Chapter 36
During the several hours Jeremiah and Gunnar had been anxiously waiting, other family members had gathered at the hospital.
He looked around, grateful for their support as they all waited to hear about Joci.
She had so many people who wanted her to get well.
God needed to hear their prayers. Thomas had led them in prayer when he and Emily had arrived; Jeremiah kept praying.
Finally, the doctor walked into the visitors’ waiting room. “Mr. Sheppard?”
“Yes.” Jeremiah stood. Gunnar followed.
The doctor walked over to them and shook their hands. “I’m Dr. Jerzek.”
Dr. Jerzek motioned for them to sit down. He took a seat right in front of Jeremiah.
“Ms. James has come through surgery fine. We found no internal injuries. We put four pins in her right arm. Her shoulder was broken, but we were able to set it. Her collarbone was broken and has been set. Her hip was not broken; however, her skin was split open in several places. We stitched her up. She has deep bruising, which is going to cause her quite a bit of pain for a while. She should be out of recovery in about an hour, then she will be taken to a room close to the nurse’s station so they can watch her. ”
“What about the baby?” Jeremiah asked in a hoarse whisper.
Dr. Jerzek looked closely at Jeremiah. “We’ll have to wait and see. She’s badly injured, Mr. Sheppard. With her trauma and her age, there’s a good chance she will miscarry. Only time will tell.”
Jeremiah dropped his head in his hands and prayed again that both Joci and the baby would be okay. They just had to be.
Gunnar wiped at his eyes. He got up and walked over to Jackie.
She reached out her arms and pulled her nephew in for a hug.
“She has to be okay, Aunt Jackie.” Jackie and David both swiped at the tears in their eyes.
“She will be, baby. She will be. We all know how strong she is.”
They sat and waited until a nurse finally walked in to let them know Joci had been taken to a private room.
The nurse led them down the hall and stepped into Joci’s room.
At Jeremiah’s huge intake of breath, the nurse explained, “She’s pale because she’s just come out of surgery and hasn’t been moving around.
Her legs are elevated because of the baby.
She woke up briefly in recovery and was able to answer simple questions.
She’ll be going in and out for a while due to the anesthesia and her body trying to heal itself.
The best thing that can happen right now is that she gets plenty of rest.”
Jeremiah nodded. He stepped into the room and quietly pulled a chair to the side of the bed, turning it so he faced Joci. He bent down so he could kiss her forehead. He touched her hair and kissed her lips lightly.
“I love you, Joci. Please know that.”
He sat in the chair next to her and watched.
She was pale everywhere except under her eyes.
There, it was bluish gray where her lashes rested on her cheeks.
The right side of her face was swollen, and a few cuts and bruises were visible on her right temple and cheek.
Her right arm and shoulder were thickly bandaged.
They looked huge compared to her slight frame.
The rest of her looked small. So incredibly small and fragile.
Three different IVs led into one line in her arm.
He reached over and laid his hand on her belly.
Then he rested his head on the edge of the bed, next to her left hand.
Gunnar walked over and touched Joci on the forehead. He touched her hair and whispered, “Mom, I love you. We all do. We’ll be here as long as you need us.”
Everyone else took turns stopping in, watching, and processing what happened. They counted ceiling tiles, floor tiles, and even the beeps from the heart monitor. Jeremiah listened to the seconds ticking by on the clock until he thought his jaw would break from the tightness.
The nurse walked in and saw them sitting and watching Joci. No one was talking. She checked the IVs and felt Joci’s forehead to gauge her temperature.
“Ms. James, can you wake up please?” she asked her a few times in a kind voice.
The nurse rubbed Joci’s left arm and moved her left hand up and down to get her to wake up.
Finally, the nurse put her hand on the top of Joci’s head to gently rub the uninjured side of her face. “Ms. James, can you wake up for me?”
* * *
Joci opened her eyes and closed them right away.
“That’s it. Take your time and open your eyes,” said the nurse.
She tried again. She tried to lift her hand to shield her eyes. The nurse leaned forward and adjusted the overhead light.
“Here. Now give it a try. I turned the lights down.”
She slowly opened her eyes again and was able to keep them open. She looked at the nurse, trying to comprehend what was going on.
“Your family is here for you. But before you can visit, I need to take your temperature.”
The nurse stuck a thermometer in Joci’s mouth and took her pulse.
Joci looked around the room, seeing her family there, and her brow furrowed until it dawned on her.
She’d had an accident. She gasped and sobbed at the same time.
