Chapter 12
It was now eleven-thirty and time to start the blessing of the bikes and thanking the veterans, and then it would be time to start riding.
Jeremiah kissed Joci and walked up to the stage.
Through the PA system, he asked everyone for their attention and then introduced Father Ryan, one of the local Catholic priests.
Father Ryan asked everyone to bow their heads and pray.
He said a prayer for all those present today, for all those who couldn’t be here, and for all those who had already gone to Heaven.
He prayed for those serving their country and asked for blessings to be sent their way.
He prayed for those who had already served the country and were struggling with issues.
He asked for safe riding and blessings from the Lord for a safe, happy day.
He ended the prayer by blessing the bikes and asking the Lord to keep the demons away. And everyone said, “Amen.”
Jeremiah introduced some local veterans.
They each spoke a little, and then Jeremiah said, “The donations for this year are going to help a local man who has just come back from Afghanistan. He had one of his legs blown off by an IED. His house is not accessible, and it’s difficult for him to use the stairs to go to bed.
The money will help him build a first-floor bedroom and bathroom, along with some other repairs the house needs for him to be comfortable.
“Some other money will go to a couple of older vets who need repairs done on their houses. We get a group together in the fall to go and help with the repairs. Check out Rolling Thunder’s website.
My girlfriend, Joci, has a link set up to better explain the repairs that are needed and the dates we will be working on the houses.
There is also a link to sign up or donate time or materials.
If you want to help out, we can always use more people.
“Everyone, be courteous and ride safely. The ride will begin in fifteen minutes. Please start heading toward your bikes and get ready to ride out.”
Joci started packing up the sign-up table and laptops.
She thanked everyone who helped at the table and began carrying everything into the store.
Jeremiah caught up to her with the computers and a box of sign-up sheets and opened the door for her.
They walked in together and set their respective items on the counter.
Joci grinned. “You’re a natural on stage, Jeremiah. You didn’t even look nervous.”
He chuckled. “I guess I don’t feel nervous. This is my thing. It’s not like I’m trying to sing or something.”
Joci nodded. That made sense. When she sang karaoke, she had to have at least three shots first.
After setting the laptops on the counter, Joci turned to Jeremiah. “Do you want to know how many bikes we have?”
She was rocking back and forth on her feet with a big smile on her face, waiting for him to guess.
Jeremiah walked forward until he was right in front of her and crossed his arms. Being this close, his scent teased her nostrils, and thoughts of last night came rushing back to her. How he felt, tasted, sounded.
He smiled back at her and took a stab at it. “I’m guessing by the look on your face, it’s a new record. I’m going to say, eight hundred fifty bikes.”
Joci laughed. “Nope.”
Jeremiah’s brows raised and lowered right away.
“Hmmm, nine hundred bikes.”
“Nope.”
She was enjoying this. His smile grew wider.
“Nine fifty?”
Joci laughed out loud. “Nope!”
“Wow. Okay, spill.”
She giggled and clapped her hands once. “Jeremiah, we’ve got one thousand and seven bikes!”
He leaned down, picked her up, and spun her around.
“How many riders?”
Joci was still laughing.
“Eighteen hundred and three people altogether, with the bikers, passengers, car clubs, and veterans.”
“Whoo!” Jeremiah yelled. “That’s a huge record.”
He fist pumped a few times and spun Joci around again. She hung on to his neck as he spun her. Being pushed tight to his chest made her nipples pucker.
“God, I’m so pumped. What a great turnout! Thank you so much for helping me out, sweetheart.”
He kissed her, and she kissed him right back. They were locked together when the door opened.
“Seriously, you two need to get on a bike and get this show on the road.”
Ryder stood in the doorway, looking at them with a goofy grin on his face.
Jeremiah laughed and grabbed Joci’s hand. “Let’s go, baby.”
They walked out, locked the door, and headed to Jeremiah’s bike. People were starting their bikes, and the rumble from all the loud pipes vibrated through their bodies.
This was the exciting part. Everyone was fresh and excited to get rolling.
The roaring of the bikes and the smiles on people’s faces were intoxicating.
Joci found herself shaking a little at the excitement.
Jeremiah leaned back against her as they were waiting for the starting signal from one of the veterans to start the ride.
“Are you nervous, Joci?”
