Dog Days of Summer (24 page)

They spent the day lounging in bed, watching movies and talking. Around five o
’clock, Jeremiah said, “Okay, we have a problem here.”

Joci looked across the sofa where he was sitting and frowned.
“We do?”

“
Yeah. I wanted to grill dinner and forgot about that when I issued the no clothing rule. I’m not afraid for people to see me naked, but I don’t want the neighbors calling the cops on me. So, just for dinner, we can wear clothes. Okay.”

Joci scrunched her face,
“I don’t know. A rule is a rule.”

Jeremiah jumped on her and began tickling her.
“My rules, so I can change them.”

Joci was squealing,
“Okay. Okay.”

Jeremiah kissed her lightly on the lips and stood up. He reached his hand down for her and pulled her to him.
“I loved spending the day with you.”

Joci smiled up at him.
“I loved spending the day with you, too. I’m going to get dressed.”

An hour and a half later, Joci walked out of the bathroom, ready for dinner. She was wearing a white sundress, no shoes. Jeremiah walked over to her and spun her around.

“You look so beautiful.”

Joci hugged him to her and kissed his temple.

“You look pretty hot yourself.”

He did look hot. He was wearing light tan khaki shorts and a light green shirt, which made his eyes look even more amazing than usual.

“Ready?”

Joci nodded. Jeremiah held out his arm for her with a
grin on his face. Joci wrapped her arm through his, and they walked out the patio doors where a table had been set with candles all around the table and all over the patio. It was beautiful. Joci was mesmerized.

She looked up at Jeremiah, and he smiled at her. He stopped at the table and pulled
out a chair for her to sit down. He sat across from her. Jeremiah poured them each a glass of champagne. He handed Joci her glass, then he picked up his.

“
I want to toast. Here’s to us, Joci. I love you.”

He tapped his glass to hers.

“I love you, too.”

They sipped their champagne and set their glasses down.

She was smiling. “This reminds me of the first night we spent together. You had these candles all over the house. You said you didn’t know anything about being romantic, but you do. Here you are doing it again.”

Jeremiah looked into her eyes.
“Well, you’ll have to pardon me for repeating a good move, but after the no clothing rule was lifted and I came out to start the grill, I realized how nice it is out here, so I thought we could come outside and play.”

Jeremiah got up and opened the grill. He placed two lobster tails on a plate surrounded by vegetables and set it in the middle of the table. Joci looked up at him as a smile slid across her face.
“Lobster? You truly spoil me.”

“
Good. I’m glad you feel spoiled.”

They ate their meal and sipped their champagne. A light breeze blew across the patio, making the candles to flicker. It was beautiful. Joci sighed loudly and sat back in her chair.
“Bliss. This is bliss.”

Jeremiah stood and walked around the table to Joci. He bent down on one knee.
“Joci. I love you so much. When I look at you, I see my future. I see my life with you and Gunnar, JT, and Ryder. I see us playing with children and grandchildren. I can’t picture my life without you in it. I don’t want a future without you in it. Joci, will you marry me?”

Joci looked into his eyes. She had no idea he had planned to propose this weekend. It hadn
’t occurred to her.

“
Jeremiah, I love you, too. So very much. I don’t want a future without you in it either. I want to be a family with you and the boys, more than anything in the world. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Jeremiah jumped up and pulled Joci with him. He hugged her tight and kissed her. When they needed air, Jeremiah gently set Joci on her feet and pulled a ring out of his pocket. It was beautiful. The candlelight flickered on
the stone, making it dance and gleam. Jeremiah slid it on her finger and Joci gasped at it. It was a three-karat, princess-cut diamond solitaire—the most beautiful ring Joci had ever seen in her life. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“
Jeremiah, it’s so beautiful.”

“
Joci, I’m so happy right now I can barely catch my breath. I was so worried you would say no.”

“
A couple of weeks ago, I might have. But this weekend, when Gunnar told you he loved you and you told him you loved him back, something happened inside of me. For the first time, I felt like there was a future for us. You love my son, and it suddenly seemed real for me, like nothing ever has. I was so afraid to think long-term about us because I didn’t want my heart to get broken. I was holding back. But watching you and Gunnar with each other made me realize you were committed to our family. It isn’t just sex—you love us both.”

Jeremiah wrapped Joci in his arms and held her for long moments.

“I’ve been in love with you for so damned long. It was never about sex. I met you, and I knew you were special. I worked with you this past year, and fell in love with you more and more day by day. In some ways, it was great you keeping me at arm’s length this past year. We got to know each other slowly. Even though I would have given anything for it to be different. I wanted you so badly. Waiting for you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the most beneficial, because now I have you.”

