Dog Days of Summer

by Fiala, PJ

  “Aunt Jackie said she was pregnant,” Gunnar said in a quiet voice.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jeremiah sucked in a breath, “Is.”

  Gunnar looked at Jeremiah with his brows furrowed. “What?”

  “Is. She is pregnant. She isn’t dying and neither is our baby.”

  Gunnar looked out the window of the truck. Un-fucking-real.

  Jeremiah, Gunnar, and the others waited in the emergency room visitor’s area for what seemed like hours. Every time a nurse, orderly, hospital worker, even someone from housekeeping, walked into the room, Jeremiah hit them with questions. All they knew so far was that Joci had been taken into surgery. Her right arm was broken in four places. Her right shoulder was broken, as well as her collarbone. Her hip was damaged but not broken. Apparently the way she hit the tree had been a “good” way, if there was one.

  The bike had taken the brunt of the hit. She had been leaning the bike away from the corner to try and make it. That meant the bottom of the bike probably hit first. The seat hit before her hip, which really helped. Her head had slammed into the tree, giving her a concussion. It could have been worse. Right now, Joci was in surgery to repair her arm, her collarbone, and her shoulder. No one could tell them if she would miscarry or not. The doctor told them that their first priority had to be Joci, but they would do whatever they could not to harm the baby.

  Chapter 34

  Healing

  During the several hours Jeremiah and Gunnar had been anxiously waiting, other family members had gathered at the hospital. Jeremiah looked around, grateful for their support as they all waited to hear about Joci. She had so many people who wanted her to get well. To be well. God needed to hear their prayers. Thomas had led them in prayer when he and Emily had arrived; Jeremiah kept praying.

  Finally, the doctor walked into the visitor’s waiting room. “Mr. Sheppard?”

  “Yes.” Jeremiah stood. So did Gunnar.

  The doctor walked over to Jeremiah and Gunnar. He shook hands with each of them. “I’m Dr. Sutton.”

  Dr. Sutton motioned for them to sit down. He took a seat right in front of Jeremiah.

  “Ms. James has come through surgery fine. We found no internal injuries. We put four screws into her right arm. Her shoulder was broken, but we didn’t need to put screws in it. We were able to set it. Her collarbone was broken and set. Her hip was not broken; however, her skin was split open in several places. We stitched her up. She has deep bruising, which is going to cause her quite a bit of pain for a while. She should be out of recovery in about an hour, and then will be taken to a room close to the nurse’s station so they can watch her closely.”

  “What about the baby?” Jeremiah asked in a hoarse whisper.

  Dr. Sutton looked closely at Jeremiah. “We’ll have to wait and see. She is pretty badly injured, Mr. Sheppard. With her trauma and her age, there’s a good chance she will miscarry. Only time will tell.”

  Jeremiah dropped his head into his hands and prayed again that both Joci and the baby would be okay. They just had to be.

  Gunnar wiped at his eyes. His mind was all over the board. Mostly, he just needed to see his mom. He got up and walked over to Jackie.

  Jackie reached out her arms to hug Gunnar. He had grown to be taller than she was. But she still hugged him tight.

  “She has to be okay, Aunt Jackie.” Jackie and David both had tears in their eyes.

  “She will be, baby. She will be. We all know how strong she is.”

  They sat and waited until a nurse finally walked in to let them know Joci had been taken to a private room. The heavy-set nurse led them down the hall and stepped into Joci’s room. At Jeremiah’s huge intake of breath, the nurse looked at him.

  In a quiet voice, she explained, “She’s pale because she’s just come out of surgery and hasn’t been moving around. Her legs are elevated because of the baby. She woke up for a few minutes in recovery and was able to answer simple questions. She will be going in and out for a while due to the anesthesia and her body trying to heal itself. The best thing that can happen right now is that she gets plenty of rest.”

  Jeremiah nodded, walked in, and pulled a chair to the side of the bed, turning it so he faced Joci. He bent down so he could kiss her forehead. He touched her hair and kissed her lips lightly.

  “I love you, Joci. Please know that.”

