by Pj Fiala
She nodded. She took a huge breath.
“Jeremiah. What happened after I left yesterday?”
Jeremiah leaned forward and grabbed Joci’s hand.
“You know, I thought LuAnn would adjust and realize how much I love you and leave us alone. I wanted to honor Lance by giving her a chance, but now I know I’m not responsible for Lance’s decisions. You made me realize that. I’m so sorry, honey.” He scratched at the hair on his chin. “After you left, Chase came in and tried talking her down. She was beginning to listen to him; then the cops came in. Janice had called them when LuAnn started screaming and yelling. She knew I was going to fire LuAnn and was on alert that it might not go well. They arrested LuAnn for the damage she did in the shop and took her in. They released her a few hours later.”
Jeremiah stood up and kissed Joci gently on the lips. He touched her hair and her jaw. He gently touched where she was bruised on the right side of her face.
“How do you feel this morning, baby?”
“Sore. Tired. Hurt.” She smiled at his handsome face. “And unbelievably lucky.”
He sat back down, never letting go of her hand. He took a deep breath and looked at her.
“Joci, I need to explain what happened. Do you think you can deal with that now without getting too upset? I don’t want you to hurt yourself or the baby. But the police may be coming in to speak with you, and you need to know everything.”
She swallowed hard, her brow furrowed; she tried to adjust herself and gasped at the pain that shot through her arm and hip as she moved. She looked down at her hip and noticed the bulge of bandages there.
“I don’t even know what my injuries are. Can you tell me that, too?”
“I can tell you in layman’s terms. The doctor will need to tell you the medical version.”
He listed her injuries and sat still, waiting to see how she would react to that news before he continued. What he was going to tell her next was going to be more unnerving than her health update. He watched her eyes, needing to make sure she was okay. What he saw took his breath away. His brave woman sat stoically listening and taking it all with a grain of salt. He took a deep breath. “It appears that the reason your brakes didn’t work was that LuAnn cut your brake lines.”
Joci sucked in a breath and closed her eyes.
Softly she asked, “How do you know? Let’s get it out and move on.”
“Deacon swore he didn’t see you touch your brakes. Your brake lights never went on. He was behind you the whole time. He saw that you were coming into Benson’s Bend, and he kept waiting for you to hit your brakes. When you didn’t and hit the tree, he freaked out.”
“I did…I tried to brake. Nothing was there.”
“Yes. I went back to the shop with Tommy, Frog, and two police officers. The officers watched Frog examine the bike. He showed them where the brake lines had been cut on the top. That kept the brake fluid from dripping out completely and leaving evidence on the floor. We checked the video footage and clearly saw LuAnn cutting the brake lines on your bike. It was Thursday morning.
“Deacon told me he had sent LuAnn home the day we told everyone we were engaged. The boys had gone to the shop and told everyone the news, and she didn’t take it well. She was acting terrible, throwing things, being bitchy to everyone. Then, of course, Milwaukee. I had words with her when we got back. I told her that was it. One more incident and she was gone. Thursday afternoon, all the guys were taking a lunch break. That’s when she did it.”
Joci sat staring at him. Telling her this was difficult; his voice cracked, and his lungs felt constricted. He watched her eyes for signs of distress; her lips trembled slightly, and her hand balled into the blankets around her.
“Are you okay, honey?”
She nodded once. “Just trying to process all of this.” Her voice was soft. He knew what she meant. He had spent yesterday trying to grasp everything that had happened in such a short period of time. It was never easy finding out someone deliberately tried to hurt you.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He blew out a breath. “Even during Desert Storm, I didn’t feel as murderous as I felt yesterday. If she walked in this door right now, I would strangle her with my bare hands and smile as I watched the life leave her body. She tried to kill you. That almost killed the baby. Our baby. I will never forgive her for that.”
Joci nodded and swallowed. “Where is she now?”
“I’m hoping in jail. I was going to call Tommy before you woke up. I left Tommy and the police after we straightened out the video exchange. I wanted to get back here to you. They were arranging the arrest warrant and then going to pick her up.”
