by Christina OW
“And you, Jake?” Jolie’s voice broke as she stared at her eldest brother.
“Hate wasn’t exactly what I felt for you, but when I found out you were pregnant after my best friend disappeared, I did hate you then. You always had a crazy crush on Mac and I knew you’d try to trap him with a baby and that’s why he took off so quickly. Dad kept saying you were a wh—ah, just like Mom. She abandoned us then came back pregnant and Dad had to recognize you if she was to stay.” He took a step to her and Mac took a step back pulling her with him, pressing her to his rigid body. Jake took his eyes off her for a minute to look up at Mac before he turned back to her. “I know what I did, or didn’t do that day was wrong and I regret it.”
Jase snorted. “Regret but not sorry. Just typical.”
“I need to sit down,” Jolie whispered, completely drained of strength. Mac led her to the love seat and sat down with her, his arms still wrapped around her.
“John, is that what you told them? All these years they’ve hated Jolie and me because you lied? Was your ego that bruised?” Her mother moved to kneel next to her, giving everyone else her back. “I spent those months with Lee—”
“I told you to never mention his name in front of me!” her father bellowed but this time her mother didn’t even flinch.
“—doing stuff on her bucket list. We went skiing, climbed a mountain in the Caribbean’s, skydived and a lot of other crazy things. I was free to be myself those months and I will forever be grateful for that opportunity.”
“Why?”
“I was dying inside and Lee was literally dying. She was terminally ill—”
Mac jolted against her. “Wait a minute, she?”
Her mother nodded as tears ran freely down her cheeks. “Lee was a woman I met on the road. She gave me a lifted when my car broke down and invited me to spend her last few weeks with her. She hoped watching her die happy would help me live happy. Lee—Jolie Clerk helped me see that even though life was hard, I couldn’t run from it. Instead, I was to take what gave me joy and live for that. My joy is my children. The day I went back to your father was the day you and your brother were conceived. I never in my life have ever cheated on that asshole.”
Jolie laughed, feeling the weight on her chest grow lighter. She took her mother’s hand and held it to her cheek. “I believe you. I always have. What I can’t believe is that, even with all the evidence, he still rejects me.”
“He’s channeled his anger toward you because he loves your mother too much to hate her. And your brothers, he turned them against you and your mother to punish her because he couldn’t.” Dr. Patel spoke as she packed her things into her leather bag.
The entire time they were yelling at each other, she’d been taking notes. Jolie hoped whatever she saw would help her because...she was lost. At least she finally knew. It didn’t feel great, in fact it cut her deep. She now understood why things were the way they were growing up.
“I’ll be leaving now. Mrs. Masters, I’ll see you on Monday. I believe I’m well equipped now to help you. Don’t forget to bring your husband along. I’ll show myself out.” She turned and walked away, the opening and closing of the front door echoing her departure.
* * * *
“I think you should all leave now,” Mac barked harshly as he pulled away from Jolie to stand up. His stomach churned with disgust after hearing all they had to say. He knew there was something going on with this family, but he always chalked it up to being normal. Every family has its fights even though it annoyed him how badly Jolie was treated sometimes. Hearing they hated her over a lie Mr. Simmons had cooked up made him mad beyond words!
“Mac, we still have a lot to—” Jake began but Mac cut him off with a raised hand. He couldn’t listen to anymore or he wouldn’t be responsible for what he did.
“I have this disturbing feeling that whatever else you want to discuss will end in bloodshed. And since I don’t want to be court marshaled or imprisoned, I’m going to say this one last time. I want you all out of my house. Right. Now!”
Jake turned to Jolie but Mac caught his arm before he could take another step toward her. He couldn’t believe a man he called his best friend since childhood would have two faces. Despise his own sister because she got pregnant and Mac left. He felt like he never knew Jake.
Slowly Jake pulled his arm out of Mac’s hold and thankfully stayed put, because Mac really didn’t want to fight in his own home.
“Jolie, I hope you and I can talk sometime...and Katie could come over with JJ to play with his cousin?”
Mac shook his head, completely confused. Jake sounded like he was begging more than asking.
Jolie stared at him for a long while as if she was trying to place his face where she’d seen him before. God, was it that bad that they were almost strangers?
She nodded once, and whispered, “Miles would like that.”
Then they filed out one by one, except for Mrs. Simmons who ran upstairs and Jase and his girlfriend went to the TV room to keep Miles company after Jake left with his son. Once he was alone with Jolie, he paced like a caged animal, his mind filled with questions he wasn’t sure he wanted answered. God, the curtains came down at such a bad time!
“Mac...what are you thinking?”
He shook his head. “Some of the things I’m thinking I can’t say out loud and others...” He stopped his pacing and faced her. “Why didn’t you ever tell me it was this bad?”
She shrugged. “I blocked it out dreaming of the day I’d be a part of your family. But then your parents died and you left...it was just me and Miles. I left right after I finished high school, moved close to the base in Pendleton hoping I’d get news about you...but we all know how that went.”
Mac felt like she’d made a direct hit to his heart. He felt so guilty, he was chocking from it.