  He sat in the chair next to Joci and looked at her. She was pale everywhere except under her eyes. There, it was bluish gray where her lashes rested on her cheeks. The right side of her face was swollen and a few little cuts and bruises were visible along her right temple and cheek. Her right arm and shoulder were thickly bandaged. They looked huge compared to her slight frame. The rest of her looked small. So incredibly small and fragile. Three different IVs led into one line in her arm. Jeremiah reached over and laid his hand on her belly. Then he rested his head on the edge of the bed, next to her left hand.

  Gunnar walked over and touched Joci on the forehead. He just needed to touch her. He touched her hair and whispered, “Mom, I love you. We all do. We’ll be here as long as you need us.”

  Everyone else was crowded around the room, watching and processing what happened. They counted ceiling tiles, floor tiles, and even the beeps from the heart monitor. Jeremiah listened to the seconds ticking by on the clock until he thought his jaw would break from the tightness.

  The nurse walked in and saw them all just sitting and watching Joci. No one was talking. She checked the IVs and felt Joci’s forehead to gauge her temperature.

  “Ms. James, can you wake up please?” she asked her a few times in a kindly voice. The nurse began rubbing Joci’s left arm and moving her left hand up and down to get her to wake up. The nurse didn’t want to jostle her around, but needed to wake her. Finally, the nurse put her hand on the top of Joci’s head to gently rub the uninjured side of her face. “Ms. James, can you wake up for me?”

  Joci opened her eyes and closed them right away. Too bright.

  “That’s it. Take your time and open your eyes,” said the nurse.

  Joci tried again, but it was just too bright. She tried to lift her hand to shield her eyes. It felt heavy and clumsy.

  “Here. Now give it a try. I turned the lights down.”

  Joci opened her eyes again, slowly, and was able to get them to stay open. She looked at the nurse, trying to comprehend what was going on. Where was she?

  “Your family is here for you. But before you can visit, I need to take your temperature.”

  The nurse stuck a thermometer in Joci’s mouth and took her pulse. Joci looked around the room, seeing everyone there. Her brow furrowed until it dawned on her. She had had an accident. She gasped and sobbed at the same time. She immediately reached for her tummy. She found a hand already there—Jeremiah’s hand. The nurse quickly pulled the thermometer out of her mouth so Joci wouldn’t bite into it. Tears spilled out of her eyes.

  “Baby?”

  The nurse smiled at her and touched her cheek. “You’re still pregnant. We’re watching you closely. Have faith, sugar.”

  The nurse grabbed a tissue off the table next to the bed and handed it to Joci. She took it in her left hand and wiped at her tears. The nurse turned and walked out of the room. Joci looked down and saw Jeremiah sitting next to her. He was still, very still. The tears threatened again as Joci choked out, “I’m so sorry.”

  Jeremiah leaned forward. “Shhhh, honey don’t make it worse. Try and relax okay?”

  “Mom, how do you feel?”

  Joci looked at Gunnar, standing to her right. She weakly smiled at her son.

  “Well, I guess I’ve been better.”

  “Mom, what happened? Deacon said you didn’t brake.”

  Joci looked at Gunnar and her eyes filled with confusion.

  “I did. I tried. The brakes didn’t work. There wasn’t anything there.”

  Gunnar sucked in a deep breath. “I checked everything myself. I took it for a test drive bef
ore I called you to tell you it was all good. I swear it.”

  Joci’s swallowed. “I believe you, baby.”

  Jeremiah looked at Gunnar. “When?”

  Gunnar looked at Jeremiah and frowned. “I don’t know. I worked on it on Thursday morning. It ran great. Ryder took it for a ride, too, because we were adjusting the belt, and he helped me with it.”

  Gunnar looked over at Ryder. Ryder nodded, “I did. It was fine. After we adjusted the belt, I took it for a ride and everything was working great.”

  Joci started sobbing. She looked at Jeremiah. God, he probably thought she did it on purpose. It hurt to cry but she couldn’t help it.

  “I squeezed the brakes, both hand and foot. There wasn’t anything there. I tried to lean into the corner, but I was too fast for it.”

  Jeremiah touched Joci’s hair and tenderly stroked her head. He stood up and leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  “Don’t cry, honey. We’ll figure it out. I’ll be right back.” Then he walked out of the room. Everyone was watching him. He looked pissed. Did he think Joci had tried to hurt the baby?

