Page 23 of Moving to Love
A while later, Joci found Jeremiah in the garage getting the bike ready. When she stepped out of the house, he looked her over, and a loud breath escaped.
“You look beautiful, Joci. I’m a lucky man.”
She smirked and shook her head. “Quick stop at my house and then we can be on our way.”
She walked over to the bike and looked at what he was doing. “What’s up?”
Jeremiah stood. “I put this air pad on the passenger seat for you. Right here is a pump; you can add air by pumping it. You remove air by pushing this button here. I thought it would be more comfortable.”
Joci cocked her head to the side. “Thank you. That’s thoughtful. I’m sorry to make you go to any trouble.”
“No trouble.”
He opened the tour pack on the back of the bike, and she put her purse inside.
He leaned down and kissed her, then swatted her on the ass. “Are you hungry? I thought we could go eat somewhere after we leave your place.”
“Breakfast sounds great.”
* * *
Jeremiah got on the bike and brought up the kickstand; Joci climbed on behind him. He had removed the backrest behind him so he could lean into her. He always rode alone, detesting the women who milled about looking for a ride. He was so excited for Joci to ride with him today; he couldn’t wait to get on the road. They rolled slowly out of the garage. Jeremiah hit the garage door button and off they went.
It was beautiful riding in the morning. The sun was up, and the weather was mild. The temperature today was supposed to be eighty-two degrees; great for May in Wisconsin. Jeremiah took some back roads, loving the curvy, quiet pace. Joci leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his left shoulder.
At breakfast, they talked about the day and how many bikes they thought would join them. Already one hundred and twenty-six bikes had preregistered. That was a new record, and that was because Joci developed the website attached to Rolling Thunder’s website for bikers to preregister.
“Next year, we’ll have more,” Joci said.
He smiled. “I love that you acknowledge you’ll be with me next year.”
A soft smile touched her lips, the soft, smooth skin glistening from the coffee she sipped, and her little pink tongue peeking out to wet it.
He continued. “You’ll be meeting my whole family today. They always participate in this ride. We’re all veterans, so it’s been a family affair since the beginning. My dad and mom will be driving one of the chaser trucks. Dad is in his early seventies and doesn’t feel comfortable on a bike in large crowds anymore, though he still rides by himself once in a while.”
Jeremiah told her a little about each of his brothers—he had three. Jeremiah was the second son. Dayton, the oldest, was two years older than Jeremiah. Thomas was two years younger than Jeremiah, and then Bryce, who was five years Jeremiah’s junior. They were close, but Jeremiah was the only one in the bike business. His siblings all rode motorcycles but worked elsewhere.
When they pulled into the parking lot of Rolling Thunder, a few people were already there. And tongues started wagging as soon as they saw Jeremiah and Joci together. Yup, it was going to be an interesting day.
As soon as they parked and got off the bike, LuAnn walked over. Of course, she was wearing skintight jeans; her Rolling Thunder Veteran’s Ride t-shirt pulled tight and knotted to show off her breasts and belly. She wore high-heeled boots, and her bleached blonde hair was a messy do of some sort. And yes, jewelry on every surface she could accessorize. She walked up to Jeremiah and hugged him.
“I’m so happy to see you. Today is going to be a great day. I’ll ride with you today.”
Jeremiah put his hands on LuAnn’s shoulders and set her aside.
“LuAnn, you didn’t say good morning to Joci.”
LuAnn gave Joci the once-over and snorted, “Hi.”
Joci glanced at Jeremiah and raised her brows in an ‘I told you so’ look.
“Joci’s riding with me today.”
LuAnn looked at Joci again and then back at Jeremiah.
“Why doesn’t she ride her own bike?”
He took a deep breath and put his arm around Joci.
