Chapter 11 #2
When they pulled into the parking lot of Rolling Thunder, a few people were already there. And tongues started wagging as soon as they saw Jeremiah and Joci together. Yup, it was going to be an interesting day.
As soon as they parked and got off the bike, LuAnn walked over.
Of course, she was wearing skintight jeans; her Rolling Thunder Veteran’s Ride t-shirt pulled tight and knotted to show off her breasts and belly.
She wore high-heeled boots, and her bleached blonde hair was a messy do of some sort.
And yes, jewelry on every surface she could accessorize.
She walked up to Jeremiah and hugged him.
“I’m so happy to see you. Today is going to be a great day. I’ll ride with you today.”
Jeremiah put his hands on LuAnn’s shoulders and set her aside.
“LuAnn, you didn’t say good morning to Joci.”
LuAnn gave Joci the once-over and snorted, “Hi.”
Joci glanced at Jeremiah and raised her brows in an ‘I told you so’ look.
“Joci’s riding with me today.”
LuAnn looked at Joci again and then back at Jeremiah.
“Why doesn’t she ride her own bike?”
He took a deep breath and put his arm around Joci.
“Because I asked her to ride with me. Joci and I are together, LuAnn.”
LuAnn scrunched her face and snapped her fingers. “Well, that won’t last long. We all know you love a smorgasbord.”
She looked at Joci, gave her the up-and-down once again, and strutted off.
Joci took a step back, but Jeremiah squeezed her shoulders and leaned down close to her ear, “I’m sorry. And for the record, that’s not true. I don’t fuck around like she insinuated.”
Joci blew out a breath and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.
“Hey, bro!”
Jeremiah turned to see his brother, Dayton, and sister-in-law, Staci, walking toward them. As soon as Dayton and Staci reached them, Jeremiah gave him a slap on the back, then a quick hug. He leaned down and hugged his sister-in-law, then introduced them all.
* * *
Joci noticed how very similar they looked right away.
Dayton didn’t look like a computer geek as she suspected; he looked like Jeremiah with short hair.
Same color as Jeremiah’s hair, without the sun’s highlights in it.
Dayton kept his short and cut around the ears and above the collar in the back with a little length on top.
His eyes were similar, though not as bright, and his build was similar as well.
Dayton leaned down and hugged Joci, and then Staci stepped forward, also giving her a hug.
Staci’s long, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes twinkled when she stepped back.
Staci whispered, “Did you like all the candles?”
Joci smiled. “Yes, they were beautiful. Thank you for doing that.”
Staci smiled at Joci and then looked at Jeremiah.
“I was happy to do it. We all just want him to be happy. He was very excited and nervous about making sure you would appreciate it.”
Jeremiah gave Staci a slight nod and a grin.
They were chitchatting when Joci heard, “Mom!”
She turned to see Gunnar striding quickly toward them and then stepped over to hug her son.
“Good morning. Are you ready for today?”
Gunnar nodded and said hello to everyone.
Very soon, all the family members had arrived. Jeremiah’s brothers and parents, Thomas and Emily, Joci’s sister, Jackie, and her husband, David, came in shortly after. Jeremiah made introductions.
As soon as Jackie and David showed up, Jeremiah put his arm around Joci and stated, “Joci’s riding with me today.”
His smile stretched across his face.
Jeremiah’s brother, Tommy, looked at Joci and shook his head. “Poor Joci. He’s a cranky bastard. I hope you can handle it.”
Joci giggled. “I know. It’s awful.”
The brothers began putting up the ribbons that would guide riders to the parking and sign-in areas.
The sisters-in-law walked to the tents that were set up to hold the clothing, and Jeremiah’s parents strolled to the large tent that had been erected last night for the drinks.
The drink stand was being manned by a local veteran’s group, and all proceeds would go to that organization, separate from the Rolling Thunder donations from this ride.
The tables for the sign-up area were set up, and Joci and Jeremiah worked on organizing the area with the sign-up sheets, insurance waivers, and wristbands. He swatted her on the ass, and she stifled a squeal.
“What was that for?”
“You’re leaning over the table setting out papers, and I couldn’t resist. If you don’t want me touching it, don’t stick it out in front of me.”
Joci smirked. She had some local tech school students showing up to keep the data entry rolling along. She set up their laptops, got them booted up, and was ready for them as they arrived. There were a couple of cash drawers at the sign-up table as well.
Jeremiah’s family was available to answer questions and direct traffic. They knew the drill, and everyone worked well together. Just before the first bikers started arriving, Jeremiah walked over to Joci and gave her a big hug.
“It looks like we’re ready. Do you need anything before the bikers start rolling in?”
She pointed at the drink tent. “I thought I would go and get a bottle of water. Do you want one?”
He smiled. “Yeah, I’ll come with you.”
They walked around the parking lot and spoke with everyone working in each area.
His brothers were standing around in the parking areas waiting for the bikers to roll in.
Jeremiah’s parents were talking to the guys in the drink tent.