Joci slowly nodded her head. She licked her lips and glanced at the bedside tray where a pitcher of water sat. Jeremiah instinctively poured water into a cup, opened a straw and set it in the cup. “The nurse said you can only sip.”
She sipped and closed her eyes.
He set the cup on the table. “Are you okay while I call Tommy?”
She nodded. “I need some more pain medication and some rest,” she told Jeremiah. He stepped out into the hall and found a nurse to take care of her. He watched as the nurse tended to her needs, adjusted the bedding, checked bandages, then injected pain meds into her IV. Joci faded off to sleep a few minutes later.
When she woke up, Gunnar, Jackie, Emily, and Thomas were in her room, along with Jeremiah, talking softly. Joci immediately found Jeremiah looking at her. She smiled softly, and he got up and walked to her bedside. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He had a hand resting on the top of her head and one resting on their baby.
“How do you feel, Mom?”
Joci looked over at Gunnar. “Better. Thank you. How are you doing?”
He looked worried and tight. His body language was something she could always read.
“I’m trying to process everything. I’m worried about you. Are you sure you’re all right? How about my little brother?” Gunnar smiled.
“Sister.” They all had puzzled expressions as they looked at Jeremiah.
“We’re having a little girl.”
Joci giggled. “When did you become a fortune teller?”
Jeremiah smiled. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, darling. If you ask anyone in my family,” he gestured wide towards his family sitting around the room, “you will hear that I have correctly determined the sex of each of my brothers’ babies before they were born.”
Joci and Gunnar looked at Thomas and Emily for confirmation. Thomas nodded, and Emily smiled.
“He currently holds the Sheppard record for the most correct guesses, although we still argue over Bryce and Angie’s Daniel. Jeremiah wavered back and forth on that one.”
Jeremiah shrugged. Jackie walked in and touched Joci’s feet. “I would love a little niece to spoil. All I got was boys.”
When she and David married and had babies, they had two boys: Jeremy and Dean. Jackie leaned over and hugged Gunnar with one arm.
“But they’re great boys.” She smiled at Gunnar, and he bowed his head, his cheeks tinted pink.
“Did they put LuAnn in jail?” Joci needed to know.
Jeremiah took a deep breath and looked at Gunnar and then back to Joci.
“Not yet. They’re looking for her. She must have heard about the accident and then took off. Police are looking everywhere for her.”
David walked in just then. “Hey there, girl. You feeling better?”
Joci smiled at him. “I’m better. How about you?”
David laughed. “Well, you made my hair grayer. My wife is now married to an old man.”
He kissed Jackie on the temple and hugged Gunnar with one arm. “What about you, Gunnar?”
Gunnar grinned. “I’m going to have a little sister.”
David looked at Joci and Jeremiah, his brows high into his hairline.
Joci giggled. “Jeremiah thinks he’s the baby whisperer.”
“Hey, I know some things,” Jeremiah said with a grin and a fake defensive tone.
As the group quietly chatted, Joci drifted off to sleep. Some time later, she woke to David’s voice, low and menacing. “Get out.”
Joci opened her eyes to see Connor and an older man standing in her room. Jeremiah looked at David and then at Joci. Gunnar was watching David, as well. Jackie’s mouth had dropped open, but not a sound came out.
“I said get out,” David said again as he stood up.
Connor stepped forward and looked at Joci. “Joci, he demanded I bring him here when he heard about your accident.”
Joci looked at the older man again and then gasped. It was Keith. He looked horrible—like he was twenty years older than he was.
Jeremiah looked at Joci with a question in his eyes.
“Keith,” was all Joci could say.
Jeremiah stood to his full height. “Now, I’ll tell you. Get the fuck out.”
Keith looked at Gunnar. Gunnar stared at him for a long moment.
Keith turned toward Joci. He stepped forward and Jeremiah moved to block him from getting any closer. Keith stopped and looked at Jeremiah and then Joci.
