Two Women by Martina Cole Read Free Book Online

businesses and careers. He couldn’t quite believe she had chosen him. Now she had he intended to keep her just for himself.
    He admired, respected, loved her.
    Really loved her.
    Poor June couldn’t compete with that.
    ‘I’ll leave, sweetheart. You can stay here until we arrange something for you, okay?’
    June nodded sadly, unable to talk she was so upset.
    ‘I love you, Jimmy.’
    The words forced their way out of her mouth despite herself.
    ‘I know, Junie, and believe me I’m heart sorry, lassie. I really am.’
    ‘I could change, try and be different . . .’
    Jimmy shook his head at her.
    ‘You’re lovely as you are, Junie, and someone will love you for that, you’ll see.’
    She grinned sadly.
    ‘Like you did, you mean? What a thrilling thought.’
    He walked from the room. She heard the front door open and ran after him, calling his name. As he looked into her face she smiled and said, ‘Merry Christmas, Jimmy.’
    Without answering her he left the house. June collapsed on the doormat and cried until she was aching.
    The tragic thing was she was telling the truth. She did love him. Still.
     
    Debbie was out, her granny was out and her father was out. Susan savoured having the flat to herself.
    As her mother let herself in with her key her heart stopped in her breast.
    ‘Hello, Mum. What’s brought you here?’
    She knew already but she would never say so. It was up to her mother to sort it all out and then tell Susan what she wanted her to know.
    ‘I thought I’d pop round and see me girls, and give them a cuddle.’
    Susan hugged her tight.
    If all Bella said was true then she might be able to go and live with her mother somewhere. That thought had been keeping her going ever since it had entered her head. To be away from her father was such a wonderful prospect that she felt as if she was having all her Christmases and birthdays together.
    As her mother sipped a Scotch Susan prepared the vegetables and they chatted about nothing in particular. An hour later Joey walked in.
    Seeing his Junie sitting at the kitchen table made him start. He looked around hastily in case she had brought Jimmy with her and it meant trouble.
    Slipping Susan a fiver, June asked her to go out and get her some cigarettes. Susan went with a heavy heart. She already knew what her mother was going to do and it grieved her. Grieved her and destroyed any hope she’d had of getting away from the man in the kitchen. June was going to try and re-enter her husband’s life and if she succeeded all Susan’s dreams would go out of the window.
    As she walked from the house she heard the peculiar note in her mother’s voice that meant she was after something. It wasn’t exactly a whine, more of a low gurgling sound that made her seem girlish, childish even.
    Shutting the front door Susan sighed once more.
    Life was never what you wanted, Susan McNamara already knew that much.
    Joey looked his wife over and smiled. She was all right, his June, he should have looked after her; she was a one off in many respects.
    No other woman seemed to want him these days; his drinking, his temper or his lack of money seemed to put the kibosh on everyone he spoke to. He accepted that his June must have cared about him to put up with all that. Fuelled by drink, it seemed a logical as well as a romantic assumption.
    Ever since he had first laid eyes on her, she had affected him like no other woman. He knew she was a whore and that bothered him but also excited him. In a strange way, it was half her attraction.
    June’s personality and body were overtly sexual and that was the nub of all her man problems. It was what had attracted Jimmy, until he had seen her for what she was. Villains didn’t have to have molls hanging on their arms any more. This was the sixties and people like Johnny Binden and his ilk could take any kind of woman they wanted. Jimmy Vincent wanted this too.
    June knew she was now an also ran and she had to salvage something. If