She had never heard anything so beautiful. She wiped her eyes and looked at him. He wanted to marry her.

“But, Joci, I look at you and all I can think of is that I want to have babies with you. We both can have a second chance at doing it right. I want to be there when they come into the world. I want to share all of the joys and challenges with you. We would both be able to raise a family in a way neither of us got to before.”

“
Jeremiah, what if I can’t have babies anymore? The women in my family go into early menopause. What if I can’t anymore?” Joci choked at the thought that Jeremiah wouldn’t want her if she couldn’t have babies.

“
Joci, baby…all I ask is that you try. Will you agree to try and get pregnant?”

Joci swallowed and wiped her eyes again. She wiped her nose with a napkin from the table and looked into Jeremiah
’s eyes. She nodded her head and swallowed.

“
Are you sure you still want me if I can’t have babies?” Her voice cracked.

“
God, Joci. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

Jeremiah hugged her close and rocked back and forth. Joci hung on for dear life.

“Let’s sit and swing. You and Gunnar looked like you’d done that before.”

“
Yes, when he was a baby, I would swing him back and forth. As he got older, our nightly routine in the summer was to sit on the swing and read books. As he continued to grow and not want to read, it was our nightly routine to sit and talk about our days. It became a comfortable routine for both of us.”

Joci and Jeremiah sat in the swing and talked for hours about the future, the kids, the house.

“I asked Gunnar’s permission to marry you. The first time we spoke about it was when the Golden Girls were singing. He asked me if I was going to marry you. I wanted to be sure it wasn’t the alcohol talking and asked Gunnar again yesterday morning.”

“
Thank you for that. I bet it meant a lot to him that you asked,” Joci said, squeezing Jeremiah’s hand.

“
I told the boys I was asking you to marry me this weekend, too. They’re excited as hell. They already think of you as their mom. They love you, Joci. Ryder especially. He used to sit and wait for you to walk into the room when we had ride meetings. I watched him watch the door looking for you. I can’t even tell you what that means to me.”

“
I love them, too. You’ve raised amazing young men, Jeremiah.”

“
Yes, I did. Joci, I want to get married soon. Can we get married in the fall? It’ll be beautiful with the trees in full color. Will you marry me soon, honey?”

Joci laughed at that request.
“Clearly you have no idea about all the planning that needs to happen for a wedding. But then again, we don’t need to have a big extravaganza. If you don’t mind it being small, I think we can pull it off.”

Jeremiah and Joci were busy calling family and friends to let them know they were getting married. They had called the boys the morning after their engagement, since they all knew Jeremiah was going to ask Joci to marry him. All three of them had said they were waiting on pins and needles to hear if she said yes.

Jeremiah
’s parents were elated. So were his brothers and sisters-in-law. Joci called Jackie and Sandi and told them.

“
Jackie, I’m going to need help planning a wedding for the end of September or early October.”

“
What year?”

“
This year.”

Jackie burst out laughing.
“He doesn’t want much, does he?”

The remainder of the week they discussed the wedding and the upcoming rally to Milwaukee, Wisconsin—home of Harley Davidson. They had quite a crew going. Most of the employees from the shop were coming along, as well as Jeremiah
’s brothers, Jackie and David, Jon, Sandi, and Connor. They were all riding down on Friday evening.

Milwaukee was about a two
-and-a-half-hour ride from Rolling Thunder. They figured that if they left around four, they would be in Milwaukee by six thirty. They could grab a bite to eat and then head to the Summerfest Grounds where the rally was and listen to music.

At four, they were standing in front of the shop talking to
the large group of rally riders. Spirits were high. Joci was thrilled that Jackie and Sandi were coming along, as well as all of Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law. They might even get some wedding planning done.

“
Okay, let’s roll.” Jeremiah yelled over all the talking. He walked over to Joci and gave her a hug and kiss. “You ride safe, baby.”

“
Same to you.”

Then Chase pulled in with LuAnn on back.
Fuck, another weekend with LuAnn.
Joci looked over at Jackie, and Jackie shook her head. Okay, at least Joci felt she had support. With her lips pulled into a thin line, Joci climbed on her bike. Jeremiah looked back at her and winked.

He mouthed,
“I love you” and started his bike. That was the starting signal. Everyone else followed suit and started their bikes. Jeremiah nodded at JT and Gunnar. They were leading today. They began the trip to Milwaukee. Jeremiah made sure Joci was riding alongside him the whole way down.

