Chapter 10
Jeremiah and Joci lay back against the headboard.
The candles were burning low, and the light wasn’t nearly as bright, though it was still very beautiful.
He couldn’t stop watching her. Her smile caused her dimples to wink.
When he saw them, he wanted to sigh. Talking to her felt good.
They had similar tastes in music, food, movies, and family values.
“Joci, tell me about Connor. What’s the deal with him?”
Joci looked at him, her brows furrowed. “I take it you don’t like Connor.”
Jeremiah looked at her for a long time. “Connor’s in love with you. I see the way he looks at you. It drives me nuts.”
Joci’s head jerked back a bit; she shook her head.
“I don’t think so. He’s been there for us.
He feels bad about the way Keith treated us—Gunnar and me.
He was Keith’s best friend. They’re still friends and keep in touch.
He knew all along that Keith was cheating and told me he tried talking to Keith about it.
Connor’s been a good friend for a long time now.
When I needed help with Gunnar, Connor stepped in for me—for Keith, actually. That’s all.”
Jeremiah’s lips formed a straight line. “He never asked you out or tried to kiss you?”
Joci cocked her head to the side. “Yes, after he divorced, he asked me out. He did kiss me a couple of times, but each time, I told him I wanted to keep it friendly. Eventually, he accepted that.”
Jeremiah leaned over and kissed Joci lightly on the lips.
“You can’t possibly believe that! I would never accept that from you, and I don’t think he did either.
I see how he looks at you. He loves you.
If he makes a move for you, he and I are going to have problems. That may cause a problem with Gunnar, but I’ll deal with it. ”
“He hasn’t made a move in all these years, and he’s actually introduced me to girlfriends of his.”
“I’m just sayin’.” Jeremiah twisted to look at her. “Now, what about Keith? Did he leave the area, or does he still live around here? And how do you feel about that?”
Joci shrugged. “He really wasn’t the love of my life.
What really hurt was when I found out how much he had screwed around.
Besides screwing Tori and my aunt, he screwed a woman I worked with.
Actually, he had been with almost everyone I knew.
It’s hard to think these women would see me and talk to me and offer me advice and be in the friggin’ delivery room with me and the whole time, they were screwing him themselves.
” She picked at a thread on the comforter, then smoothed it with her hand.
The satiny fabric was soft and cool to her touch.
She noticed the deep copper color in the waning candlelight.
Looking up into his eyes, she continued.
“That’s why I don’t trust easily. So many people have betrayed me.
But even worse was that we had a little boy who wanted and needed a father.
Keith left him. He left the area when Gunnar was one or so.
Connor told me that he met someone and married her.
I hope he treats her better than he treated me.
They have two children together, I believe. ”
“Does he ever see Gunnar or keep in touch with him?”
“Nope. Since the day I found him with Tori, he hasn’t made any attempt to touch base with Gunnar.” She quickly turned her frown into a smile; this was not a time for sad thoughts.
“I won’t betray you, Joci. Never. My father raised us better than that. No one in my family would ever treat anyone so cruelly. I promise you.”
She looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity.
“What about you, Jeremiah? Did you ever wonder if you should have done something different with Barbara?”
Jeremiah snorted. “Hell, no. She shows up about once each year, traveling through. She doesn’t ride herself, just hangs around looking for a ride.
She wears too much makeup, too much jewelry, too much everything.
Last year, when she rode through, she asked JT for money, and he told her to take a hike.
Not sure if she’ll come back this year. She’s been married and divorced three times and has two other children: a boy and a girl.
Not sure where they are or who they’re with. I assume their fathers.”
“That must have been hard on you. What about girlfriends?”
Jeremiah looked at Joci, trying to gauge her mood. “No. I dated a few women, but nothing serious. I devoted my time to the boys and, then later, to growing Rolling Thunder.”
“I know what you mean. I devoted my life to Gunnar and then to building my marketing and graphic design business. I wouldn’t have made it if it hadn’t been for my sister, Jackie.
Later on, Sandi and I became friends, but it took me a long time to trust her.
But she stayed tough and proved she was trustworthy. ”
They talked a while longer, enjoying the quiet time with each other. Jeremiah’s phone chimed. He let out a huff and reached down to the floor to retrieve it out of his jeans pocket. He smirked and texted something back. He looked up and saw Joci watching him.