  Jackie came over to Joci’s side and rubbed her left shoulder. “Joci. Honey, don’t get too worked up. It’s not good for you or the baby.”

  Joci looked at Jackie and nodded.

  “I didn’t try to hurt the baby, Jackie. I didn’t.”

  Everyone was quiet, each processing his or her own thoughts on the matter.

  “Honey, I know you didn’t. I know you never would. Jeremiah knows that, too.”

  Joci calmed herself as much as she could. She placed her hand on her belly again. Everything just had to be okay. She was doing her best to remember everything that had happened, but shewas still groggy. She had tried to brake, but there hadn’t been anything there. Deacon said she hadn’t braked. Why would he say that?

  In the hospital hallway, Jeremiah’s mind was whirling. Fuck, Joci’s bike been sitting at the shop for about a week. Anyone could have done something to it. Something could have fallen against it and damaged something. Joci said she hadn’t try to hurt herself or the baby. He believed her. Pulling out his cell phone, Jeremiah called Deacon. “Deacon, where are you?”

  “I just got home. How’s Joci?”

  “She just came around. She said she tried her brakes, but there wasn’t anything there. Are you sure you didn’t see her brake lights?”

  Deacon let out a breath. “I’m positive, Dog. I kept waiting for her brake lights, knowing she was heading into the corner.”

  “Where’s her bike now?”

  “I have it at the shop, in the back storeroom. The door is locked, just like you asked.”

  Fuck. Jeremiah walked back into Joci’s room. He looked around the room and found his brother Tommy. “I need to speak with you.”

  Tommy looked at Erin, got up, and walked into the hall with Jeremiah. His mind was already working. Conflicting stories. When he stepped into the hallway, he and Jeremiah walked a few feet away from the door.

  “I just got off the phone with Deacon. He has Joci’s bike locked in our back storeroom at the shop. He swears Joci never hit the brakes.”

  Tommy rubbed his forehead. “I’m starting to think the worst here. I watched her face. I don’t think she’s lying.”

  Jeremiah looked like he wanted to hit something. “Of course she isn’t lying. Fuck, Tommy.”

  “Hey. Ease up, man. We have to look at everything. I’ll call my chief. We’ll have officers go over and look at it with a mechanic. Gunnar shouldn’t be the mechanic.”

  Jeremiah was enraged, “Gunnar would never do anything to hurt Joci.”

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to make it sound that way. But if he was the last one to work on the bike, he shouldn’t be the mechanic to work with the police on the findings. We need an official report.”

  Jeremiah let out a breath. “Find out when someone can get over there. I’ll call Frog.”

  Within a couple of hours, two officers, Frog, Tommy, and Jeremiah were at the shop looking at Joci’s bike. It was a mess. Jeremiah’s stomach turned looking at the wreckage. The largest part of her bike was standing up on a trailer. The handlebars were twisted and scratched up. One of the mirrors listed over the side of the handlebar, the other mirror lay on the floor of the trailer. The parts that had flown off when she crashed had also been placed on the floor of the trailer, scattered here and there. Some pieces had been broken into tiny pieces. Others were scuffed from sliding across the road or from impact. They were so damn lucky she hadn’t been killed.

  “Fuck,” Frog swore.

  “What?” Jeremiah asked.

  Frog pulled his hands out of the bike wreckage. “Her brake lines were cut.”

  Jeremiah looked at Frog with disbelief on his face. One of the officers looked at the bike where Frog had been working.

  “Show me why you think that,” he said.

  Frog reached his hand into the mangled mess and pointed to the brake lines. The officer shined his flashlight into the area. Cuts could clearly be seen across the top of each line. Frog cleared his throat.

  “When the tops of the lines are cut, the fluid leaks out slowly and drips down the top of the lines. It falls into the bike somewhere and doesn’t leave a big mess on the floor.”

  The officer then pointed with his index finger, following the path the brake lines took and showed them spots on the bike frame and other parts where older, hardened brake fluid had settled.

