Page 78 of Redeem Me

‘Can we go for ice cream?’ Owen tugs my hand.

‘Sure.’

After four painful hours of shoe and stationery shopping, we pull up outside Sweet Freeze, Dublin’s quirkiest ice cream parlour. As I’m not driving, I decide my present from Caelon, other than his cock, should be a whiskey whirl, a rich, creamy milkshake blended with vanilla ice cream and the whiskey of your choice, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.

I snap a quick picture of it and send it to Caelon, along with one of the kids with their chocolate brownie sundaes. He replies instantly.

Caelon: You can’t get enough of the white stuff…

I snort and stuff the phone back in my pocket.

‘You know Daddy said we could get something cool?’ Orla says, with a mouthful of sundae.

‘Yes, sweetie. What did you want?’

‘I’ve been thinking about it all day and I want a dog.’

Uh-oh. Caelon will kill me if I took a dog home. Then again, now I’m staying, I could take care of it. Maybe a fur baby would be good for all of us.

‘Please, Ivy. Daddy did say anything I like,’ Orla reminds me with huge puppy dog eyes. I swear she has me wrapped around her little finger.

Samuel shakes his head subtly at me.

‘Please, Ivy,’ Owen begs. ‘It’ll be so cool. We can walk it, and train it, and play with it in the garden.’

Orla pipes up over her sundae, ‘You know Ioverheard Liz telling Damon that a couple of dogs around the garden would save his legs a lot of work.’

Samuel snorts.

‘And you know there are probably loads of dogs in the pound just waiting for a home. Imagine their big sad eyes.’ Orla bats her eyelashes dramatically.

I swear these kids know exactly which buttons to press. I take a mouthful of my whiskey whirl as I contemplate. ‘Fine, we’ll look, okay, but I’m not saying yes or no until we get there and see what they have.’

Samuel tuts under his breath. ‘I hope you’re planning on picking up the shit in the garden.’

‘I’m more worried if it shits on the sofa,’ I whisper with a giggle.

‘Mr Beckett will lose his shit with all of us if that happens.’

‘Let me worry about him.’ I offer him a wink.

‘You do seem to have a way of softening him up.’ Samuel quirks an eyebrow.

‘Softening him?’ I smirk. ‘I wouldn’t exactly say that.’

He raises a hand. ‘Enough information, thank you. We’re all just delighted he’s finally found a bit of happiness again.’

‘Happy people buy their kids dogs, right?’ I shrug.

‘It’s your head, not mine.’

‘I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.’

‘You’d better. I’m security, not a dog-sitter.’ He shakes his head, but the corner of his lip lifts. Maybe he’s not as averse to the idea as he claims to be.

When we get to the local pound it’s overflowing with cute little handbag-sized dogs, big shaggy dogs, and dogs that are too old for new tricks.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ Samuel asks, restrainingour new fur baby on a lead as I sign the paperwork. Roxy is a boisterous boxer bitch who was too much of a handful for her previous family.

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