“Staci wanted to know if you liked the candles. I told her you did. She knew I was nervous.”
“Aww, that’s really sweet of her.”
“She’s been like a sister to me. Dayton found himself a great woman. I can’t wait for you to meet her.” He pecked her on the lips. “Do you want to take a shower?”
Jeremiah swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood. He took her hand, helped her out of bed, and led her to the bathroom. He reached into the shower stall and turned the water on, letting it warm up.
Joci stood watching him. He moved around his house with strength and confidence. His muscles moved and rippled with him. He turned to look at Joci and raised an eyebrow.
Joci smiled. “I love watching you.”
Jeremiah smiled at her. “The moment I met you, I knew I needed to be with you. You’re stubborn as hell, but so beautiful, you make my heart race.”
Joci furrowed her brow. “I’m not stubborn!”
Now it was Jeremiah’s turn to furrow his brow. “Really? You made me wait almost a fucking year to touch you.”
Joci closed the distance between them and ran her palms across his chest, down his stomach, and over his hips.
“I wasn’t being stubborn; I was scared. You have women fawning over you all the time. Making comments and dying for you to touch them. I didn’t want to go down that road again.”
Jeremiah shook his head, “I don’t have women fawning over me.”
“Seriously, Jeremiah, LuAnn has made it very, very clear that she wants you. She fawns over you, touches you every chance she gets. She’s made comments to me that you’re waiting for her to be ready to settle down. How can you not know that?”
Jeremiah’s head snapped back. His mouth drew down his lips thinned.
“That’s not fucking true. LuAnn is the last person on earth I want. If she’s made those comments, she’s lying. I have never, ever given her any reason to believe there would ever be anything between us.” He shook his head, “I’ll take care of LuAnn. She better not give you any grief.”
He twisted his head from side to side, then looked into her eyes. He took her hand in his and led her toward the shower.
Stepping in, Joci looked around in surprise. The glass block wall had hidden the size of the shower from view. Standing in it now, she felt dwarfed. The deep brown copper tiles had flecks of graphite colored minerals that sparkled in the light. “This is an amazing shower.”
Jeremiah chuckled, “Well, I’m too big for a normal shower. The first thing I did when I bought this house was gut the bathroom and build this big shower, so when I washed my hair, I didn’t beat the hell out of my elbows.”
He held his arms up to show Joci he could stretch out.
Joci stepped under the water with him. She reached over to the shelf and grabbed the bottle of body wash.
She squirted some into her hand and held it to her nose.
Hmm, that’s why he smelled so awesome. She rubbed her hands together and placed them on his back.
He was so beautiful: chiseled muscles and clear, taut skin; the years had been kind.
She looked at the tattoo on his back. It was beautiful, lettered scrollwork that went from shoulder to shoulder and said Rolling Thunder.
Joci touched the tattoo with her fingers.
She slowly traced each letter across his back, noticing that his muscles rippled and moved under her fingers.
Once she had traced the letters, she laid her palm flat and ran her hand over the whole tattoo.
“It’s beautiful.”
Jeremiah slowly turned, finding her eyes. He stared at her a long time, the water beating down on them both. Joci reached up and traced the tattoo on his left bicep.
“What does this mean?”
Jeremiah’s voice cracked. “It’s JT’s initials in Vivaldi Script.”
Yes, now that she looked closer, she could see it—JTS. Joci slid her hand down to his wrist. “This?”
“His birth date.”
Joci traced the tattoo on his right bicep, RMS. “Ryder.”
Jeremiah whispered, “Yes.”
Joci slid her hands to his right wrist and traced the numbers.
“And this would be his date of birth as well. Twins.”
* * *
Jeremiah framed Joci’s face in his hands.
He stared into her eyes for the longest time.
The stormy gray irises framed by a deeper gray.
Her long, thick lashes were now wet from the water of the shower, creating the shape of stars around her eyes.
Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her lips.
He turned his head so they fit together perfectly, and dipped his tongue into her mouth.
He explored, wanting to touch every surface of her body.
He wanted to crawl inside her and leave an imprint on her that would never disappear.
He slid his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head, holding her in place while he continued to taste her.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling them closer. When Jeremiah needed to breathe, he lifted his head and lay it on top of Joci’s. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to him. He already needed her again; he would take his time and enjoy this.