Page 20 of Moving to Love
Jeremiah snorted. “Hell, no. She shows up about once each year, traveling through. She doesn’t ride herself, just hangs around looking for a ride. She wears too much makeup, too much jewelry, too much everything. Last year, when she rode through, she asked JT for money, and he told her to take a hike. Not sure if she’ll come back this year. She’s been married and divorced three times and has two other children: a boy and a girl. Not sure where they are or who they’re with. I assume their fathers.”
“That must have been hard on you. What about girlfriends?”
Jeremiah looked at Joci, trying to gauge her mood. “No. I dated a few women, but nothing serious. I devoted my time to the boys and, then later, to growing Rolling Thunder.”
“I know what you mean. I devoted my life to Gunnar and then to building my marketing and graphic design business. I wouldn’t have made it if it hadn’t been for my sister, Jackie. Later on, Sandi and I became friends, but it took me a long time to trust her. But she stayed tough and proved she was trustworthy.”
They talked a while longer, enjoying the quiet time with each other. Jeremiah’s phone chimed. He let out a huff and reached down to the floor to retrieve it out of his jeans pocket. He smirked and texted something back. He looked up and saw Joci watching him.
“Staci wanted to know if you liked the candles. I told her you did. She knew I was nervous.”
“Aww, that’s really sweet of her.”
“She’s been like a sister to me. Dayton found himself a great woman. I can’t wait for you to meet her.” He pecked her on the lips. “Do you want to take a shower?”
Jeremiah swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood. He took her hand, helped her out of bed, and led her to the bathroom. He reached into the shower stall and turned the water on, letting it warm up.
Joci stood watching him. He moved around his house with strength and confidence. His muscles moved and rippled with him. He turned to look at Joci and raised an eyebrow.
Joci smiled. “I love watching you.”
Jeremiah smiled at her. “The moment I met you, I knew I needed to be with you. You’re stubborn as hell, but so beautiful, you make my heart race.”
Joci furrowed her brow. “I’m not stubborn!”
Now it was Jeremiah’s turn to furrow his brow. “Really? You made me wait almost a fucking year to touch you.”
Joci closed the distance between them and ran her palms across his chest, down his stomach, and over his hips.
“I wasn’t being stubborn; I was scared. You have women fawning over you all the time. Making comments and dying for you to touch them. I didn’t want to go down that road again.”
Jeremiah shook his head, “I don’t have women fawning over me.”
“Seriously, Jeremiah, LuAnn has made it very, very clear that she wants you. She fawns over you, touches you every chance she gets. She’s made comments to me that you’re waiting for her to be ready to settle down. How can you not know that?”
Jeremiah’s head snapped back. His mouth drew down his lips thinned.
“That’s not fucking true. LuAnn is the last person on earth I want. If she’s made those comments, she’s lying. I have never, ever given her any reason to believe there would ever be anything between us.” He shook his head, “I’ll take care of LuAnn. She better not give you any grief.”
He twisted his head from side to side, then looked into her eyes. He took her hand in his and led her toward the shower.
Stepping in, Joci looked around in surprise. The glass block wall had hidden the size of the shower from view. Standing in it now, she felt dwarfed. The deep brown copper tiles had flecks of graphite colored minerals that sparkled in the light. “This is an amazing shower.”
Jeremiah chuckled, “Well, I’m too big for a normal shower. The first thing I did when I bought this house was gut the bathroom and build this big shower, so when I washed my hair, I didn’t beat the hell out of my elbows.”
He held his arms up to show Joci he could stretch out. Joci stepped under the water with him. She reached over to the shelf and grabbed the bottle of body wash. She squirted some into her hand and held it to her nose. Hmm, that’s why he smelled so awesome. She rubbed her hands together and placed them on his back. He was so beautiful: chiseled muscles and clear, taut skin; the years had been kind.
She looked at the tattoo on his back. It was beautiful, lettered scrollwork that went from shoulder to shoulder and said Rolling Thunder. Joci touched the tattoo with her fingers. She slowly traced each letter across his back, noticing that his muscles rippled and moved under her fingers. Once she had traced the letters, she laid her palm flat and ran her hand over the whole tattoo.
“It’s beautiful.”
Jeremiah slowly turned, finding her eyes. He stared at her a long time, the water beating down on them both. Joci reached up and traced the tattoo on his left bicep.
“What does this mean?”
Jeremiah’s voice cracked. “It’s JT’s initials in Vivaldi Script.”
Yes, now that she looked closer, she could see it—JTS. Joci slid her hand down to his wrist. “This?”