She immediately reached for her tummy. She found a hand already there—Jeremiah’s.
The nurse quickly pulled the thermometer out of her mouth so she wouldn’t bite into it. Tears spilled out of her eyes.
“Baby?”
The nurse smiled at her and touched her cheek. “You’re still pregnant. We’re watching you closely. Have faith, sugar.”
The nurse grabbed a tissue off the table next to the bed and handed it to Joci.
She took it in her left hand and wiped at her tears.
The nurse turned and walked out of the room.
Joci looked down and saw Jeremiah sitting next to her.
He was still, very still. The tears threatened again as she choked out, “I’m so sorry. ” Her lip trembled.
Jeremiah leaned forward. “Shh, honey, don’t make it worse. Try and relax, okay?”
“Mom, how do you feel?”
Joci turned her head toward Gunnar. She weakly smiled at her son.
“Well, I guess I’ve been better.”
“Mom, what happened? Deacon said you didn’t brake.”
She looked at Gunnar, and her eyes filled with confusion.
“I did. I tried. The brakes didn’t work. There wasn’t anything there.”
Gunnar sucked in a deep breath. “I checked everything myself. I took it for a test drive before I called you to tell you it was all good. I swear it.”
Joci’s swallowed. “I believe you, baby.”
Jeremiah eyed Gunnar. “When?”
Gunnar frowned. “I don’t know. I worked on it Thursday morning. It ran great. Ryder took it for a ride, too, because we were adjusting the belt, and he helped me with it.”
Gunnar looked at Ryder, and he nodded, “I did. It was fine. After we had adjusted the belt, I took it for a ride and everything was working great.”
Joci sobbed. She looked at Jeremiah. “I’m not lying. The brakes didn’t work. They were squishy, both hand and foot. There wasn’t anything there. I tried to lean into the corner, but I was too fast for it.”
Jeremiah touched Joci’s hair and tenderly stroked her head. He stood up, leaned down, and kissed her forehead.
“Don’t cry, honey. We’ll figure it out. I’ll be right back.” He walked out of the room. Everyone watched him leave—his jaw tight, his back ramrod straight.
Jackie came to Joci’s side and rubbed her left shoulder. “Joci, honey, don’t get too worked up. It’s not good for you or the baby.”
She glanced at Jackie and nodded. “I didn’t try to hurt the baby, Jackie. I didn’t.”
The room was quiet, each person processing their thoughts on the matter.
“Honey, I know you didn’t. I know you never would. Jeremiah knows that, too.”
Joci calmed herself as much as she could. She placed her hand on her belly again. Everything just had to be okay. She was doing her best to remember everything that had happened, but she was still groggy.
* * *
In the hospital hallway, Jeremiah’s mind whirled.
Fuck! Joci’s bike had been sitting at the shop for about a week.
Anyone could have done something to it. Something could have fallen against it and damaged it.
She said she didn’t try to hurt herself or the baby.
He believed her. Pulling out his cell phone, Jeremiah called Deacon. “Deacon, where are you?”
“I just got home. How’s Joci?”
“She just came around. She said she tried her brakes, but there wasn’t anything there. Are you sure you didn’t see her brake lights?”
Deacon let out a breath. “I’m positive, Dog. I kept waiting for her brake lights, knowing she was heading into the corner.”
“Where’s her bike now?”
“I have it at the shop, in the back storeroom. The door is locked, just like you asked.”
Fuck! Jeremiah walked back into Joci’s room. He looked around the room and found his brother, Tommy. “I need to speak with you.”
Tommy looked at Erin, stood up, and walked into the hall with Jeremiah. When he stepped into the hallway, he and Jeremiah walked a few feet away from the door.
“I just got off the phone with Deacon. He has Joci’s bike locked in our back storeroom at the shop. He swears Joci never hit the brakes.”
Tommy rubbed his forehead. “I’m starting to think the worst here. I watched her face. I don’t think she’s lying.”
Jeremiah looked like he wanted to hit something. “Of course, she isn’t lying. Fuck, Tommy!”
“Hey. Ease up, man. We have to look at everything. I’ll call my chief. We’ll have officers inspect it with a mechanic. Gunnar shouldn’t be the mechanic.”
Jeremiah was enraged, “Gunnar would never do anything to hurt Joci.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to make it sound that way. But if he was the last one to work on the bike, he shouldn’t be the mechanic to work with the police on the findings. We need an official report.”
Jeremiah let out a breath. “Find out when someone can get over there. I’ll call Frog.”