Page 89 of Moving to Love
“Deacon swore he didn’t see you touch your brakes. Your brake lights never went on. He was behind you the whole time. He saw that you were coming into Benson’s Bend, and he kept waiting for you to hit your brakes. When you didn’t and hit the tree, he freaked out.”
“I did…I tried to brake. Nothing was there.”
“Yes. I went back to the shop with Tommy, Frog, and two police officers. The officers watched Frog examine the bike. He showed them where the brake lines had been cut on the top. That kept the brake fluid from dripping out completely and leaving evidence on the floor. We checked the video footage and clearly saw LuAnn cutting the brake lines on your bike. It was Thursday morning.
“Deacon told me he had sent LuAnn home the day we told everyone we were engaged. The boys had gone to the shop and told everyone the news, and she didn’t take it well. She was acting terribly, throwing things, and being bitchy to everyone. Then, of course, Milwaukee. I had words with her when we got back. I told her that was it. One more incident and she was gone. Thursday afternoon, all the guys were taking a lunch break. That’s when she did it.”
Joci sat staring at him. Telling her this was difficult; his voice cracked, and his lungs felt constricted. He watched her eyes for signs of distress; her lips trembled slightly, and her hand balled into the blankets around her.
“Are you okay, honey?”
She nodded once. “Just trying to process all of this.” Her voice was soft. He knew what she meant. He had spent yesterday trying to grasp everything that had happened in such a short period of time. It was never easy finding out someone deliberately tried to hurt you.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He blew out a breath. “Even during Desert Storm, I didn’t feel as murderous as I felt yesterday. If she walked in this door right now, I would strangle her with my bare hands and smile as I watched the life leave her body. She tried to kill you. That almost killed the baby. Our baby. I will never forgive her for that.”
Joci nodded and swallowed. “Where is she now?”
“I’m hoping in jail. I was going to call Tommy before you woke up. I left Tommy and the police after we straightened out the video exchange. I wanted to get back here to you. They were arranging the arrest warrant and then going to pick her up.”
Joci slowly nodded her head. She licked her lips and glanced at the bedside tray where a pitcher of water sat. Jeremiah instinctively poured water into a cup, opened a straw, and set it in the cup. “The nurse said you can only sip.”
She sipped and closed her eyes.
He set the cup on the table. “Are you okay while I call Tommy?”
She nodded. “I need some more pain medication and some rest,” she told Jeremiah. He stepped out into the hall and found a nurse to take care of her. He watched as the nurse tended to her needs, adjusted the bedding, checked bandages, and then injected pain meds into her IV. Joci faded off to sleep a few minutes later.
* * *
When she woke up, Gunnar, Jackie, Emily, and Thomas were in her room, along with Jeremiah, talking softly. Joci immediately found Jeremiah looking at her. She smiled softly, and he got up and walked to her bedside. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He had a hand resting on the top of her head and one resting on their baby.
“How do you feel, Mom?”
Joci looked over at Gunnar. “Better. Thank you. How are you doing?”
He looked worried and tight. His body language was something she could always read.
“I’m trying to process everything. I’m worried about you. Are you sure you’re all right? How about my little brother?” Gunnar smiled.
“Sister.” They all had puzzled expressions as they looked at Jeremiah.
“We’re having a little girl.”
Joci giggled. “When did you become a fortune teller?”
Jeremiah smiled. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, darling. If you ask anyone in my family,” he gestured wide towards his family sitting around the room, “you will hear that I have correctly determined the sex of each of my brothers’ babies before they were born.”
Joci and Gunnar looked at Thomas and Emily for confirmation. Thomas nodded, and Emily smiled.
“He currently holds the Sheppard record for the most correct guesses, although we still argue over Bryce and Angie’s Daniel. Jeremiah wavered back and forth on that one.”
Jeremiah shrugged. Jackie walked in and touched Joci’s feet. “I would love a little niece to spoil. All I got were boys.”
When she and David married and had babies, they had two boys: Jeremy and Dean. Jackie leaned over and hugged Gunnar with one arm.
“But they’re great boys.” She smiled at Gunnar, and he bowed his head, his cheeks tinted pink.
