Dog Days of Summer (32 page)

Jeremiah stood up, reached over, and grabbed his phone. He called Dr. Wan
’s number. When she answered, Jeremiah jumped in, “Dr. Wan, this is Jeremiah Sheppard. Joci is having sharp cramps.”

“
Okay, Jeremiah. Is she spotting or bleeding?”

“
I don’t know. Joci, are you spotting or bleeding?”

“
I don’t know.”

“
Okay, Jeremiah, listen to me. Stay calm, please, for Joci’s sake. Have her go and check if she is bleeding. Call me back as soon as you know.”

Jeremiah squatted down in front of Joci.
“Shhhh, baby, don’t cry. We’re all here with you.” He wrapped his big hands around her small ones and squeezed. “Can you make it to the bathroom, baby? You need to check and make sure you aren’t bleeding. Then I’ll call Dr. Wan back. Okay? Can you do that for me?”

Joci gasped at another sharp pain. She breathed through it and then nodded.

“Mom, can we stay here tonight?” JT asked Joci.

“
You boys never have to ask to stay here. Of course you can stay.”

The men all fussed over Joci, brought chairs into the bedroom, and sat around talking. Joci nodded in and out of sleep, loving the sound of the voices of her men.

At one point, Joci woke up, and the room was dark. Jeremiah was next to her, sleeping soundly. Joci looked at the clock on the dresser—it was 2:18 a.m. Joci slept so much that she didn’t really have a schedule anymore. And, she had to pee.

It took her forever to maneuver herself around so she could get out of bed. She had started slowly walking to the bathroom when Jeremiah jumped out of bed,
“What are you doing, Joci?”

“
I have to pee. Go back to sleep. I’ll be fine.” Joci continued on.

When she finished, she opened the bathroom door and Jeremiah was standing there, waiting for her.

Joci chuckled. “Did you listen the whole time? There’s something wrong with that.”

“
No, but I heard you washing your hands, and I got up to help you. There’s nothing wrong with me. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He kissed her temple and held her left hand as she hobbled to her side of the bed and wrestled herself back under the covers. Once she was situated, she lay back against the soft pillows with a big sigh.

Jeremiah walked around and slid into the bed behind her. Very gently, he pulled her to him so her back was pressed against his stomach. She sighed when she felt his arms slowly coming around her.
“I missed this. I missed you holding me. I missed sleeping with you.”

Jeremiah kissed the back of her head.
“I missed this, too, and you so much. I’m so sorry I let this happen.”

Joci let out a breath,
“You didn’t cause it to happen, Jeremiah. You didn’t allow it to happen. LuAnn is the only one to blame there.”

“
Stop it. A long time ago, you asked me to take care of the LuAnn situation, and I only went so far as talking to her. I should have fired her and removed her from our lives. That’s on me. Because I didn’t, you’re suffering.”

Joci sighed.
“Well, we could beat each other and ourselves up and it won’t change anything. So, we need to move on. Okay?”

Jeremiah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He kissed Joci
’s temple and pulled her a little tighter.

“
Will we have to sit through a trial, Jeremiah?” Joci’s voice was small and soft.

“
I’m afraid so, honey. But, I’ll be with you every step of the way. I want her in jail. I want her away from us. I want her punished for what she’s caused you.”

Joci was quiet. She wanted LuAnn punished
, too. But she was nervous about the trial and what she would have to hear throughout that process. LuAnn no doubt would make herself seem pathetic. She loved Jeremiah, and she lost her mind over him. Poor thing.

“
Tonight, the boys called me ‘Mom’ and told me they loved me.” Joci smiled.

“
I know. My chest has been tight all night, watching them with you. Did that make you feel good?”

“
Yes. I guess I hadn’t thought about the fact that they never had anyone to call Mom before. It makes it even more special to me that they think of me that way. If anything good is coming out of all of this mess, it’s just that it brought us all closer together.”

“
How typical of you to look at the silver lining. It’s one of the many things I love about you.”

Joci smiled.

“Get some sleep, baby. Tomorrow everyone is coming over to plan a wedding. You aren’t going to do anything but answer questions. You’re going to marry me in three and a half weeks. I won’t postpone it, not for anything. I don’t even want to wait that long.”

Joci drifted off to sleep, thanking God for giving her Jeremiah, the boys, and this little baby she was carrying. They had had a little scare, but it turned out to be just cramps. Dr. Wan talked them through it and said it was probably from all the trauma. Joci was to try and relax and keep tabs on herself. If the c
ramps started again, she was to call Dr. Wan.

Joci was sitting on a chair in front of a tall mirror, watching Sandi put the finishing touches on her make-up. A few more strokes of a brush and Sandi stepped back and looked at Joci.

“
You look so beautiful. You always do; but today, you look even more beautiful. Being pregnant agrees with you,” Sandi said.

Joci smirked.
“Well, it does now that I’m not puking every day. Gawd, I hate that.”

