by Pj Fiala
“It looks like we’re ready. Do you need anything before the bikers start rolling in?”
She pointed at the drink tent. “I thought I would go and get a bottle of water. Do you want one?”
He smiled. “Yeah, I’ll come with you.”
They walked around the parking lot and spoke with everyone working at each area. His brothers were standing around in the parking areas waiting for the bikers to roll in. Jeremiah’s parents were talking to the guys in the drink tent. When they got to the clothing tent, LuAnn was there shooting daggers at them. Jeremiah didn’t pay her any attention. Joci was wary and watched LuAnn to make sure a knife didn’t find its way to her back.
Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law were working the clothing tent with LuAnn and Angel from Rolling Thunder. LuAnn made some comment that was off color and louder than necessary, and Angie and Erin—Jeremiah’s sisters-in-law—looked at Joci, rolled their eyes, then winked at her. So they were aware of LuAnn’s interest in Jeremiah as well.
Photographers were also getting set up. Jeremiah had hired a local studio, which in turn had to hire freelancers due to the size and nature of the job. The bikes and bikers would be spread out most of the day so that they would need photographers all over the place.
“Joci, is that you?”
Joci looked over and saw Molly Bates, an independent photographer she had met at a seminar.
“Molly! Yes. It’s great to see you here. Let me introduce you to Jeremiah Sheppard. Jeremiah, this is Molly Bates, a friend I met a couple of years ago at a seminar for us ‘artsy types,’” Joci said with air quotes.
Molly smiled and shook hands with Jeremiah.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
“Good to hear. This is my pet project each year. Thank you for taking part.”
“You’re welcome. Joci, we should catch up. I have a couple of ideas I’m working on that you would be perfect for. How about lunch next week?”
“Sounds great. Email me a couple of days that work for you and we can plan on it. See you around today.”
They waved goodbye and continued making the rounds. Gunnar was working with the other Sheppards in the parking lot. As Joci and Dog approached him, he smiled and met them halfway.
“I’m so damned excited for today. Mom, you’re going to love this ride.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Thanks again for introducing me to it.”
“Sooo, what did you guys do last night?”
Joci’s face turned bright red. Jeremiah snickered just as JT and Ryder came walking over. “We went back to my house and talked.”
Gunnar looked over at the twins, and they all chuckled.
“‘Talked?’” JT questioned with air quotes.
“Never mind, guys. If you don’t have enough to do, I can find some things for you.”
The boys all turned to go back to work, laughing at Jeremiah and Joci. She covered her face with her hands, but Jeremiah quickly pulled them away and kissed her forehead. “Hey. They’re young men; they know what we were doing last night. For the record, I would love to shout it from the roof. Maybe I’ll go do that right now.”
Joci’s eyes grew huge and she opened her mouth to tell him he had better not, but the first bikes had started rolling in.
Jeremiah slapped her ass. “Come on, babe; we have bikers to take care of.” He grinned as he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the sign-up tent.
For the next two and a half hours, it was a steady stream of bikers and passengers rolling in and signing up.
People came in groups and by themselves, hoping to meet up with friends. The weather was great, and by the looks of it, they were in for a record turnout. There are people of all shapes and sizes who ride motorcycles. You could see a thousand Harley shirts and not see the same one twice. Some people wore leather vests with patches and pins signifying their affiliation with a HOG Chapter or club or group of some sort. There were tall people, short people, heavy people, skinny people, doctors, lawyers, clerical workers, mill workers, presidents of companies and their employees, but they all had this ride in common.
Over the years, since Joci had learned to ride, she had participated in many such events. First, she felt good about supporting a cause. Second, she just loved to people-watch. The variations of people and their bikes were like no other. Third, she loved walking up and down the rows of bikes to look at all the different makes, models, colors, customizations, and doodads. Everyone had his or her little decorations or thingamajigs on the bikes based on taste and probably budget. It was nice seeing all of this, and yet in spite of their differences, all of them together were here at this special event. You could see people you hadn’t seen in years. And she always met new people too.