The weather was fantastic. It was in the eighties and sunny. Joci loved riding on days like this. They met so many bikes along the way. Hundreds of people were headed to the rally. She had been excited
about the rally for months now.

Everyone behaved themselves on the ride down. They stayed together and rode at a nice pace. They needed to stop for gas along the way and pulled over
at a gas station in Fond du Lac. They gassed up, talked a little, and got back on the road. Surprisingly, LuAnn was pretty quiet. She must have sensed that there were people along this weekend who would jump down her throat the first time she poked at Joci. Fine by Joci. She was sick of the drama.

They checked into their hotel rooms
around 7 p.m.; it was still light out. They were a little spread out in the hotel, but grateful they were all able to get rooms at the same place. Everyone unpacked their bikes and headed right back down to the parking lot to discuss what they would do from here.

From that point forward, each rider was on his or her own.

Jeremiah said in his deep voice, “So, listen up. Joci and I, and anyone who wants to join us, are heading down to the Summerfest grounds. We’ll grab a bite to eat there and listen to music. There are several bands all around the grounds, with many different types of music. There’s something for everyone.”

Most of the group decided to follow along. They found a place to park with lots of other bikes and started walking towards the grounds. The girls all talked along the way; the guys were looking at
the wide range of bikes they walked by. This was kind of a business trip for Jeremiah and the guys. They could look at bikes and get ideas for designs and new paint schemes. They stopped to look at so many bikes. The girls just stopped with them and talked about anything and everything. LuAnn hung back, remaining quiet and subdued.

At one point, Jeremiah looked back at Joci and smiled at her. He pointed to an old truck that was parked in the parking lot. As soon as Joci looked at the truck, her smile grew wide.

Jeremiah walked back to where she stood. “Do you want to go and take a closer look, babe.”

“
Oh, I really would if no one else minds. Do you mind?”

“
Of course I don’t.” Jeremiah chuckled.

They all headed in that direction and continued looking at bikes along the way. The truck was pretty amazing. The owner wasn
’t anywhere around, but they all looked at it and talked about it. Joci was looking at everything on the truck. It was perfect.

Jeremiah watched her eyes as she looked at the truck.
“Hey, maybe we should find the owner of the orange truck that was on the Veterans Ride and see if we can use his truck for the wedding. Would you like that, Joci?”

Joci looked at him and squealed.
“I would love that! Really?”

Jeremiah laughed.
“Of course. I would love that, too.”

With that, chatter turned to the wedding. Nothing had really been decided, except the date, September 28th, which was really only five weeks away.

Staci spoke up and asked the question, “What have you planned so far?”

Joci and Jeremiah both laughed.
“Nothing,” they said in unison.

“
We’ve been so busy with everything else we haven’t had time for wedding planning,” Jeremiah said.

“
When we get back home, we’ll get everyone together to make plans,” Joci said.

Jackie asked,
“Do you think you should wait until next year so we have time to pull everything together?”

“
No. I’m not waiting,” Jeremiah said.

He leaned down and kissed Joci
’s forehead. Joci smiled and looked at Jackie and shrugged. Now that the idea had been set in her head, she didn’t really want to wait either. They would have a nice wedding; Jeremiah and Joci would soon be husband and wife.

The next morning, the
Rolling Thunder group met for breakfast at the hotel. The local dealerships all had bands, vendors, food, and events going on. The whole gang decided to check out the action. At the first dealership, they pulled some picnic tables together and sat and listened to music for a couple of hours.

Then the group headed to another dealership around two in the afternoon. The band was a great rock and roll band. The weather was perfect, everyone got along, and the music was amazing. Perfect.

By seven that night, it was time to head back to the hotel. It had been hot all day and they had been sweating for hours now. Joci was exhausted and needed a shower. Everyone else agreed. They were waiting for Frog, Chase, LuAnn, and Ryder to come back from their walk.

Half an hour later, Frog and Ryder came walking back, practically carrying LuAnn. Ryder walked over to Jeremiah, Dayton, JT, Gunnar, and Joci. He looked irritated.

“LuAnn’s wasted and Chase left.”

“
What the fuck happened?” Jeremiah asked.

Ryder looked a little sheepishly at Joci.
“She kept on whining and whining about how much she loves you and can’t stand the fact that you and Joci are getting married. She continued to drink and Chase got pissed and left. He has feelings for her.”

Jeremiah pulled Joci close and squeezed her shoulders as everyone else floated over. They stood around, listening to the conversation. Well, now what? LuAnn could barely stand up, let alone hang on to anyone on the back of a bike. Jeremiah
’s jaw was tight and his body rigid.

