Chapter 32
“My bike isn’t running right, Jeremiah. It was sputtering a lot yesterday. Do you think Gunnar can take a look at it? Probably the plugs, but I’m not sure. Since we won’t be riding this weekend because of the staff party, this will be a good week to have it at the shop. Do you mind?” Joci asked.
“Of course, I don’t mind. One of the perks of owning a bike shop is that you can have your bike worked on anytime you want.”
She chuckled. “I don’t own a bike shop; I just sleep with a man who does.”
“Once we’re married, you’ll be part-owner of a bike shop.”
She leaned back and looked into his eyes, her brows furrowed. “Jeremiah, I don’t want to take anything away from JT and Ryder. They are the rightful owners after you.”
“It’s my business. They’re fine. But while we’re on the subject, what do you think of me adopting Gunnar?
He would legally be my son. He could change his name if he wanted, and for all intents and purposes, be entitled to anything JT and Ryder were entitled to.
I want us all to be a family, with the same last name.
What do you think?” He had been thinking about this for a while, but it seemed silly until he’d spoken to his attorney and found out you can adopt anyone you want.
As long as they are competent to make the decision on their own.
“I think it’s amazing! I don’t know what he’ll say.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, Jeremiah.”
He squeezed her tight, and she felt perfect against him. She was soft and pliable and molded to him in a way that soothed him. “No need to thank me,” he whispered. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but the other night, when he called me Dad, it cemented the whole idea.”
* * *
Clicking the save button, Joci smiled and sat back in her desk chair.
The two songs she chose to add to the slide show were “Roll Me Away” by Bob Seger and “Let’s Ride” by Kid Rock.
Her slideshow turned out amazing. She tried to get pictures of everyone who had participated in the Veteran’s Ride, especially the men and women who worked at Rolling Thunder.
She was stunned at the number of pictures of her and Jeremiah.
She wasn’t even aware of the photographers around them.
There were a few pictures of LuAnn, most of them crude, with her sticking her tongue out or holding up her breasts or pulling her shirt down to show maximum cleavage. She really had zero class.
Nevertheless, there were two pictures of LuAnn, which had been taken when she wasn’t aware of the photographer, and they were nice photos of her, so Joci used them.
One of the two was a picture of LuAnn looking over the crowd at Jeremiah with what she would call longing in her eyes.
Joci cropped out Jeremiah and just showed LuAnn looking off into space over the crowd.
She didn’t want Jeremiah and LuAnn in the same picture if she could help it. Yes, it was immature, but so what?
There were great pictures of the boys and Jeremiah’s family.
There was a cool picture of all of them standing at Rolling Thunder together before the ride.
Her favorite picture, though, was the one she used to end the video.
It was of Joci leaning against a wall at The Barn.
Jeremiah had his left forearm leaning against the wall above her head.
His right hand was on her chin, and they were staring into each other’s eyes.
Both had soft smiles on their face. It was a beautiful, sweet picture of them.
When she looked back at it now, she could see the love in her eyes for him.
The look in Jeremiah’s eyes reflected the same thing. She couldn’t wait for him to see it.
She pulled the thumb drive from her computer and called Sandi.
“Hey, there. I’m leaving for the restaurant now. Do you need directions?”
“No, I looked it up on the Internet. I’ll be walking out the door in five. See you then.”
Joci put the thumb drive into the computer they would be using to show the video on a large screen in the back party room tomorrow night.
“I want you to be honest with me, Sandi. I haven’t shown this to anyone yet. I’m so nervous. I want it to be perfect for him.”
“Okay. Start it up; I’m ready to critique.” She reached for her iced tea and sat back.
When it was over, Sandi’s eyes were bright with moisture. “Wow, Joci…that’s beautiful.”
Joci smiled at her and grabbed her best friend’s hand.
“It’s going to be a surprise for tomorrow night. He doesn’t even know I have the pictures.”
Sandi’s eyes got big, and she raised her eyebrows. “Oh. My. God. I would love to see the look on his face when he sees this. It’s really fantastic, Joci. You’re great at all this stuff. Now let’s talk about the wedding.”
They planned and talked all through lunch. Just four weeks away now. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the trees were going to turn colors early this year because there had been a drought last year.
“After lunch, I’m going shopping for a dress for tomorrow night. Do you want to join me? We can do some preliminary wedding shopping for you and Jackie, too.”
That evening, Joci and Jeremiah stayed home. Lying on the sofa, wrapped up in each other, listening to music, they heard someone in the garage around eight o’clock, and Jeremiah jumped up. “Stay put until I know what’s going on.” She smiled at her alpha fiancé, but worry creased her brow.
Soon she heard JT, Ryder, and Gunnar laughing. And apparently, they had been drinking.
“You boys scared the shit out of us,” she heard Jeremiah admonish. “Come on in. Mom’s in the living room.”
They sat around for the remainder of the evening. She and Jeremiah giggled at the boys’ goofy antics. Then, she made them spend the night because they didn’t want them driving after they had been drinking.
As she slipped into bed, she giggled. “You know, they’re all cute together. I can see why the girls were paying attention to them in Milwaukee. What a handsome group of boys we have.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. Good boys, too. They work hard, they’re polite, smart, and loving. We’re lucky, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she sighed.