When they got to the clothing tent, LuAnn was there shooting daggers at them.
Jeremiah didn’t pay her any attention. Joci was wary and watched LuAnn to make sure a knife didn’t find its way to her back.
Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law were working the clothing tent with LuAnn and Angel from Rolling Thunder.
LuAnn made some comment that was off-color and louder than necessary, and Angie and Erin—Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law—looked at Joci, rolled their eyes, then winked at her.
So they were aware of LuAnn’s interest in Jeremiah as well.
Photographers were also getting set up. Jeremiah had hired a local studio, which in turn had to hire freelancers due to the size and nature of the job. The bikes and bikers would be spread out most of the day, so that they would need photographers everywhere.
“Joci, is that you?”
Joci looked over and saw Molly Bates, an independent photographer she had met at a seminar.
“Molly! Yes. It’s great to see you here. Let me introduce you to Jeremiah Sheppard. Jeremiah, this is Molly Bates, a friend I met a couple of years ago at a seminar for us ‘artsy types,’” Joci said with air quotes.
Molly smiled and shook hands with Jeremiah.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
“Good to hear. This is my pet project each year. Thank you for taking part.”
“You’re welcome. Joci, we should catch up. I have a couple of ideas I’m working on that you would be perfect for. How about lunch next week?”
“Sounds great. Email me a couple of days that work for you, and we can plan on it. See you around today.”
They waved goodbye and continued making the rounds. Gunnar was working with the other Sheppards in the parking lot. As Joci and Dog approached him, he smiled and met them halfway.
“I’m so damned excited for today. Mom, you’re going to love this ride.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Thanks again for introducing me to it.”
“Sooo, what did you guys do last night?”
Joci’s face turned bright red. Jeremiah snickered just as JT and Ryder came walking over. “We went back to my house and talked.”
Gunnar looked over at the twins, and they all chuckled.
“‘Talked?’” JT questioned with air quotes.
“Never mind, guys. If you don’t have enough to do, I can find some things for you.”
The boys all turned to go back to work, laughing at Jeremiah and Joci.
She covered her face with her hands, but Jeremiah quickly pulled them away and kissed her forehead.
“Hey. They’re young men; they know what we were doing last night.
For the record, I would love to shout it from the roof. Maybe I’ll go do that right now.”
Joci’s eyes grew huge, and she opened her mouth to tell him he had better not, but the first bikes had started rolling in.
Jeremiah slapped her ass. “Come on, babe; we have bikers to take care of.” He grinned as he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the sign-up tent.
For the next two and a half hours, a steady stream of bikers and passengers rolled in and signed up.
People came in groups and by themselves, hoping to meet up with friends.
The weather was great, and by the looks of it, they were in for a record turnout.
There were people of all shapes and sizes who rode motorcycles.
You could see a thousand Harley shirts and not see the same one twice.
Some people wore leather vests with patches and pins signifying their affiliation with a HOG Chapter, club, or group of some sort.
There were tall people, short people, heavy people, skinny people, doctors, lawyers, clerical workers, mill workers, presidents of companies, and their employees, but they all had this ride in common.
Over the years, since Joci had learned to ride, she had participated in many such events.
First, she felt good about supporting a cause.
Second, she just loved to people-watch. The variations of people and their bikes were like no other.
Third, she loved walking up and down the rows of bikes to look at all the different makes, models, colors, customizations, and doodads.
Everyone had his or her little decorations or thingamajigs on the bikes based on taste and probably budget.
It was nice seeing all of this, and yet, despite their differences, they were all together here at this special event.
You could see people you hadn’t seen in years. And she always met new people, too.
* * *
Jeremiah enjoyed working with Joci. He was proud of her, and he was so happy she was sharing this with him.
He had been a nervous wreck yesterday, not knowing how it would work out with her, but he knew he had to take a stand and let her know he wanted to be with her.
He wasn’t going to take no for an answer any longer.
That was more confident than he felt. He was thrilled beyond words to describe the fact that they were together. Jeremiah heard Joci’s sweet voice.
“Hi, Connor. How are you today?”
Connor reached over the table and hugged Joci. She looked over at Jeremiah and saw the scowl on his face.
She winked at him and leaned in and whispered, “The look on your face is priceless. It’s probably what my face looked like this morning when LuAnn hugged you.” Straightening, she addressed her friend, “Connor, you remember Jeremiah, don’t you?”
Jeremiah held out his hand, and Connor shook it.
“Yes, of course, we’ve met several times. How are you, Dog?”
“I’m great, Connor. Glad you could make it today.”
Jeremiah leaned down and kissed Joci on the temple, then gave her a little squeeze. Connor watched Joci while this was going on. He turned to start filling out his form for the ride.
As soon as Connor had filled out his form, he handed it back to Joci with his twenty dollars for the ride and asked, “So, you’re with Dog now?”
Joci looked at Connor and smiled. “Yes.”
Connor took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m going to go find Gunnar.”
He turned and walked away.