“
Let’s go.” He started walking, holding Joci’s hand the whole time.

Everyone followed. Frog got tired of trying to get LuAnn to walk, so he threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to the bikes
like a sack of potatoes. When they got to the bikes, Frog set LuAnn down and she promptly slumped to the ground. Janice leaned down and tried talking to LuAnn to see if she was even conscious. It was starting to get dark. They stood around quietly, trying to figure out what to do with LuAnn.

Jeremiah
’s voice was tight, “She’ll have to ride on back with me. I’m the only one who has a seat she won’t fall out of.”

Joci sucked in a breath.
“Let’s see. LuAnn just spent the afternoon whining about how much she loves you and doesn’t want us to get married, and now you want to put her on the back of your bike and take her back to the hotel? Jeremiah, you had better be joking.”

Jeremiah turned to look at Joci.
“I don’t know what else to do, Joci.”

Joci stepped back. He was serious. She was shaking she was so angry.

“Don’t do it, Jeremiah. I mean it. Don’t.”

“
Joci, what else am I supposed to do? We have to do the right thing here.”

“
Fuck the right thing. Why do I always have to do the right thing? Do the right thing for Keith. Do the right thing for LuAnn. They both have done nothing but shit on me. Now, after a whole afternoon of her professing her love for you, I’m the one who has to do the right thing?”

Jeremiah scrubbed his hands through his hair.
“I don’t know what else to do, honey.”

Joci backed up and walked toward her bike. She held her hands up,
“I have nothing else to say.”

“
Joci, baby, please talk to me about this.”

“
No fucking way, Jeremiah. I’ve had enough of this bitch and you’re catering to her. Enjoy your fucking ride back.”

Joci jumped on her bike. Jackie came over and stood next to Joci.
“Joci, please don’t take off like this. Ride with the group. We need to be safe out there.”

“
Fuck,” Jeremiah swore. “Get that piece of shit on my bike.” He looked at Frog and Ryder.

Joci
nodded slightly, but refused to watch the guys load a wasted LuAnn onto the back of Jeremiah’s bike. There was something sacred about allowing someone on the back of your bike. Thinking about LuAnn getting her way in riding with Jeremiah stuck in Joci’s throat like a dry rag.

Jeremiah took a deep breath.
“Someone stay alongside and behind me and make sure it doesn’t look like she’s going to fall off. When we get back to the hotel, Frog, you take her upstairs to your room and tell Chase to get his ass downstairs, immediately.”

Frog nodded and got on his bike. Everyone else saddled up and they were off.

The group managed to weave their way through the traffic and finally hit the highway. Joci’s stomach was in turmoil. She was so sick of LuAnn. Jeremiah was right, of course. They couldn’t leave her there on her own in her condition. But why did he continue to be the one who had to take care of LuAnn. Joci was going to kick Chase’s ass herself when she saw him next. She was so damned tired of all of it.

Jeremiah
’s gut was in a turmoil. He was so frustrated by this mess. They had been having a fantastic weekend. Now, once again, because of LuAnn, here they were. Joci was right. Why did she constantly have to be the one to do right by everyone else? How was he going to fix this? The first thing he was going to do is kick Chase’s ass for leaving LuAnn. The new motto at the shop is going to be, “You bring her, you take care of her.”

On the ride back to the hotel, LuAnn stirred a couple of times. Jeremiah could feel her moving around on the back. He looked over at Gunnar, who was riding alongside him and Gunnar shook his head, letting Jeremiah know she wasn
’t falling off. When they were within two miles from the hotel, LuAnn woke up and slid her arms around Jeremiah’s waist.

“
I knew you would take care of me. I think you love me.” She rested her head on Jeremiah’s shoulder.

Jeremiah stiffened up. He didn
’t want this bitch touching him, let alone hanging on to him like she was. She started moving her hands down to his crotch and he grabbed her hand and squeezed real hard.

“
Don’t!” was all he would say.

“
Oh Dog, don’t be mad at me. I love you so much,” she slurred.

Jeremiah didn
’t say anything. He wasn’t going to have this conversation with her when she was drunk, but they were going to have a serious talk. He had already told her that he was with Joci and that he wouldn’t tolerate LuAnn making snide comments, jumping at him and kissing him, and trying to pull the little shenanigans she had been pulling. He was going to need to be clearer, apparently. He didn’t tell her not to get wasted and expect everyone else to take care of her.

When Joci pulled into the parking lot at the hotel, she moved off her bike and started pulling her
things out of her bags. Jackie and Sandi walked over to her and waited patiently for her to be ready to talk to them.