Keith’s voice was barely above a whisper, but he said, “I just needed to say I’m sorry.” He took a few moments to catch his breath. “I didn’t know how badly you were injured. I’m sorry about your accident. But in case you didn’t make it out of the hospital before I died, I really wanted to say I’m sorry. That’s it.”
Keith’s voice was barely audible; he struggled to breathe. It must have been hard for him to make it here today. He was clearly very sick. His skin was ashy and gray.
Keith looked at Gunnar and nodded slightly.
“Why?” Gunnar asked.
Keith glanced at him. “Connor told me what your mom said.” Keith looked over at Joci. “It isn’t true, Joci. I’m not worried about my mortality. I’m ready for any punishment God thinks I deserve. I wanted you to know that I do realize how badly I treated you…and Gunnar.”
His eyes flicked to Gunnar and back to her. In a soft, breathy voice, he said, “I’ve thought about it so many times over the years. Dianna encouraged me to try and touch base on several occasions, but I was scared. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I worried that I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you.”
Keith took a short, trembling breath, then went on. “You were a wonderful girlfriend, Joci. Connor has kept me up to date with you and Gunnar all these years. I’m sorry I was such a dickhead.” He slightly chuckled as he rested to fill his lungs. “I have no excuse for my horrible behavior. I hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me. I treated you terribly, for no reason whatsoever. I really am sorry.”
Keith looked at Gunnar. “I’m sorry, Gunnar. I really am.”
Gunnar bobbed his head once and held Keith’s gaze.
“I hope, with my whole heart, that you’re happy, Gunnar.” Keith rested his hand over his heart.
Gunnar stood tall. “I am. Dog is my dad. I now have brothers.” He nodded to JT and Ryder sitting across the room with them. “I have a great mom and a great life.”
Keith nodded, tears glistening in his eyes. “Good.”
He turned to leave, and Connor helped him out the door. That was it. He just said what he needed to say.
Connor looked back at Joci. “I’ll call you later.” And they left.
They were all quiet for a long time. Things just couldn’t get any more surreal than this week.
Joci looked at Gunnar. “Gunnar?”
He looked at his mom. “Yeah, I’m good, Mom. I don’t feel anything really, other than sorry for him. He looks like hell…how about you?”
Joci shrugged her left shoulder a little. “I would say I’m stunned.”
David walked over and put his arm around Gunnar. “I’m sorry, Gunnar.”
Gunnar shrugged. Joci watched him very closely. She would have given anything for that meeting not to have happened on the heels of her accident. Poor guy had enough to deal with.
Gunnar looked at Joci again. “I’m okay, Mom. Please don’t worry about me.”
Then Jeremiah walked over to Gunnar and wrapped him in a hug.
Joci leaned her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes. She was tired again. Her arm and shoulder hurt. She was grateful, though. For some strange, weird reason, it did help to hear Keith say she hadn’t done anything to make him cheat on her. For so many years now, she thought maybe she wasn’t good enough—in bed, out of bed, it didn’t matter—to keep a man happy. It was one of her biggest fears with Jeremiah. How could she make him happy when she didn’t know what she had done to make Keith unhappy? Now, she knew it wasn’t anything she had done or hadn’t done. It was him. It felt good to know that.
The nurse walked in. Joci opened her eyes when the nurse asked her to open her mouth so she could take Joci’s temperature. She chuckled a little, and the nurse looked at her with a funny expression on her face.
“I just thought you must be psychic. I hurt again and in you walk. You and Jeremiah must both have crystal balls hidden somewhere.”
The nurse looked at Jeremiah with a funny look on her face.
Jeremiah smiled. “We’re having a baby girl.”
The nurse nodded. She gave Joci something for pain and Joci floated off to fairyland one more time.
38
It’s All Good
The next time Joci woke up, she heard female voices speaking softly. She opened her eyes to see Staci, Jackie, Sandi, and Emily sitting in her room talking. Sandi looked up and noticed that Joci was awake. She got up and walked over to the left side of the bed. She leaned down and kissed Joci’s forehead.
