by Tina Martin
“Wait,” Bryson said. “Come on, man.”
“No. I will not allow her to go through this anymore. I’m done with it.” With that, he was out the door, dialing Candice on his way to the car. When she didn’t answer he left yet another voicemail:
Come home. I’m going to go to your place to do some packing. I understand things better now. Call me.
Chapter 25
Candice woke up refreshed the next morning. Taking a day to relax was just what the doctor ordered. Even while knowing she still had to go back to her life, she was glad she took this time to escape from it.
She’d come down early to the restaurant to have breakfast – biscuits and gravy. Eating alone reminded her of how much she missed Kurt. She knew she had to call him. Knew he was worried, so she picked up the phone and called.
“Baby, where are you?” he asked.
The frantic tone in his voice gave her goosebumps. “I went to a resort for the weekend. I’m not far…still in Wilmington.”
“Come home.”
“I am. I’m just finishing up breakfast. I got your messages. Are you still packing boxes?”
“Yes. I’m getting you out of here. The way your family is behaving is not healthy for you or our relationship.”
“I know.”
“And I’m sorry about the restaurant incident. Turns out, your brother Barringer set the whole thing up. He wanted me to see you with Quinton so we’d break up.”
“How’d you find out?”
“I confronted him about it. Listen, I don’t know what the solution is to this. All I know is, we have a life waiting for us in Asheville and until they can come to terms with that and with the fact that you’re not a child, then I don’t know what else to tell them.”
“Yeah,” Candice said, surprised that her stomach was no longer in knots. She’d come to the same conclusion as Kurt. That’s how she knew they were on the same page. “I’ll be there in about an hour.”
“Okay. Are you doing okay otherwise?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good. Then, I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Kurt.”
* * *
The what ifs that goes through a woman’s mind when she found out she’d been lied to…
She didn’t want to think about it. She wanted to brush it aside and forget Quinton had ever told her what Bryson had done. Besides, she still didn’t know if it was true. She had to either confront Bryson about it or ignore Quinton’s confession like it was nothing.
Sunday afternoon before she went to her apartment to see Kurt, she went to see Kalina.
Kalina opened the door. Her face brightened when she saw her sister-in-law standing there, but nothing glowed on Candice’s face. She was stoic. Expressionless.
“Hey, Candy,” Kalina said, embracing her. “Come on in.”
Candice shook her head. “That’s okay. Is Bryson here?”
“Yeah. Is everything okay?”
“I just need to talk to Bryson.”
Kalina looked confused. “And you don’t want to come in?”
“No. I’ll stand here and trust me when I say it’s taking a lot just to do that.”
“Okay. Let me go get him.”
Candice twiddled her thumbs waiting anxiously for Bryson to appear. She saw him walking through the foyer toward her. She stepped back, allowing him room to step out onto the porch.
“What’s up, girl?” he asked. “You had everybody worried disappearing like that. Then Kurt came over here and—”
“I need to ask you something, Bryson, and please don’t lie to me.”
“What is it?”
“When I was dating Quinton, you told me you saw him cozied up with another woman. Said they were holding hands and kissing like they were a couple. You said he was cheating on me. Is that true?”
“I saw him with another woman. Yes.”
“But were they a couple? Did you see him kiss her?”
Bryson sighed and finally responded, “No.”
“No?” Candice repeated.
“No.”
“So you lied and then you threatened him not to come near me. Told him to cease all communication with me. You intentionally broke us up for nothing.”
“I did,” Bryson confessed.
“Why would you do something like that?”
“Because I didn’t think he was good enough for my sister.”
“You don’t get to make these kinds of judgment calls, Bryson.”
“I realize that now, Candy, and I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? That’s all you have to say to me?”
“Yes. What do you expect me to do about it now? I can’t go back and change the past.”
“Right, because it’s too late for that now. I really liked Quinton. We were good together and because you did what you did, our relationship fell apart and I grew to hate men for a long time, probably exactly what you wanted, right? Your little sister to die alone.”
“Okay, okay, stop with the ranting and listen, Candy. I’m sorry. I lied to you. I did. I thought I was doing the right thing, but maybe I wasn’t. At the time, I thought I was.”
“Yeah, well, I’m over it. You and everything else,” she said heading down the steps.
“Candy, just—”
“I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say. I’m done. You win. Okay. You all win. Goodbye.”
Chapter 26
Candice pinched tears away from her eyes as she began the drive to her apartment. She didn’t live far from Bryson – only five miles or so – and she didn’t want Kurt to think she’d been crying. She unlocked the door and walked into her apartment. Kurt told her he’d packed more boxes. He had the entire living room packed up. He’d even taped and labeled boxes. But where was he?
She’d been so busy trying to fix her face that she didn’t check to see if his car was out in the parking lot. She walked to the kitchen, saw more boxes packed there. She continued to the bedroom. It’s where she found him, laid out on the bed in a pair of shorts. He was on top of the covers, face up with his head resting on a pillow.