Jeremiah enjoyed working with Joci. He was proud of her, and he was so happy she was sharing this with him. He had been a nervous wreck yesterday, not knowing how it would work out with her, but he knew he had to take a stand and let her know he wanted to be with her. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer any longer.
That was more confident than he felt. He was thrilled beyond any words he had 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 his form filled out, 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.
12
Veterans’ Ride
Soon, it was 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 handicapped 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 don
ate 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 out 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.
“Nine fifty?”
Joci laughed out loud. “Nope!”
“Wow. Okay, spill.”
She giggled and clapped her hands once. “Jeremiah, we’ve got one thousand and seven bikes!”
He leaned down and picked her up and spun her around.
“How many riders?”
Joci was still laughing.
“Eighteen hundred and three people altogether, with the bikers, passengers, car clubs, and veterans.”
“Whoo!” Jeremiah yelled. “That’s a huge record.”
He fist pumped a few times and spun Joci around again. She hung on to his neck as he spun her. Being pushed tight to his chest made her nipples pucker.
“God, I’m so pumped. What a great turnout! Thank you so much for helping me out, sweetheart.”
He kissed her, and she kissed him right back. They were locked together when the door opened.
“Seriously, you two need to get on a bike and get this show on the road.”
Ryder stood in the doorway, looking at them with a goofy grin on his face.
Jeremiah laughed and grabbed Joci’s hand. “Let’s go, baby.”
They walked out, locked the door, and headed to Jeremiah’s bike. People were starting their bikes and the rumble from all the loud pipes vibrated through their bodies.
This was the exciting part. Everyone was fresh and excited to get rolling. The roaring of the bikes and the smiles on people’s faces were intoxicating. Joci found herself shaking a little at the excitement. Jeremiah leaned back against her as they were waiting for the starting signal from one of the veterans to start the ride.
“Are you nervous, Joci?”
Joci smiled and replied, “No, I’m excited. This is my favorite part. Hearing all the bikes rumble and roar and getting ready to start riding. I love this.”
Joci hugged Jeremiah, and he squeezed her arms as they came around him. He loved this, too.
Soon they were given the signal and started to roll. They rode through the lines of people who had gathered to wave them off. Local people lined the roads and waved and took pictures and videos of all the bikes. If a person had never experienced something like this, it’s hard to understand the feelings.
The first leg of the ride was about 49 miles. Jeremiah and his guys had scoped out some beautiful back roads with twists and turns. Joci loved riding into corners because she could look back and see all the bikes behind them. Well, not all of them. With so many, she could only see a portion of them. But what a sight it was. She didn’t get to look at that when she was driving. Riding along was fun—she had the opportunity to take a look around and see more.
Along the way, there were cranes and heavy machinery with people sitting or standing up to see from higher vantage points.
Some of the people who lived along the route allowed photographers to stand on their roofs to take video and pictures and memorialize the ride. Jeremiah had photo albums of all the rides. This year, Joci was going to make a video and put it to music for him, then put it on the website. She was excited to work on it for him.
It took about an hour and a half at the slower pace they were riding to get to the first stop, which was a large bar out in the country on the way to Green Bay. Since Rolling Thunder was between Green Bay and Appleton, it was easy to find roads between the two cities. This bar, appropriately named ‘The Barn,’ was out in the country and was an old barn converted into a bar. The upstairs had also been remodeled, so there was plenty of space for almost all of the bikers. However, since the weather was so nice, they also had several makeshift bars set up outside to hydrate all the riders. Once they had been parked, Jeremiah took Joci’s hand.
“I want to introduce you to Kevin. He owns the bar, and we’ve been friends for years. I’ve told him about you a few times. He’s dying to meet you.”
Joci looked at Jeremiah with her head cocked to the side. “How does he know I’m here?”
Jeremiah smiled crookedly. “I texted him this morning to tell him. He has listened to me whine about you not going out with me for a long damn time. I couldn’t wait to tell him you were riding with me today.”