* * * *
Jolie winced, biting her lower lip. She hadn’t meant to say that, well she did just not have it sound the way it did. When he fell heavily onto the couch, his elbows braced on his knees and his head in his hands she knew it had sure hit. She moved closer to him, hesitantly placing her hand on his shoulder. She wasn’t sure if she still had the right after the ‘I wish you were dead’ episode. When he flinched, her heart lurch with disappointment and she tried to pull away but he covered her hand with his.
“Please don’t. I’ve wanted to feel your touch for weeks.” He looked over his shoulder at her. The pain in his eyes surged out of him in waves, hitting her square in the chest. He clenched his eyes tightly shut, turning away. “I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness so I won’t. Just do me one favor...call me when they come to visit.”
Jolie chuckled. “They are my family not bank creditors.”
He looked back at her, his brows knitted together. “Bank creditors? I would compare them to a pack of wolves, but not bank creditors?”
She shrugged, loving the lazy smile he gave her. “Who is the one person you don’t want knocking on your door on a good or bad day?”
He laughed shaking his head. “You do have a point. You always had an uncanny way of reference.”
“It’s one of the reasons you lo—” She quickly bit her lips shut before she said the word but it was too late. He’d finished it in his head—she could see it in his eyes. His face fell and he slowly leaned back into the couch. Jolie sat tensely next to him as he held her hand on his lap and played with her fingers.
“I do love you, Jolie, I hope you know that.”
“Things aren’t the same anymore, Mac. I’m not a teenager with a crush for her eldest brother’s best friend. I’ve grown up and so have you. The problem is we grew up apart. We aren’t the same people anymore.”
His face creased in visible anguish as he tightened his hold on her hand. “So what are you saying? Is this the end—I know I made a mistake, I was hurting and it was selfish of me to think I needed to leave my life behind to forget my parents death and just immerse myself in the military. I didn’t
think of you, I didn’t think of Miles and after listening to what your life was with those...bank creditors, I’m scared to ask what they did to you when they found out you were pregnant.”
Jolie looked away and quietly cursed after. Looking away was her telltale sign when she didn’t want to share a secret.
“Ouch!” She winced when he crushed her hand in his.
“Sorry!” he apologized, quickly releasing her. Then he sat silent and rigid next to her for a long time, which worried her before he sighed loudly. “Everything inside me wants to demand what it was they did to you, but I don’t think I’ll be able to handle the guilt that will come after. And I don’t think I want my kids visiting me in prison, so don’t tell me.”
That was a relief she wasn’t looking forward to sharing that embarrassment. “I promise I won’t.”
He sighed loudly again. “So what happens now...with us?”
Jolie looked down at their intertwined fingers. His were so large against hers, it made hers look childlike. “We take things slow...start with counseling on Monday?” she ventured.
“I wish I could but...” He ran his hand over his face. “There is something I need to tell you.”
Dread filled her, but she wasn’t going to jump to conclusions or let the dark cloud sink her again. “What is it?”
He took her other hand in his. “I need to go back to the Middle East. Just for a couple of months. I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t serious. Especially after my last tour.”
He shivered visibly and that frightened Jolie even more. She’d lived with the fear for years, forgotten about it for a few months and now it was back full force, especially with the far away wide-eyed look on his face. What happened during his last tour?
“Why? I thought you were a civilian now! Why do you have to go back there?”
Mac gave her a weary smile. “I never truly left the military, and you know I can’t tell you that.”
She pulled away from him and pushed herself to her feet. “It’s not fair, Mac. Miles just got you and this baby—am I going to give birth alone, again?”
He wrapped her in a hug from behind with a content sigh. He kissed her temple and pressed his cheek against hers. It felt great being held like this. She’d missed his arms around her in comfort. It always made her think she could face anything whenever he did that but right now, it scared her because she wondered if it would be the last time. She’d watched the news, and things over there weren’t getting better, they were getting worse.
God, was she going to get her wish?
Scared, she turned in his arms and wrapped her arms tightly around him. “Please don’t go!” she pleaded.
“It’s not my choice, and I can’t in good conscious refuse to go, knowing that I’m needed.”
“You’re needed here!”
He chuckled above her, stroking her hair. “I’m glad you’re like this. It gives me hope for the future. I promise I’ll be back before the baby is born.” He pulled her back to look into her eyes and asked, “You called the baby her—” he chuckled shaking his head, “I’m still going crazy about having a daughter, Daddy’s little girl, but you called her your turning point, why?”
“I’ll tell you when you get back.”
He groaned with a laugh. “You know it’s going to drive me crazy, don’t you?”
With a raised brow and a smug smile she said, “Of course I do. But I could be persuaded to tell you if you call me when you’re away.”
He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, staring lovingly down at her. His sultry smile made her heart skip. She felt seventeen all over again, which wasn’t a very good thing. She couldn’t keep holding on to the past, there was too many bad vibes.
“I’ll email and call as often as I can, but I have a feeling you won’t tell me even then.”
She chuckled shaking her head. “No I won’t. That’s a face to face conversation.”
“Minx!”
She reached into his shirt and pulled out his chain. She’d expected to find his ring, but instead they were dog tags. Her heart lurched again and she looked up into his face. “You’re leaving today?”