She stood there and observed him from head to toe. His long, muscular legs leading down to a pair of sturdy feet. He had nice feet. She liked that about him. And his chest – it was firm and expansive, even as she watched him. Ogled him. Never in a million years did she think she’d have to make a choice between her man and her family. Right now, she was choosing him. Her husband.
She walked to the bed, sat next to him and ran her index finger down the center of his chest. His eyes opened. He smiled immediately upon setting his sights on her.
“You packed up the whole house,” she said softly.
“I’m ready to get you out of here.”
“I’m ready to get out of here.” She leaned down and pressed her lips to his.
“I’m sorry for leaving you.”
She smiled – first time she’d smiled in days. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Why are you sorry when you did nothing wrong?”
“Because I could’ve told you what was going on with Quinton and all that.”
“What was going on? I still don’t know that part.”
“My father had spoken to Barringer about a business that wanted to sign with Blackstone Financial. Barringer said if we secured their business, it would put us in a better position so we wouldn’t need to entertain any offers from The Champion Corporation about merging. So, he assigned me and Garrison to meet with the representatives from the company. Only problem was, when Garrison and I arrived, I discovered that one the representatives from that company was my ex-boyfriend’s brother who basically told me if I wanted the deal to go through, I had to meet with Quinton for closure.”
“Closure? What kind of closure? The man who cheated on you wants closure?”
“Turns out, he didn’t cheat on me. It was a lie orchestrated by one of my brothers to break us up, and it worked.”
�
�Which brother? Barringer?”
“No. Bryson.”
“Wow. Unbelievable. That’s why we have to get out of here. All that underhanded stuff they’re doing ain’t going to work this time.”
“No, it’s not,” she said, straddling him, lowering her mouth to his. She kissed his lips and parted his lips with her tongue, savoring the taste of him she’d missed. He sat up, pulled her shirt up over her head and took full control over their kiss with his strong tongue and lips. He threaded his fingers through her hair and tightened their closeness, kissing her with all the feeling of a man who knew he’d wronged the woman he loved. Who knew how much she needed him. That, at this stage in her life, he was her only real support. She wasn’t getting the support she needed from her family. All she had was him.
“It shouldn’t be this way,” Kurt said, strumming her back while she rested in his arms, their legs intertwined. “I never wanted it to be this way for you.”
Candice inhaled a deep, satisfying breath of him. His skin. His essence. She was thoroughly relaxed after making love and didn’t care to entertain the topic of her family. She wanted to talk about them. Their family.
“Candy, are you asleep?”
“No. Just thinking about my life with you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yes.”
“And what’d you come up with?”
A soft grin escaped. “It’s not that I’ve come up with anything. I was just thinking about how things would go, you know, with us living together. You at work. Me looking for a job. Taking care of the house. Cooking.”
“Honestly, you don’t need to work—not saying I don’t want you to work because I want you to do whatever makes you happy.”
“I know you do.”
“So, if you want to take a break for a few months and hang around the house until you figure out what you want to do, that’s fine with me. Even beyond three months is fine with me. You can get into doing something you want to do. Like, what did you want to do before you started working for Blackstone Financial?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had a thing. I just went with the flow.”
“Well, now you have time to think about that.”
“And kids?”
He smiled. “Yes. And kids. I think we should wait a few years on that, though. It’ll give us time to learn, travel and grow together.”
“I have no objections to that.”
He squeezed her in another tight hug and left a kiss on her temple. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight, Kurt.”
Chapter 27
On Monday, a truck from the moving company arrived. Kurt made sure the workers loaded all the boxes and some of the furniture she wanted to bring. Everything else would be donated.
Before they left for Asheville, Candice requested they go by her parent’s house. Kurt still hadn’t met them and she just couldn’t move without them meeting first whether they liked him or not. And so she drove them there and parked in the driveway. After a deep breath, she looked at him. Her nerves were all to pieces.
“Are you sure it’s safe if I go in?” Kurt asked.
“It’ll be okay. Come on. Let’s go.”
He got out of the car. So did she, holding his hand tight and walked to the front door.
Her mother opened the door, stepped out on the porch and embraced her daughter.
“You must be Kurt,” she said.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She embraced him, too, then said, “Come on in.”
Her mother was coming around and being more receptive of Candice’s decisions before this visit, so Candice wasn’t at all surprised with her reaction. It was her father she was concerned about.
“So, you’re the man who has stolen Candice’s heart.”
“That would be accurate,” Kurt said. He smiled.
Elowyn smiled at Candice, “Come on back here and let’s sit down and eat.”
“Mom, you cooked already? It’s only three o’clock.”
“I made a lil’ something-something when you told me y’all were coming. Have a seat.”
After they got comfortable at the table, Candice asked, “Where’s Dad?”
