Free Love Her Right by Christina Ow Page A

his hand out to his wife. She took it and stood by his side, shifting the boy to her hip.
    “I’m Jake Simmons, I own a construction company in Nevada. And this is my wife Katie. We’ve been married for three years and have a son,” he chucked the boy’s chin provoking a giggle from him, “JJ—Jake Junior. And this is officially the first family gathering we’ve attended.”
    And with a cocky smile on his face, James stepped forward with his fiancé’s hand in his, “I’m James Simmons, paralegal and soon to be a successful lawyer. This is my fiancé Amy Deschanel, daughter of the owner of the best law firm in Washington DC. We will be married in three months.”
    Jolie looked Amy over. She looked a little embarrassed and peeved. It was sad she was going to move from ‘daughter of’ to ‘wife of’, never to be known for just being herself. And to think that was the life she had wanted with Mac. She turned to her husband, wondering if that was who she was for the past five years.
    No. I’ve been Jolie Masters, mother of Miles Masters. He never gave me a chance to be a ‘wife of’.
    “And I guess our wedding invitations got lost in the mail?” Jake snickered.
    Now Amy’s cheeks resembled Leah’s hair as she glared at her fiancé. James was going to pay for that in some way.
    “I’m John Simmons. Father to these three ingrates and husband to that traitor, Ana Simmons!” her father’s voice boomed as he pointed at her mother, and Miles visibly flinch.
    Jolie moved to stand next to Mac, who was visibly surprised by that and beckoned Miles. He ran across the room and right into his father’s waiting arms. Pressing his head to Mac’s, his arms tightly wound around his neck, Miles looked around the room with big eyes. She couldn’t blame him for being scared. She stroked his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile before she turned to the rest.
    “As much as you deny it Dad , I’m your kid too, but that’s a topic for later on. I’m Jolie Masters, formally Simmons and that’s a heart break for another time.” She placed her hand on Mac’s arm. “This is my husband of five years Mackenzie Masters. He’s an aeronautic engineer, and even though he also flies for the Air Force he has this thing for helicopters. He can build one from scratch and that’s what he currently does for Uncle Sam.” She moved her hand to Miles’ who wrapped his fingers around hers. “This is our son Miles, named after his grandfather. The best man I’ve ever known.” She caressed her belly tenderly with her free hand. “This little Masters doesn’t have a name yet, but she is my turning point.”
    “Why are we here?” her father barked—that’s all he seemed to do most of her life and the years hadn’t changed him.
    The doorbell rang and Jolie lifted her finger before she walked to answer it. Dr. Patel had finally arrived and she looked ready to take on the crazies.
    “Are you ready?” she asked as she stepped in.
    Jolie closed the door and faced her. “There are a lot more people here than I anticipated. I’m actually shocked to see the ones I did invite let alone that they brought their other halves along. Stranger things have happened.”
    Dr. Patel smiled patiently at her. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”
    Jolie didn’t want to dispute her so she just led the way back to the living room. Everyone had taken a seat, leaving one single chair and space on the love seat next to Mac. Miles and JJ weren’t in the room though.
    “They are watching cartoons in the TV room,” her mother answered her silent question.
    Jolie nodded her appreciation before she made final introductions. “Everyone, this is Dr. Patel. She’s my psychiatrist and she’s going to help me get through some stuff with all your help.”
    Mac blanched while everyone else looked around confused.
    “Yeah this isn’t a barbecue but a family counseling session,” she added and immediately her father shot to his feet. She moved