  Frog went on. “It has likely been leaking slowly over the past few days. We had the bike here at the shop, and moved it around out of the way a couple of times. No one started it up to move it; we just pushed it around. But, we would have used the brakes to stop it when we got it in place. Each time the brakes were pushed, fluid leaked out, and dripped down the lines. The brakes would have worked for a little while.”

  Tommy looked at Jeremiah. Jeremiah was stunned. Someone had cut her brake lines? Everyone here loved Joci. Well, almost everyone. LuAnn had been enraged the day she found out Jeremiah and Joci had gotten engaged. Deacon told Jeremiah he sent LuAnn home from work that Monday because she was throwing things around and being a big bitch to everyone. Then the Milwaukee fiasco. Would she know how to do this?

  Tommy cleared his throat. “You have video here in the shop, don’t you, bro?”

  Jeremiah slowly nodded his head. “I can take you to my office and show you the back-up.”

  Numb was the only word Jeremiah could come up with to explain his feelings right now. It had to have been LuAnn. No one else there hated Joci. LuAnn wouldn’t have known that Joci was pregnant. No one suspected Joci was pregnant except his parents, Jackie, Joci, and himself.

  Tommy, Jeremiah, and one of the officers walked into Jeremiah’s office. He unlocked the closet where the computer system was housed and showed them the system.

  The officer whistled. “Wow, you have a great system here.”

  “One of my brothers is a computer geek. He set me up with this system a couple of years ago. An employee was stealing from me. It backs up to the cloud, so I don’t have to change tapes. It saves perpetually.”

  Jeremiah walked over to his computer. He booted it up and logged onto the Internet, then called up his cloud surveillance back-up for the past week. Based on Gunnar and Ryder’s conversation earlier, Jeremiah pulled up the back-up video, beginning with last Thursday. They all sat and watched in silence. Jeremiah focused on Joci’s bike.

  Based on the time stamp, it had been around 8:30 in the morning when Gunnar had taken off on the bike to test it. He and Ryder then looked at the bike. Ryder took off the belt cover and loosened up the tension bolts on the back tire, then adjusted the tension on the belt. He tightened the bolts on the back tire and put the belt cover back on. Ryder left the shop to take the bike for a ride. They set the bike over to the side. Around 11:30, the guys in the shop all went to lunch.

  At 11:51, LuAnn walked up to the bike. She looked around and saw that the shop was empty. She lean
ed in with a knife and sliced the lines. She stood up with a smirk on her face and walked away.

  Jeremiah sucked in a breath. “God dammit, I’ll kill that fucking bitch.”

  Tommy put a hand on Jeremiah’s shoulder. “Easy, bro, don’t make threats.”

  They went back and re-watched the recording. The officer wrote down the times on the video.

  “We’ll need access to this video,” he said.

  Jeremiah nodded. He couldn’t look away from it. That smirk on LuAnn’s face enraged him. How fucking dare she? She hurt the one person in the world he loved the most. She had hurt Joci time and again. Why couldn’t he have seen it? Now, he might lose his baby…their baby…because of that fucking bitch.

  Tommy put his hand on Jeremiah’s shoulder. “Watching it over and over isn’t going to help, Jeremiah.”

  Jeremiah scrubbed his face with his hands. He stood up and paced around the room a few times.

  “How could I not see her escalating to this point? Jesus, I’m just as guilty for allowing that bitch to be within a thousand feet of Joci. God, I should have seen it.”

  Jeremiah broke down. He had been holding back for so many hours now. He was worried about Joci and the baby. He was worried about everything. He dropped into a chair, put his head in his hands, and cried.

  Tommy walked over to Jeremiah and put his hand on Jeremiah’s shoulders.

  “It’s not your fault, Jeremiah. You can’t think you’re responsible for the actions of anyone else. LuAnn is responsible for her own actions.”

  The other officer got on his phone and called the station. “Is LuAnn Mason still in custody? Then we’ll need a warrant for her arrest. I have video of her cutting the brake lines on Joci James’s bike, which resulted in Ms. James being injured in an accident earlier today.”

  Chapter 35

  Baby

  Joci lay back in her hospital bed. Everyone had left a couple of hours ago. It was about two in the morning, according to the clock on the wall. A nurse had just left her room and would be coming back with pain medication.