Josie started to cry, she desperately searched for the right words to say to her.