Jackie chuckled from behind her.
“You were a puker with Gunnar, too, do you remember? I woke up every morning to you throwing up in the bathroom. At the time, I thought I would never get pregnant if I had to throw up every day. But, less than a year later, I was puking in the bathroom, too.”

They all laughed at the memory. Emily and Erin walked in the room and smiled.

“Glad everyone is so cheerful,” Emily said, her cheeks pink with excitement.

“
We were just reminiscing about how much we both threw up while we were pregnant. I’m glad Joci is going through it this time and not me.” Jackie winked at Joci.

Emily looked at Joci and smiled warmly.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“
I feel great. I haven’t thrown up in three days. It must be over, finally.”

“
You look beautiful. Jeremiah won’t be able to take his eyes off you.” Erin smiled at her.

Just then, Angie and Staci walked into the room. Staci whistled.
“You look beautiful, Joci. Hubba-hubba.”

Joci laughed.
“Thank you. I guess it’s time to wrestle me into this dress.”

Jackie walked over to the closet where Joci
’s wedding dress was hanging. She pulled the gorgeous ivory dress off its hanger and cradled it in her arms to carry it over to Joci.

Joci
’s hard cast had been removed. She had to wear a soft cast for another few weeks, but today, she was not wearing it. She had had a few words with her doctor and Jeremiah about that, but Joci could be stubborn when she really wanted something. And today, she didn’t want any reminder of her accident or the person behind it.

The skin on her arm and shoulder looked nasty from being in a cast, but she had been exfoliating and moisturizing over the past two days to make it look a little better. She was going to start physical therapy in a week. Right now, she couldn
’t lift her arm very high. There were scars where the doctors had inserted the screws, but she had been told that the scars would gradually fade away.

Jackie held Joci
’s dress open as Sandi helped Joci out of her robe. Joci stepped into her wedding dress. Her baby bump was almost unnoticeable, but was beginning to show. She was ten weeks pregnant now.

Emily, her future mother-in-law, held out her hand to support Joci. Joci smiled and grasped the older woman
’s hand, more to make Emily feel like she was helping. The main thing Joci learned over her rehabilitation was that everyone wanted to feel like he or she was helping in some way, no matter how small. Joci had to learn to let them so they would feel better. She had been so used to doing everything on her own, she didn’t realize how helpless the people who loved her felt.

Sandi, Staci, and Erin zipp
ed her up and started arranging the train. Sandi placed the beautiful headband on Joci’s head; it was a wide ivory band with Swarovski crystals and pearls on it.

Her dress was simply stunning. It was a soft organza mermaid gown with hand-sewn Swarovski crystal and diamante beading encrusted on the neckline and dropped waist.
The full skirt had dramatic layers of organza that flowed full to the floor. Joci had asked the seamstress to alter the dress to add sleeves to cover her scars and bruises. They were light and lacey, and even though you could see through the sleeves, the lace and beading camouflaged her scars. The add-on sleeves matched perfectly and it wouldn’t have been impossible to tell the dress hadn’t initially designed that way.

The back of the gown was open with lace trim trailing to a V that stopped at her waist. A deep gray satin sash went around her waist and tied in a perfect bow in the back and trailed to the bottom of the dress. There was an intricate lace detail at the bottom of the dress, which was highlighted by the gray sash.

It was absolutely stunning. And Joci looked fabulous in the dress. She turned to look at the other women in the room. They were quiet for a few beats.

Emily sobbed and raised her hand to her mouth. Tears were forming in her eyes.
“You look so beautiful, Joci. That dress is perfect, just perfect.”

Joci smiled at her.
“Thank you. It feels perfect.”

Everyone else burst into excited compliments. Then there was a knock on the door, and Molly walked into the room.

“Hi, can I come in and take pictures?”

“
Sure, Molly. Come on in and meet everyone,” Joci said.

“
Molly, this is Emily, Jeremiah’s mom. Staci, Angie, and Erin are Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law. You know Jackie and Sandi, of course. Everyone, this is Molly. I met Molly a while back at a class, and then again on the Veteran’s Ride. She was one of the photographers. She freelances and I am thrilled she could come today.”

Molly grinned and said,
“Hello, everyone, it’s great to meet you. Okay, let’s start getting some pictures, shall we? Then, while you’re putting on the finishing touches, I’ll go up and take pictures of the guys.”

For the next 45 minutes, they proceeded to snap various pictures in different groupings and poses.

Molly walked down the hall and knocked on the half-open door of guys’ dressing room. She peeked in, catching Jeremiah’s eye. He quickly waved her in, then walked over and gave her a hug. “Thank you for being our wedding photographer today, Molly. Joci’s ecstatic you were available.”

Molly smiled.
“I’m happy beyond belief to be here. I love Joci.”

