Page 84 of Moving to Love
Gunnar tapped his phone and dropped it into his lap. He glanced at Jeremiah. “What the fuck?”
Jeremiah flicked his gaze quickly at Gunnar and then back to the road. “Well, you know about LuAnn. I fired her. She didn’t take it well. We thought that your mom might be pregnant on Saturday night. She went to see the doctor this afternoon. She was coming to tell me the results. We didn’t get the chance to talk about it.” His eyes welled with tears. He blinked rapidly to keep them from spilling over. He ran his thumb across one eye, then the other. He let out a deep breath as he continued to navigate the road and calm his fears.
“Aunt Jackie said she was pregnant,” Gunnar said in a quiet voice.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jeremiah sucked in a breath, “Is.”
Gunnar slowly turned his head toward Jeremiah, his brows furrowed. “What?”
Jeremiah’s voice softened. “Is. She is pregnant. She isn’t dying, and neither is our baby.”
Gunnar turned his head and watched out the window of the truck.
* * *
Jeremiah, Gunnar, and the others waited in the emergency room visitor’s area for what seemed like hours. Every time a nurse, orderly, hospital worker, or even someone from housekeeping walked into the room, Jeremiah hit them with questions. All they knew so far was that Joci had been taken into surgery. Her right arm was broken. Her right shoulder and collarbone were broken. Her hip was damaged but not broken. Apparently, the way she hit the tree had been a “good” way, if there was one.
The bike had taken the brunt of the hit. She’d been leaning the bike away from the corner to try and make it. That meant the bottom of the bike probably hit first. The seat hit before her hip, which helped. Her head slammed into the tree, giving her a concussion. It could have been worse. Right now, Joci was in surgery to repair her arm, her collarbone, and her shoulder. No one could tell them if she would miscarry. The doctor told them that their priority had to be Joci, but they would do whatever they could not to harm the baby.
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.
