by Pj Fiala
She ticked through the picture list she’d gotten from Joci. Having just finished with Sandi and Jon and their kids, she leaned over the pew to see who was next in line on her list. She could feel the air around her crackle and goose bumps shimmied up her arms. She slowly raised her eyes and looked into Ryder’s. She sucked in a breath and froze. Gawd, he was beautiful. Having him this close to her was very distracting. She could smell the spicy, tantalizing scent of his aftershave and see his corded neck and strong jaw leading to his broad shoulders. Wow!
“I believe my brothers and I are next,” he said, his voice husky and low.
Molly’s mouth went dry, and she had difficulty swallowing. When Joci had described the boys to her, she had explained that Ryder was shy and would need encouragement to participate in things. He didn’t usually jump in unless invited—he was content to stand back and wait to be asked. So Molly was a bit surprised that he approached her at all. When the only response she gave was a slight nod, Ryder’s eyebrows shot up in question.
Licking her lips, Molly replied, “Yes, you’re up next.”
Ryder continued watching her. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen—set off perfectly by her dark brown hair. Standing this close to her, he could smell her perfume. She smelled like…more. His cock twitched as he watched her swipe her little pink tongue across her lips. Now that she was ready to take pictures of him and his brothers, his cock decided to stand at attention.
“Maybe we can start on the altar and then we’ll step outside for a few more pictures your parents asked for.” Her voice shook, and a blush crept up her cheeks.
His brothers chuckled behind him as Ryder nodded at Molly and headed toward the altar. He turned to scowl at them. He loved them, but they could be dickheads when they wanted to be. When he reached the altar and turned to face the back of the church, he found Molly standing right in front of him. Good thing he was wearing a tuxedo to help camouflage the growing tent in his pants. He grimaced at his brothers as they stood watching him, then turned his attention back to Molly.
“Okay, Gunnar, if you would sit on the stool, and JT and Ryder, you two stand just behind him. We’ll do a few formal pictures, then some fun ones.” The boys moved into position as Molly looked through her lens. She snapped a few pictures, moved them around again and continued until she had the shots she wanted.
These guys were great subjects. She could easily do something like this for Rolling Thunder. She made a mental note to mention this to Joci. She hadn’t had a chance to photograph these guys at the Veteran’s Ride, because the studio that hired her had assigned her to one of the Veterans groups that had recently earned accolades for their work with veterans. That group had also been a recipient of some of the money from the ride.
After finishing with the boys alone, Jeremiah and Joci came forward to be included in some of the pictures with them.
Molly arranged them in several poses and clicked away. Ryder watched her intently. It was unnerving the way he continued to focus on her, and she wondered when her hands would stop shaking. After finishing with the pictures indoors, they headed outside for some special shots. Molly grabbed her camera and started to reach for her big camera bag when Ryder stepped in and grabbed it for her. Without saying a word, he walked toward the back of the church with her bag. She watched him a few beats and looked back to see Joci smiling at her. Her cheeks flamed bright red as she turned and walked in the direction Ryder had gone.
Joci looked up at Jeremiah. “I do believe I see some sparks flying.”
“Yep. We’ll see what happens from here. They sure seem to be paying a lot of attention to each other,” Jeremiah smirked.
They both chuckled and followed Ryder and Molly out the door.
Joci had not only fallen in love with Jeremiah at the Veteran’s Ride this summer but also with an old orange 1937 Ford Pickup with an oak box and oak box rails. Jeremiah had asked the old guy who owned it if he could rent it for the wedding. He told Jeremiah he would be happy to rent it to him, but he would prefer it if Jeremiah bought it and took it off his hands; he’d been thinking about selling it anyway. Jeremiah was excited when he found out the old truck was for sale. Joci was about to find out that Jeremiah not only bought the old truck, but he’d bought it for her. Molly couldn’t wait to capture Joci’s surprise in pictures.
“Okay, line up alongside the truck for a few group pictures,” Molly directed. Everyone else in attendance knew what was coming. Jeremiah lifted Joci into the box of the truck for a few photos. The boys all took ‘gangster’ style pictures with the truck and joked around.
“I’d like some pictures with Joci sitting in the driver’s seat,” Jeremiah said. He kneeled down in front of her for a few photos, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the truck keys, with a tag attached, and wrapped in a ribbon. He held them up to her with a smile stretched across his face. Joci looked at the keys, carefully taking them in her hand, and reading the tag—“Something old. I love you, Joci – Jeremiah.”
Joci gasped and threw her hand up to her mouth. Molly snapped picture after picture as Joci’s face ran through a gamut of emotions expressing her surprise and happiness.
Joci sprang from the truck and jumped into Jeremiah’s arms as he swung her around and whispered in her ear, “I love you, Jocelyn Sheppard, with everything I have in me.”
“God. I love you, Jeremiah, so much. Thank you. Is it mine? Is that what this means?”
“Yes, baby, it’s your wedding present.”
“Oh my God, Jeremiah, it…it’s perfect.”
All who stood by watching clapped, cheered, and wiped tears from their eyes as they watched. Except for Ryder; he watched Molly.
Once all the pictures had been taken, the wedding party and guests headed to the reception hall. Molly began loading her gear into her car, taking deep breaths to get her emotions under control. She was captivated by Ryder in a big way, but she had no business getting lost in a man, even this gorgeous man. No way! Focus, Molly, just focus.
At the reception, she took pictures of the wedding party eating dinner, dancing, the bride and groom’s first dance, cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet, and throwing the garter. Now she was done. She loved her job, but after taking thousands of pictures today, she was wiped out. The day had been both emotional and energizing. She packed up her gear and slipped out the back door to go home.
