Page 26 of Moving to Love
That was more confident than he felt. He was thrilled beyond words to describe the fact that they were together. Jeremiah heard Joci’s sweet voice.
“Hi, Connor. How are you today?”
Connor reached over the table and hugged Joci. She looked over at Jeremiah and saw the scowl on his face.
She winked at him and leaned in and whispered, “The look on your face is priceless. It’s probably what my face looked like this morning when LuAnn hugged you.” Straightening, she addressed her friend, “Connor, you remember Jeremiah, don’t you?”
Jeremiah held out his hand, and Connor shook it.
“Yes, of course, we’ve met several times. How are you, Dog?”
“I’m great, Connor. Glad you could make it today.”
Jeremiah leaned down and kissed Joci on the temple, then gave her a little squeeze. Connor watched Joci while this was going on. He turned to start filling out his form for the ride.
As soon as Connor had filled out his form, he handed it back to Joci with his twenty dollars for the ride and asked, “So, you’re with Dog now?”
Joci looked at Connor and smiled. “Yes.”
Connor took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m going to go find Gunnar.”
He turned and walked away.
Chapter 12
It was now eleven-thirty and time to start the blessing of the bikes and thanking the veterans, and then it would be time to start riding.
Jeremiah kissed Joci and walked up to the stage. Through the PA system, he asked everyone for their attention and then introduced Father Ryan, one of the local Catholic priests. Father Ryan asked everyone to bow their heads and pray. He said a prayer for all those present today, for all those who couldn’t be here, and for all those who had already gone to Heaven. He prayed for those serving their country and asked for blessings to be sent their way. He prayed for those who had already served the country and were struggling with issues. He asked for safe riding and blessings from the Lord for a safe, happy day. He ended the prayer by blessing the bikes and asking the Lord to keep the demons away. And everyone said, “Amen.”
Jeremiah introduced some local veterans. They each spoke a little, and then Jeremiah said, “The donations for this year are going to help a local man who has just come back from Afghanistan. He had one of his legs blown off by an IED. His house is not accessible, and it’s difficult for him to use the stairs to go to bed. The money will help him build a first-floor bedroom and bathroom, along with some other repairs the house needs for him to be comfortable.
“Some other money will go to a couple of older vets who need repairs done on their houses. We get a group together in the fall to go and help with the repairs. Check out Rolling Thunder’s website. My girlfriend, Joci, has a link set up to better explain the repairs that are needed and the dates we will be working on the houses. There is also a link to sign up or donate time or materials. If you want to help out, we can always use more people.
“Everyone, be courteous and ride safely. The ride will begin in fifteen minutes. Please start heading toward your bikes and get ready to ride out.”
Joci started packing up the sign-up table and laptops. She thanked everyone who helped at the table and began carrying everything into the store. Jeremiah caught up to her with the computers and a box of sign-up sheets and opened the door for her. They walked in together and set their respective items on the counter.
Joci grinned. “You’re a natural on stage, Jeremiah. You didn’t even look nervous.”
He chuckled. “I guess I don’t feel nervous. This is my thing. It’s not like I’m trying to sing or something.”
Joci nodded. That made sense. When she sang karaoke, she had to have at least three shots first.
After setting the laptops on the counter, Joci turned to Jeremiah. “Do you want to know how many bikes we have?”
She was rocking back and forth on her feet with a big smile on her face, waiting for him to guess. Jeremiah walked forward until he was right in front of her and crossed his arms. Being this close, his scent teased her nostrils, and thoughts of last night came rushing back to her. How he felt, tasted, sounded.
He smiled back at her and took a stab at it. “I’m guessing by the look on your face, it’s a new record. I’m going to say, eight hundred fifty bikes.”
Joci laughed. “Nope.”
Jeremiah’s brows raised and lowered right away.
“Hmmm, nine hundred bikes.”
“Nope.”
She was enjoying this. His smile grew wider.