Sandi started crying. “God, Joci, I was so scared when I heard you had an accident. They wouldn’t let me come last night. Are you okay? How are you? You’re going to have a baby!”
Sandi’s blubbering and prattling on without giving Joci the chance to speak made her giggle. The other women began laughing at Sandi. Jackie stood and came over next to Sandi, then put her arm around Sandi’s shoulders.
“Sorry, Joci. She promised she wouldn’t cry again.”
Jackie smiled. Sandi tended to get emotional over things, especially something this big. Joci smiled and reached for Sandi’s hand.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m going to be fine. Jeremiah thinks we’re having a girl.” Joci smiled.
Stiffly, she looked around for Jeremiah. Staci piped up then.
“We sent him home to change clothes. He was still wearing his bloody clothes from yesterday. He was going to shower and change and be right back.”
Joci smiled and nodded slightly. It hurt to move her head more than a little.
Jackie spoke up next. “We were just talking about babies. Do you realize that Staci’s grandchild and your baby will be just a few months apart in age? Jeremiah’s daughter and his niece or nephew will be the same age.” She smiled. “Emily and Thomas will have a grandchild and great-grandchild in the same year. Christmases will be fun.”
The girls giggled and talked about babies again when the nurse walked in a few minutes later.
“We have to get you up today, Joci. How are you feeling?”
“Wait. No. We have to wait for Jeremiah. He’ll be pissed if he misses that,” Staci said. She looked at Joci and shrugged. “We have strict orders that he wants to be here when you get out of bed the first time.”
Staci looked at the nurse. “Can we wait a few more minutes?”
The nurse glance at Joci. “Can you wait a few minutes, honey?”
Joci smiled. “Yes. I don’t want Jeremiah to worry that every time he leaves here, I’ll hit some milestone he wants to be here for.” To Joci, this did feel like a milestone.
The nurse smiled and went on. “We aren’t going far with you, Joci. We just want to get you sitting up in the chair for a little while so your lungs can work better. We don’t want pneumonia setting in. I’ll change your sheets. Then we’ll get a new gown on you a
nd get you back to bed. I’ll have pain medication right here for you for afterward.”
She nodded. She could do that. A few minutes later, Jeremiah walked in. God, he looked so good. He had showered and shaved and pulled his hair back into a ponytail. He looked yummy in his fresh shirt and clean jeans. She could look at him all day. It made her feel better to see him not so tired and dragged out. And dang, he smelled heavenly.
Jackie said, “You’re just in time. They want to get Joci up.”
He walked quickly over to the side of the bed on Joci’s left. He leaned down and kissed her and put his hand on the baby. He did that every time now.
“Are you up for that?”
She looked at him with a bit of a shrug. “I guess it’s better for me to move around a little.”
“But is it going to hurt?” He worried.
“Like hell, I think. But I want to get better fast. So, I need to do what they ask of me.”
Jeremiah’s jaw tightened. Joci watched him process this. “Hey, if you can’t handle it, Jackie can stay with me.”
Jeremiah shook his head no. “If you can take it, I can.”
“Good to hear,” the nurse said from the doorway.
She looked at the rest of the girls. “She might be uncomfortable with a big audience. Can I encourage you all to wait in the family room?”
The girls stood to leave. They said they would be back shortly and then walked down the hall. The nurse closed the door.
She held up a syringe. “When we’re done, it’ll help you with the pain. Are you ready for this?”
Joci swallowed. Here goes. She nodded.
The nurse bustled around, getting the chair ready so Joci wouldn’t have to go far. Her hip was going to be very sore. The nurse explained to them what needed to happen. Jeremiah could stand close by, but she would help Joci. She reminded Joci about all the places she had stitches as if she weren’t aware. It would hurt like hell, but Joci should try and breathe through it. It was important. The nurse moved the IV pole and then it was time for Joci to move as well.