The drive home was a blur. She thought about Ryder. He was possibly the most handsome man she had ever met. Her heart beat faster just thinking about him now. She wanted to get home, pour a glass of wine, and look at her pictures.
She walked into her kitchen and set her camera bags on the counter. She pulled disks out of her bag and fired up her tablet. She could download the pictures onto her tablet while she jumped into the shower, then she would sit and enjoy looking at Ryder.
After her shower and her glass of wine had been poured, she grabbed her tablet and sat on the sofa. She began browsing through the pictures from today. Joci was easy to please, but these were going to make her ecstatic. All she wanted was to camouflage her injuries. She had been in a bad motorcycle accident about five weeks ago. They had just learned that Joci was pregnant, so it had been a very stressful time for their family. She didn’t lose the baby and was recovering, but her right arm, shoulder, and her collar bone were severely damaged. Her right hip wasn’t broken, but badly and deeply bruised. Her slight limp was noticeable when she was tired. She still couldn’t lift her right arm up, and was supposed to be wearing a soft cast, but refused to for the wedding. Joci had asked Molly to make sure she didn’t look injured in the pictures. She didn’t want to look back on this day and remember the accident—just the day she became Jeremiah’s wife.
Molly stopped on the first photo of Ryder. Her breath caught in her throat. Jesus, he wasn’t just beautiful; he was perfect. His shoulders appeared larger than they probably were in his tuxedo but still broad. He was tall, nicely built, and freaking handsome. Wow! He ha
d a slight smirk on his face, and those blazing green eyes were staring right at her. She looked at his picture for a long time, finally making herself swipe her finger across the screen, moving to the next one. There he was again. And again and again and again. She had taken tons of pictures of him. No wonder JT and Gunnar had been smirking at her all day.
She fell asleep on the sofa holding her tablet, looking at Ryder’s picture. Would anyone ever capture her attention like he had?
Ryder kept his eyes on Molly all night. He wanted to ask her out, wanted to ask her to stay. He just couldn’t. She seemed interested in him; every time he looked at her today, she was staring right back at him. Watching the pulsing in her neck unnerved him, imagining he was doing that to her. It was maddening, wanting to approach her and not being able to. At the church, he could talk about the pictures or the wedding. Now, though, wanting to ask her out, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Women always approached Ryder; he never had to approach them. He didn’t know what to do now; it sure didn’t help that JT and Gunnar were making fun of him at every turn. Jerks.
He looked over to see Molly slip out the back door with her gear. He waited, hoping she would come back in and have a drink, but she never came back. Fuck! The remainder of the night, Ryder visited with his family. He had always enjoyed spending time with his cousins, so he walked over to a table where a bunch of them were sitting and joined them. His mind was elsewhere, though—on a beautiful, dark-haired woman with bright blue eyes.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone who has read my book and loved it. Without you all, my books wouldn’t exist. Thank you.
Thank you to my amazing husband, Gene. You are my life, and you’ve made me the woman I am today. Thank you for being you and helping me become me. You’ve shown me patience, love, and respect; I hope I show you the same.
Thank you to my children. You guys are amazing, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the people you have become. You should all be very proud of yourselves. Know that I am proud of you.
Thank you to my friends for always being there for me. I love you guys.
Thank you to my beta readers—Mitzi, Maureen, Emily, Kim, DiAnn, Terri, Tina, Jodi, Jennifer, and Sue. Your suggestions and support have made this story memorable. Your willingness to read and critique is invaluable to me.
Thank you to all the veterans in this world. My grandfather, father, brother, two of my sons, and one of my daughters-in-law are veterans. Needless to say, I am proud. Proud to be an American and proud of the service my amazing family has given. Thank you all for your sacrifices. I love you.
Also by PJ Fiala
Second Chances Series
Designing Samantha’s love
Finding Kiera
Rolling Thunder Series
Moving to Love, Book 1
Moving to Hope, Book 2
Moving to Forever, Book 3
Moving to Desire, Book 4
Moving to You, Book 5
Sapphire Falls Kindle World
We’re Going to Make It
Box Sets
Stories of Sun, Sand & Sea
Duty, Honor & Love - a Military Romance Collection
Love in Times of War - a Military Romance Collection
About PJ Fiala
I was born in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri named Bridgeton. During my time in Missouri, I explored the Ozarks, swam in the Mississippi River, and played kickball and endless games of hide-and-seek with the neighborhood kids. The summers spent in Kentucky with my grandmother, Ruth, are the fondest childhood memories for me.
At the age of thirteen, my family moved to Wisconsin to learn to farm. Yes, learn to farm! That was interesting. Taking city kids and throwing them on a farm with twenty-eight cows purchased from the Humane Society because they had been abused was interesting. I learned to milk cows, the ins and outs of breeding and feeding schedules, the never-ending haying in the summer and trying to stay warm in the winter. Our first winter in Wisconsin, one storm brought 36 inches of snow, and we were snowed in for three days! Needless to say, I didn’t love Wisconsin.
I am now married with four children and three grandchildren. I have learned to love Wisconsin, though I still hate snow. Wisconsin and the United States are beautiful, and my husband and I travel around by motorcycle seeing new sites and meeting new people. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are interested in where we are going and what we have seen along the way. At every gas station, restaurant, and hotel, people come up to us and ask us about what we’re doing, as well as offer advice on which roads in the area are better than others.
I would love to hear from you. Please check out my website and blog: http://www.pjfiala.com/
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