Jeremiah smiled at her.
“Everyone, this is Molly Bates. Molly, let me introduce you to everyone here. Sarge is a buddy of mine from the Marines. Dayton, my brother. Dayton and Sarge are standing up for me. My brothers, Tommy and Bryce. My friends and cohorts from my time in the military—Radio, Pitbull, and Superman. My father, Thomas. Joci’s brother-in-law, David; and my sons, Gunnar, JT, and Ryder.”

Ryder and Molly stared at each other for a few beats longer than everyone else. Jeremiah smiled. Hmmmm, well, well, well. He cleared his throat and Molly looked at him, a little embarrassed.

“Okay. Ummm, let’s start over here.” She pointed to an area in the corner.

* * * * *

Emily Ann, Dayton and Staci’s daughter, knocked on the door. “Time to get married, Joci,” she smiled.

The girls all giggled and cheered. It was time. Erin opened the boxes with the flowers in them and handed Jackie and Sandi their bouquets.
“Oh, so pretty. Joci. You did an amazing job on the colors,” Sandi beamed.

“
When you said we were carrying orange flowers with accents of silvery-gray Dusty Miller in them, I thought you were crazy, but this works,” Jackie added.

The bridesmaids were wearing gray dresses to match Joci
’s sash with ivory sashes around their waists. Joci’s bouquet consisted of long-stemmed silver roses with a few orange flowers tucked here and there. The corsages were pinned on, and they started down the hall.

Those not in the wedding party
walked into the church and sat down.

Jackie hugged Joci,
“I love you, Sis. I’m thrilled for you.”

“
Thank you, Jackie. For everything you’ve done for me over the years. I love you.”

“
I love you, too, Joci. Thank you for letting me be a part of this. I couldn’t be happier for you,” Sandi said.

Joci laughed.
“I couldn’t get married without you. I love you, too. Okay, let’s go. I’m excited.”

Gunnar came walking down the hall and stopped in front of Joci. He looked amazing. The guys were all wearing gray to match the girl
’s dresses. With Gunnar’s dark hair and eyes, he looked gorgeous in the tuxedo.

“
Wow, Mom. You look amazing. Jeremiah’s going to shit when he sees you.”

Joci laughed.
“Not the reaction I’m hoping for, but I think I know what you mean. You look pretty handsome yourself, Gunnar. Wow, you clean up good.”

Everyone chuckled, and with that, Jackie opened the door to the church. Sandi started walking down the aisle. Jackie was next. As soon as she
had made it all the way down the aisle, the processional music for the bride started. Then Joci and Gunnar started walking down the aisle.

The gasps and sighs as she walked by made her so happy. She felt like a princess. She felt beautiful. But all she could see was Jeremiah. He was
stunning. He was wearing an ivory tuxedo, an ivory vest, and an ivory cravat with thin gray stripes in it. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He looked perfect.

Jeremiah sucked in his breath at his first look at Joci. She had refused to let him see her dress or know anything about what it looked like. It
had driven him crazy not knowing. Now, he was glad she made him wait—again. She was amazingly beautiful. Jesus, he was a lucky man. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Dayton chuckled next to him and Jeremiah smirked. When they reached Jeremiah, Gunnar shook his hand and then grabbed Jeremiah in a hug. At the same time, JT and Ryder came up and hugged Joci. The boys all sat down and Jeremiah held his arm out.

Joci held on to Jeremiah’s arm, and they walked up the three steps to the altar.

Jeremiah looked down at Joci and smiled at her.
“You look beautiful, Joci. You take my breath away.”

Joci smiled at him,
“I was thinking the same thing about you.” She winked at him and the minister started talking.

Moments later, the minister said,
“You may kiss your bride.”

Jeremiah leaned down and pulled Joci into his arms. He turned his head so his mouth fit over hers and kissed her until her toes curled. Right in church! People started whistling and clapping. Still he kissed her. When he finally pulled away, he leaned his forehead against hers for a few seconds.

“I’m the happiest man in the world right now, Mrs. Sheppard.”

Joci laughed.
“Good to know. I’m the happiest woman in the world right now. I love you crazy.”

“
I love you crazy.”

“
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Sheppard.”

The recessional started playing, and Jeremiah and Joci walked down the aisle together as husband and wife amid clapping and cheering from the congregation. They stood in the reception line, greeting everyone. Molly came up to them as the last few well-wishers hugged the bride and groom to ask for a few more pictures.

They needed to take family pictures and more pictures of the bride and groom.

Jeremiah leaned down and chuckled.
“I think Molly and Ryder are attracted to each other. You should have seen the sparks fly when they met.”

Joci looked up at Jeremiah.
“Really? Very interesting. He’s so shy. Will he approach her?”

Jeremiah shrugged.
“Time will tell.”

The remainder of the night was a blur. They went through all the motions and spoke to everyone who came to wish them well. They left the reception around 11 p.m., neither of them able to wait another minute to make love. They had a hotel room close by.