Page 3 of Johny

My sweet boy. My heart aches for him. He’d had to grow up pretty fast and even though he was only four years old, sometimes he acted much older. Going to the fridge, I pulled out a couple of bottles of water and a few juice boxes, picking up the bag that I kept ready to go packed with spare clothes, toys, colouring books and pencils off the floor near the kitchen door, I added the water and juice to it. Once it was packed, I swung it over my shoulder and walked to the front door.

“Can you open the door for Mummy, please Jackson?”

Not quibbling, Jackson does as I ask. Once we’re on the small porch, I have him close the door behind us. There’s no reason to lock it, not livingwhere we do.

Before long, I’ve got the two of them strapped into their car seats and we’re on the road towards Fitheach to start cleaning The Lounge.

It doesn’t take long for us to reach it, not at this time of the night. Some may think I’m nuts bringing the children out with me at this time of the night.

Not that I really cared because that was them and I’m me. I’ll keep doing what I think is best for all of us and walking up and down our little cottage wasn’t cutting it, but a change of scenery might. I guess being brought up in foster care had its advantages. I didn’t have any well-meaning relatives getting involved telling me how to bring up my children.

I’d lived in both good and bad homes, and I’d picked up a few useful tips on parenting in both.

Parking behind The Lounge, I know that Adam will have someone watching the cameras, so once I have the children out of my car, I go to the back door, look up and wave at the camera. The green light blinks red then back to green, so I know someone knows we are here. Taking my keys, I open the door and rush to switch off the alarm. Once it’s off, I set Emy down on the floorand she toddles off down the passage.

“Thank you, baby,” I say to Jackson, taking the bag he’d carried from him and leading him to the office where I know there is a comfortable sofa for them to sit on.

Once I have them settled with juice boxes and a movie playing on the portable DVD I’d brought with. I set about getting the place clean and ready for the next night.

I’d been cleaning for about an hour and a bit when I heard Emy’s voice. Frowning because I’d not long checked on them and her eyes had been drooping. I’d hoped she’d fall asleep and get some rest. Jackson had long since passed out.

Thinking she was calling for me, I hurried to the office. Jackson was still asleep, but there was no Emy. I wasn’t too worried because there was no way she could get out of the club. She hadn’t come my way, so I knew she wasn’t at the front. Hearing her again, I hurried when a deep voice said something, and a high-pitched feminine voice answered.

‘Oh, shit,’I thought, hurrying towards the back entrance to find one of the O’Shea brothers and a brassy blonde woman up against the wall near the entrance.

They’d obviously been going at it hot and heavy when they’d been interrupted because Johnny and I knew it must be Johnny because I’d met both Adam and Liam when I interviewed for this job. Johnny was the only one I hadn’t yet met, as he’d been away on business when I’d interviewed. I also knew he was the only dark-haired brother from pictures I’d seen in Liam’s office.

Emy pulled on his trousers and in her sweet little voice demanded, “Daddy, up.”

Biting my lip to stop the snigger that threatened to erupt from me as the woman with him hissed, “You’ve got children.”

“What? No!” he rushed out in a slightly panicked tone.

Emy wasn’t giving up, though. I knew she was just parroting what Mila said whenever she saw Onyx.

I’d ducked back around the corner when I’d first seen them, and I don’t know what made me do it, but the devil on my shoulder was shouting louder than the angel tonight.

Straightening up, I walked out into the hallway. I slapped my hand against my chest and wailed loudly, “Johnny, how could you? You promisedme that you wouldn’t do this anymore. And in front of our babies. You promised me that you wouldn’t cheat anymore. You said it was the last time. Am I going to have to go and get tested again? You know, after the last STD you gave me.”

Biting my lip so hard to hold back my laughter that I brought actual tears to my eyes. I didn’t stop them as they flowed down my cheeks, adding to the dramatics.

The look of horror on Johnny’s face was hysterical. I did feel a little bad, but it was funny as hell. “Mum,” Jackson called out, sounding slightly panicked.

“Two!” the woman shrieked. “You’ve got two children and a wife you gave an STD to. You bastard.” With that, she slaps poor Johnny across the face and takes off for the back door.

I can’t help it, I lose it, howling with laughter, I slide to the floor.

“What the fuck?” Johnny muttered, running a hand through his hair in agitation. What stopped me laughing was the gentle way he caressed my baby’s hair before picking her up and walking over to me.

Jackson had found us by then and was lookingnearly as confused as Johnny.

I looked up from where I was sat on the floor at the good-looking Irishman standing over me.

I have to say I admired his restraint because not only had he been slapped, but he’d also been left with what he must have thought was a complete lunatic.

Shaking his head, he held out his hand to me and pulled me up. “You must be the cleaner that Liam hired.”

Still smiling, I nodded. “I am. My name’s Maya and I’m sorry for what I just did. I can go and catch her if you want and explain that I was just messing around. I don’t know what came over me, I just couldn’t resist. The timing was perfect.”

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