Page 97 of Moving to Love
Just then, Jeremiah and Gunnar walked back into the room with a couple of trays.
Jeremiah looked at Joci, his brows furrowed. “Are you okay, honey?”
She smiled and nodded. “I’m better than ever.”
“I wasn’t sure how your tummy was doing. It’s getting close to evening now, and I thought warm soup and crackers would be good for you. Mom left some ginger tea for you as well.”
“Thank you for remembering, Jeremiah. While I was in the hospital, they gave me some anti-nausea medicine in the evening so I wouldn’t have to go through that. But I don’t have any now. I’ll just sip my soup and tea and nibble on my crackers until I know.”
He handed her a cup of soup while the boys began eating. She sipped as her men sat and talked and ate. She conserved her energy as much as she could. She wanted to enjoy this for a while.
“Did Dad tell you about Deborah?” Gunnar asked.
Joci froze at Deborah’s name. She’d almost forgotten about that can of worms. She slowly focused on Jeremiah, who turned toward her. Joci’s voice felt small. “She’s not pregnant?”
He leaned back. “Oh, she’s pregnant. But it’s her boyfriend’s kid.” His jaw tightened and his lips thinned.
“You’re not happy about that?”
His brows drew together, then he leaned forward and gently took her hand in his. “I don’t give a shit whose baby she has. I’m pissed that she tried causing trouble with us.” He scratched his beard. “You were right; LuAnn put her up to it.” He let out a long breath.
Joci stared into his eyes for a long time. The green was back. She’d been sad that the darkness had seeped in for a while. His sparkle was vibrant again; his light was shining through. “How did you find out?”
He sat back and lifted up his backside as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He swiped across the screen and pulled up a text.
“Dog. Sorry to hear about Joci’s accident. I need to tell the truth. I’m not expecting your baby. It’s my boyfriend, Daniel’s. We’re going to get married this weekend. Hope all will be right with you. Deb.”
Joci handed his phone back and shook her head. “So many people just love causing trouble for others. I don’t get it.”
He set his phone on the coffee table. “I don’t either. LuAnn must have put her up to it. I don’t know how they know each other. I don’t care, actually. But I’m just glad she felt the need to confess.” He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed. “She was probably worried she’d be implicated in your accident in some way and wanted to come clean.”
Joci nodded and sipped at her soup.
JT was the first to bring up the wedding. “So, are you still getting married on the 28th?”
“No,” Jeremiah replied.
Joci looked at him, startled. Had he changed his mind? The boys were very, very quiet.
Jeremiah looked at Joci. “I don’t want to wait. I want to get married tomorrow.”
Joci let out the breath she was holding and started shaking her head no. “For the rest of our lives, we’ll look at the pictures of the day we got married. I don’t want to see them with me all bandaged and bruised.”
“But, I…”
“No, Jeremiah. Please don’t fight me on this. I’ve never been married. I will only marry once. At least give me this. Don’t let LuAnn take that away from me.”
He closed his eyes. How could he deny her this after what she’d been through? He just wanted her to be his—legally. He was terrified that something else would happen to her.
“It’s only three and a half weeks away, Jeremiah. The doctor said he could have most of the bandages off by then. I’ll find a dress to cover the rest of them up. I won’t be one hundred percent, but the pictures won’t show that.”
He turned to look at her, searching her eyes. He nodded very slightly. “Okay. But no later than that.”
They had finished eating and were chatting. Suddenly, Joci sat forward. She looked panicked, and Jeremiah stood quickly and went to her side.
“Honey, are you going to be sick?”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes. He kneeled down, so he was eye level with her. He searched her eyes and saw the tears fall.
