Chapter 25
Joci stood in the closet trying to decide what to wear.
She was as nervous as a cat tonight. She had gone out plenty of times with Jackie and Sandi to sing Karaoke, but it had always been impromptu.
This felt staged and planned, and she had butterflies beyond belief.
She had even gotten together with the girls for lunch today to practice.
They thought she was being silly, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself or Jeremiah. Now, what to wear?
“There you are. What’s up?”
Joci turned to look at Jeremiah standing in the doorway of the closet. Did he always have to look perfect?
“I don’t know what to wear. I’m nervous,” she said softly.
Jeremiah walked toward her and slid his hand in her hair. As he cupped her head, he leaned down and kissed her softly.
Looking intently into her eyes, he husked out, “You could wear a sack and still look perfect, babe. But maybe I can help.”
He walked past her to the closet and pulled a little package off a top shelf. He handed it to her with a smile on his face.
“I bought this for you.”
She opened the package and pulled out a beautiful gray blouse. Its capped sleeves and crystals decorating the front were beautiful; the crystal buttons ended, creating a low V. The material felt silky and soft in her hands as she slid it through her fingers.
She looked up at Jeremiah and smiled. “Thank you. It’s just beautiful.”
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed his lips softly and tenderly, and she shivered when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“I don’t know when you had time to shop for me; you’ve been preoccupied this week, but thank you.”
He squeezed her one more time and pulled his head back to look into her eyes.
“I think about you all the time, Joci. You’re always in my thoughts. And I’m sorry I’ve been a bit in the clouds this week. Just a lot on my mind.”
She squeezed him again and turned to head toward the bathroom for a shower. She placed her hand over her tummy to quell the fluttering.
At eight-thirty, they were walking into Purcell’s to meet their friends.
Sandi jumped up and hugged Joci when she saw them.
Saying hello to Jeremiah, she pulled Joci forward to a group of tables she had pulled together to accommodate their large group.
Sandi and Jon, Jackie and David, Gunnar, JT, and Ryder were already there.
Joci looked back at Jeremiah and saw his scowl.
She followed his line of sight to Connor as he walked in.
She tightened her lips as she caught his eye.
He sheepishly nodded once and joined her at the table.
A waitress came and took their drink order as the first Karaoke singer went up on stage, and the show started. Joci blew out a long breath and said, “I’m going to need a few drinks before I can get up there.”
“Dog? God, that is you. How are you, darling?” a seductive, smoky voice purred.
Joci turned to see the tall brunette from Rolling Thunder the other day, standing next to them. Jeremiah’s jaw tightened. “Deborah. What are you doing here?”
Deborah leaned forward and took Joci’s hand in hers, pumping once. “Hi. I’m Deborah. I believe I saw you at Rolling Thunder the other day.” She ran her hand slowly over her baby bump, and a sickening feeling hit Joci.
Deborah’s eyes slid to Jeremiah. “Have you told her yet?”
Joci looked at him and saw how pale he’d become. His chest rose and fell, and she could see the sweat bead up on his forehead.
“Told me what?” Though at this point she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to know.
Deborah’s smile crept across her face. “Dog is about to be a da—”
“No,” he barked out. “No, I’m not. It’s not mine. I’ve told you until you agree to a paternity test, I refuse to claim it.”
Joci’s world began tumbling out of control.
Her vision dimmed as the voices around her faded to the sound of the thrumming of her blood through her veins.
Her knees threatened to give out, and she swayed.
Strong arms wrapped around her and picked her up.
The last thing she remembered was seeing the ceiling rush past her line of sight and the scent of Jeremiah.
* * *
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He eased Joci into the seat of his truck and reached across to buckle her in. She turned her head toward him, and her eyes slowly opened. She stared at him, though he didn’t think she was seeing him.
He heard the voices of their families walking toward them. Jackie, Joci’s sister, came running.
“Joci. Baby, wake up. Are you okay?” Jackie pushed him out of the way and patted Joci’s cheeks—her forehead furrowed in concern, her voice near panic.
Joci’s eyes focused on her sister. “Jackie. Did you hear that?” She sobbed. Then the tears gushed out. “Did you hear?” She openly cried. “He’s having a ba…ba…by—with someone else.” Joci’s arms snaked around her sister’s shoulders as she sobbed into Jackie’s neck.
Jackie patted her sister lovingly, smoothing her hand over Joci’s hair and whispering soft words of comfort in her ear.
Hearing Joci’s anguished cries, Jeremiah turned and emptied the contents of his stomach on the parking lot. His back was so tight the retching hurt, but he didn’t care. He wanted the pain right now. He wanted to feel so much pain—anything to block out the sound of Joci’s crying because of him.