Page 62 of Moving to Love
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.
Chapter 26
“I can walk myself.” She slapped Jeremiah’s hands away as he tried helping her from the truck. She’d eventually calmed down, thrown up, and then gone into a state of disbelief.
Jeremiah blew out a breath and stood to the side of the truck, waiting for her to jump out. She stepped down, then pulled her shirt down. The very shirt he had lovingly given her just a few short hours ago, while knowing he was lying to her. She numbly walked around the front of the truck and to the door leading into the house. His house. Not hers. Not anymore.
She stepped to the cupboard above the sink, pulled a glass from the shelf, and filled it with water, watching the water bubble and spin as it filled her glass. These stupid, mundane thoughts kept her sane. She had been so careful all these years not to fall in love, not to get hurt. This was why. The pain was unbearable. She felt numb.
“We should talk.” His voice was raspy. Weary even. He wanted to talk.
She raised the glass to her lips, almost in slow motion, and drank. The cool water slid down her warm throat, cooling her from the inside. She enjoyed the feeling of…feeling—for just a moment. Setting the empty glass on the counter, she sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Turning to face him for the first time since ‘the news,’ she looked into his eyes. The sadness and pain she saw there threatened her equilibrium. It was dizzying dealing with all these emotions. Seeing them written on his face was almost devastating.
Her voice barely above a whisper, she asked, “How long have you known?”
He took a step forward, and she swiftly held her hand up to halt him. She never took her eyes from his. “How. Long?”
He released a shaky breath. “Since Wednesday at Mom and Dad’s.”
She nodded her head. “So, you weren’t dizzy or sick?”
He raised a hand palm up then let it drop like a hot rock. “I was dizzy and sick. She…Deborah…”
At the sound of her name, Joci turned to look at the picture she had just this morning hung on the wall of her and Jeremiah at the Veteran’s Ride. How happy they looked, holding hands as they spoke to friends. But she was finished with tears.
“Texted me. When I saw the text, I felt physically ill.” He turned and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, twisted the cap, and tossed it on the counter. He gulped down the majority of it before leveling his eyes on hers.
“She was at the shop because I didn’t return her text or her voicemail. She wanted to talk about the ba….” He swallowed. “Her pregnancy.” He finished off his beer, set the empty bottle on the counter, and briskly strode to the patio doors. Wrenching them open, he sucked in several deep breaths.
“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” Joci crossed her arms in front of her, her jaw set. She hated lying more than she hated anything else. Now that the shock was wearing off, she was pissed.