Joci smiled and replied, “No, I’m excited. This is my favorite part. Hearing all the bikes rumble and roar, and getting ready to start riding. I love this.”
Joci hugged Jeremiah, and he squeezed her arms as they came around him. He loved this, too.
Soon they were given the signal and started to roll.
They rode through the lines of people who had gathered to wave them off.
Local people lined the roads, waving and taking pictures and videos of all the bikes.
If a person had never experienced something like this, it’s hard to understand the feelings.
The first leg of the ride was about 49 miles.
Jeremiah and his guys had scoped out some beautiful back roads with twists and turns.
Joci loved riding into corners because she could look back and see all the bikes behind them.
Well, not all of them. With so many, she could only see a portion of them.
But what a sight it was. She didn’t get to look at that when she was driving.
Riding along was fun—she had the opportunity to take a look around and see more.
Along the way, there were cranes and heavy machinery with people sitting or standing up to see from higher vantage points.
Some of the people who lived along the route allowed photographers to stand on their roofs to take videos and pictures, memorializing the ride.
Jeremiah had photo albums of all the rides.
This year, Joci was going to make a video and put it to music for him, then put it on the website. She was excited to work on it for him.
It took about an hour and a half at the slower pace they were riding to get to the first stop, which was a large bar out in the country on the way to Green Bay.
Since Rolling Thunder was between Green Bay and Appleton, it was easy to find roads between the two cities.
This bar, appropriately named ‘The Barn,’ was out in the country and was an old barn converted into a bar.
The upstairs had also been remodeled, so there was plenty of space for almost all of the bikers.
However, since the weather was so nice, they also had several makeshift bars set up outside to keep all the riders hydrated.
Once they had been parked, Jeremiah took Joci’s hand.
* * *
“I want to introduce you to Kevin. He owns the bar, and we’ve been friends for years. I’ve told him about you a few times. He’s dying to meet you.”
Joci looked at Jeremiah with her head cocked to the side. “How does he know I’m here?”
Jeremiah smiled crookedly. “I texted him this morning to tell him. He has listened to me whine about you not going out with me for a long damn time. I couldn’t wait to tell him you were riding with me today.”
They walked into The Barn and strode to the far end. Jeremiah stood taller than most people in there, so he could see where they were going. Joci just hung on to his hand and followed along. She couldn’t see anything but the backs and fronts of the people they were passing.
Soon Joci heard, “Dog, you son of a bitch, there you are.”
Jeremiah pulled Joci to the end of the bar and then drew her behind the bar so she wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. Jeremiah and Kevin hugged like guys do—arms wrapped around shoulders and a lot of backslapping. As soon as they were finished, Jeremiah reached for Joci and pulled her forward.
“Kevin, this is Joci. Joci, this is Kevin. We’ve been friends for about eighteen years.”
Kevin leaned down and hugged Joci.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you, Joci. It’s great to meet you. And I’m thrilled you’re finally with Dog.”
He winked at her and looked at Dog. “What’ll ya have? The usual?”
Jeremiah shook his head. “Water, one for each of us.”
Kevin smirked and turned to get their drinks. When he returned, Jeremiah took both water bottles, opened the first one, and handed it to Joci.
As he was opening the second one, he told Kevin, “I’ll bring Joci out this week one night, and we’ll sit and have a few. Today, I need to stay straight in case we have any issues.”
Kevin nodded. “Sounds great. Come on Tuesday. For some reason, that’s a slow night around here. I can knock off early, and we can sit here and drink without interruption.”
Jeremiah looked at Joci. “Good with you?”
She smiled. “Sounds great.”
Jeremiah looked at Kevin and smiled. He heard his intake of breath when she flashed that big smile.
Who could resist the dimples in her cheeks?
And, of course, those smoky gray eyes. Jeremiah had a difficult time not staring at her.
As they stood there talking, Joci was suddenly pushed as LuAnn shoved herself into Jeremiah.
LuAnn then elbowed her way past Joci and cut in front of her to throw herself at Kevin.
“How ya doin’, Kev?” Kevin gave LuAnn a quick little hug and looked at Jeremiah with furrowed brows.
Jeremiah wrapped his arms around Joci and whispered in her ear, “You okay, hon?”
She looked back at him. “Yes. Getting sick of this, though.”