His face fell. “I’m sorry, but I found out this morning. My flight leaves tonight and I was hoping we could spend the day together, as a family.”
Jolie felt her throat sting and her eyes flood. She’d wasted so much time being angry and depressed, and now she just had a few hours left with him, because the moment he boarded that plane the future she hoped for would leave with him.
He pinched her chin and tipped her head back. “Hey, don’t get like that. Everything will be fine. I’ll be gone for three months tops and get back just in time for this little one’s arrival. And I’m hoping we can start over then.”
“Start over?” she choked.
He nodded. “We never really dated. It would be nice to pick you up and take you to a movie or dinner or just spend the day in the park walking around. Stuff like that.”
Jolie wiped away stray tears with a sniff. “People date to get to know each other. We know everything about each other already.”
He shook his head. “Like you said, we’ve grown up and done so separately. We have to get to know each other all over again and I’m planning to make it fun.”
She snorted. “Yeah, with spit up on our shirts and a cranky baby who won’t sleep. Not forgetting your son who has the energy of a puppy.” She teared up again. “You’re going to miss another one of his birthdays. He’s not going to take it well.”
He smiled sadly at her. “We can celebrate it now.”
She shook her head stepping away from him. “We’ll do that when you get back. Go get your son. We’ll spend the day together in our home.”
He nodded and she watched as he walked away. He stopped right before he exited the room turning around and moving back to her.
“What is it?” she asked, drying her cheeks. He held out his hand to her and she stared dubiously at it. “What?”
He took her hand and gave it a firm shake. “Hi, I’m Mackenzie Masters.”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “What?”
His lips broke into a wide grin that literally made her knees weak. “Dating starts with phone calls and emails and the occasional weekly dates. We won’t have the face to face dates but we can video chat. We are starting anew, with the five years older us so let’s make it official. Hi, I’m Mackenzie Masters. Would you like to go out with me?”
She smiled through the tears. Why hadn’t she thought of this?
She shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Jolie Masters, and I would love to go out with you.”
He winked at her like he used to when he wanted to make her blush making her belly flutter. Though at that point she wasn’t sure if it was the baby moving or the age-old attraction butterflies?
“Why don’t we have our first date in the backyard? A little picnic as we watch Miles get dirty?”
She nodded her ascent. “That’s a perfect first date. I’ll go get the picnic basket ready.”
“I’ll get our son.” He leaned down to kiss her, but she stepped away walking around him toward the kitchen.
“A kiss on our first date? What do you take me for?” she said in fake indignation.
His bark of laughter followed her and at the moment all she could think of was this was how their lives should have been right from the start, full of laughter and joy. And her family’s rejection...as she thought about it with the excitement of the afternoon picnic doing the tango in her belly, she realized she could fill the hole in her heart with her own family. Her mom, twin brother, and his girlfriend were included in that family...and maybe if Jake allowed it, Katie and JJ too. She didn’t want her son and nephew to become strangers over this stupid feud.
She patted her belly, caressing it lovingly. “My little turning point, little Miss Mackenzie Jolie Masters. We’ll call you Kenzie for short or MJ. Would you like that?”
“I love it.”
She jumped a
t Mac’s tense voice behind her. She turned around to face him. He was walking toward her with tears in his eyes and a wobbly smile.
“You weren’t supposed to hear that—”
She was cut off when he cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers in an earnest kiss. She’d never felt this level of emotion in his kiss before. He was speaking to her, to her heart, telling her how much he loved her with that one kiss, and she spoke right back, clutching at his arms and returning his kiss. She poured all the love for him in it—her fears, her hopes, and dreams, all in one wonderful never-ending kiss.
He broke the kiss, breathing heavily against her lips. “It literally takes my breath away knowing how much I love you. I’ve loved you since I was eighteen years old and it made me feel like a pedophile. I’m just glad I was able to keep my hands off you until you turned eighteen. I prepared for that night—when we would finally be together—I wanted the first time we made love to be perfect. Don’t get mad but I practiced because I wanted you to give you as much pleasure as you gave me by just smiling at me. You were always my little wifey, and I was anxious for the day I would truly make you that—Mrs. Mackenzie Masters.” He looked searchingly in her eyes and she noticed the desire in them dimmed with grief. “How could I possibly have forgotten that?”
Jolie caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. “You didn’t forget, it was just buried under all your grief. And Mac, we weren’t ready for all of it, not yet. We were still kids.”
“I know, I should have used a condom, but if I had—”
“We wouldn’t have Miles,” she finished.
“And I love that kid so much it scares me.” He chuckled nervously.
“That will never go away. You’ll just learn to deal with it.”
His expression turned serious and he said, “This isn’t a teenage crush anymore, Jolie.”
She shook her head. “No, this is the real deal, and I’m glad it’s with you. Everything before this moment was just fond and sad memories. This is where we start anew.”
He smiled like he just figured something out. “I understand now, the turning point. I get it.” He pressed his hand to her belly and their daughter kicked his hand like she recognized him making him laugh heartily. “Oh my little girl, you are not dating until you turn twenty-one.”