“He’ll be down in a minute.”
“Is he okay?”
“I’m okay, lil’ girl,” Theodore said walking into the kitchen. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
Kurt stood up and reached to shake his father-in-law’s hand saying, “Mr. Blackstone. Hi, I’m Kurt Hempstead.”
Theodore accepted his hand and asked, “How are you doing, Kurt?”
“I’m okay, Sir.”
“You know we need to have a chat, don’t you?”
“Yes. I agree.”
“Come on. Let’s step out back for a minute.”
Candice couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. Once they were completely outside, she looked at her mother and asked, “What was that about?”
Elowyn smiled. “I had to talk to your father. He’s as stubborn as the boys. You know that’s where they get it from.”
“I don’t doubt that one bit.”
“Have you spoken with any of them recently?”
“I just spoke with Bryson yesterday and it didn’t go well.”
“No?”
“No, and my problem with Bryson has nothing to do with Kurt.”
“There’s always been a rift between you and Bryson.”
“Well, now you can add Barry to the list. Everson and Garrison are okay. They don’t seem to mind that I have a brain and can think for myself.”
“You know I don’t like this division between y’all. You’re flesh and blood. This is not how family is supposed to treat each other.”
“I know Mother, but at the same time, I can’t let them dictate my life.”
“You’re absolutely right. I can’t argue with you there. Maybe it’s time I gave them my two cents like I had to do with your father.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“I told him to give Kurt a chance. How can you determine in your mind that you don’t like someone when you haven’t taken the time to get to know that person?”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Candice said, getting up. She peeped out the window to judge how the conversation with her father and Kurt was going. They seemed to be okay.
“Everything good?” Elowyn asked, preparing plates.
“Yeah…looks like they’re heading back in now.”
“Good. All this food ain’t going to eat itself.”
Kurt walked in first. He glanced over at Candice and flashed a smile. She took that to mean his conversation with her father went okay. At least it was a start.
They all gathered around the table. Candice sat next to Kurt. Her parents sat opposite of them. Theodore prayed over the food and the part that touched Candice the most was how he also prayed that their marriage get off on a good start. She smiled, glad her father had finally come around.
“Compliments to the chef,” Kurt said after wasting no time digging into his meal.
“Thank you,” Elowyn replied, all smiles.
“This is my first time trying country-fried steak. It’s phenomenal.”
“I’m glad you like it. You know Candice knows how to make it, too,” Elowyn said, then winked at Candice.
She smiled. “Don’t be telling him all my secrets, Ma.”
“No, tell me everything, Mrs. Blackstone. I’m loving this.”
Elowyn laughed, then said, “The only thing you need to know about Candice is that she’s loyal.”
“And she’s very determined,” Theodore added. “Has a mind of her own. That’s why she ran off and married you.”
“Dad!”
“It’s true. Look, Kurt—you must be something special if she was willing to go through such drastic measures to make sure you two were together, so like I told you outside a moment ago—you have my blessing.”
Candice placed a hand over her heart, touched by her father’s words.
“Mine, too,” Elowyn said. “I just wish we could get to watch you two grow as a couple right here in Wilmington.”
“I know, Mother, but we’re going to live in Asheville.”
“Well, I only have one request of you before you leave, baby girl,” Theodore said.
“What’s that, Dad?”
“Please fix whatever issues you have with your brothers before you go.”
“Dad, I tried—”
“Try a little harder. Tomorrow’s not promised. You never want to live your life with regrets, wishing you had made amends with someone who’s no longer around.”
“You’re right. I suppose we can stay a few more days.”
Kurt shook his head. “I’m leery about this only because I know what one of them tried to do to us.”
“Who?”
“I don’t want to drop names, but I will support Candice if she wants to fix things with them. If they don’t like me, I can’t worry about that, can I?”
“It’s not that they don’t like you, Kurt. They don’t know you and they love their sister,” Theodore explained. “Your brothers have always looked out for you and had your back. Sure they’ve overstepped a time or two.”
“Or ten,” Candice said.
Theodore chuckled. “Yes, or ten, but they love you. I have no doubt in my mind about that and deep down, I know you don’t either.”
She knew how much her brothers loved and cared for her and if it took her to be the bigger person, she was willing to obey her father’s request and take a stab at it making peace.
Chapter 28
Candice stopped by Calista’s Monday morning. Barringer was at the office so she didn’t have to worry about running into him just yet.
Calista opened the door as she gently bounced baby Bella to sleep. “Hey, Candy. Come on in.”
“Aw, the princess is sleeping.”
“Yes. Let me put her down. I’ll be right back.”
Calista returned to the family room and joined Candice on the sofa.
“You look like you need a break,” Candice told her. Her hair was tossed about. Some strands made it into the ponytail, others didn’t and she seemed completely unfazed by it. She still had on her robe and was steadily yawning.