They walked into The Barn and strode to the far end. Jeremiah stood taller than most people in there, so he could see where they were going. Joci just hung on to his hand and followed along. She couldn’t see anything but the backs and fronts of the people they were passing.
Soon Joci heard, “Dog, you son of a bitch, there you are.”
Jeremiah pulled Joci to the end of the bar and then drew her behind the bar so she wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. Jeremiah and Kevin hugged like guys do—arms wrapped around shoulders and a lot of backslapping. As soon as they were finished, Jeremiah reached for Joci and pulled her forward.
“Kevin, this is Joci. Joci, this is Kevin. We’ve been friends for about eighteen years.”
Kevin leaned down and hugged Joci.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you, Joci. It’s great to meet you. And I’m thrilled you’re finally with Dog.”
He winked at her and looked at Dog. “What’ll ya have? The usual?”
Jeremiah shook his head. “Water, one for each of us.”
Kevin smirked and turned to get their drinks. When he returned, Jeremiah took both water bottles and opened the first one and handed it to Joci.
As he was opening the second one, he told Kevin, “I’ll bring Joci out this week one night, and we’ll sit and have a few. Today, I need to stay straight in case we have any issues.”
Kevin nodded. “Sounds great. Come on Tuesday. For some reason, that’s a slow night around here. I can knock off early, and we can sit here and drink without interruption.”
Jeremiah looked at Joci. “Good with you?”
She smiled. “Sounds great.”
Jeremiah looked at Kevin and smiled. He heard his intake of breath when she flashed that big smile. Who could resist the dimples in her cheeks? And, of course, those smoky gray eyes. Jeremiah had a difficult time not staring at her. As they stood there talking, Joci was suddenly pushed as LuAnn shoved herself into Jeremiah. LuAnn then elbowed her way past Joci and cut in front of her to throw herself at Kevin.
“How ya doin’, Kev?” Kevin gave LuAnn a quick little hug and looked at Jeremiah with his brows furrowed.
Jeremiah wrapped his arms around Joci and
whispered in her ear, “You okay, hon?”
She looked back at him. “Yes. Getting sick of this, though.”
Jeremiah nodded at Kevin and grabbed Joci’s hand. “Let’s go see how the boys are doing.”
They wove their way through the crowd and found Gunnar and Ryder talking to Connor. Jeremiah’s stomach rolled at that scene, but he didn’t want Joci to think he didn’t like Connor.
He didn’t dislike him; he just knew Connor was in love with Joci, even if she couldn’t see it. He was worried that Connor knew her better than he did and maybe would step up his game to try to win her. He was also a little worried that Connor would try and get to Joci through Gunnar. He was going to keep his eyes on that. Luckily, Jeremiah worked with Gunnar every day. Sheesh, listen to him—he was jealous! Jeremiah had never been jealous in his life.
They walked up to the boys and Joci hugged each of them. Everyone was excitedly talking about the ride and asking Joci and Jeremiah how many bikes and riders there were. It was fun. After speaking with them for a little while, Jeremiah wanted to go and find his parents. He and Joci walked off to find Thomas and Emily.
“They’ll probably be outside with the old car club, The Good Times Roll. There are about thirty old cars from that group. My dad chums along with some of those guys.”
As they walked up and down the rows of old cars, Jeremiah found his mom and dad speaking to one of the guys from the club in front of an old truck. It was an orange 1937 Ford pickup with an oak box and oak box rails. It was beautiful.
Joci asked the owner a slew of questions. “Has this truck been in your family since it was new? Where did you find it? Did you refinish it? Do you take it out a lot? Is it easy to drive?” She was in love with that truck. The owner lifted the hood and showed Joci and the others the engine and explained all that he had done on the motor and lines.
He loved watching her excitement; her smile was bright and her giggle infectious. Emily caught his eye and winked. He was staring like a little school girl, but this was so new and fun.