“He does to me, too. Travis said Brent is just different. Not quite the same happy, go lucky person he used to be. Not after his friend was killed, anyway.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Jessica furrowed her eyebrows. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Jessica rubbed her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I thought you knew since he told you about the accident.”
Candace touched Jessica’s arm. “You have to tell me now. What happened?”
Jessica sighed. “I guess Brent was driving. It was icy out, and they were heading home after a party in the early morning. Brent was sober, though. A car coming the opposite direction hit a patch of ice and wasn’t able to stop. It slid into their lane, and they collided. His best friend wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the car. Killed on impact.”
Candace put a hand over her mouth. Here she had been upset over the fact that he stood her up, but all along, he had been in the hospital mourning the loss of his best friend.
“Travis said that Brent has blamed himself every day since.”
“But it isn’t his fault,” Candace said. “It was an accident.”
Jessica nodded. “He doesn’t see it that way. He thinks if maybe he was going slower and had anticipated the other car’s slide, maybe his friend would still be alive.”
Candace shook her head. The new information made her heart go out to him. And here he knew she used to dislike him. Plus, she basically told him at breakfast that it wasn’t possible for them to be friends.
“You okay?” Jessica asked.
“I think I screwed up.”
“With Brent?”
Candace nodded.
Jessica nodded a head toward the door. “Go talk to him.”
“I will. But first we need to chat. How’s married life so far?”
“It’s great! It’s not like we’ve been home yet, though. Being married doesn’t really feel any different except I have a pretty ring.” Jessica held out her hand and stared at the sparkly diamond on her finger.
“He did a great job picking it out. I was impressed.”
“Me too.”
Candace watched Jessica for a moment. It was clear to see that Jessica was the happiest Candace had ever seen her. It was all she had hoped for for Jessica, and more.
“I’m so happy you found Travis.”
Jessica wrapped an arm around Candace’s shoulders. “Thank you, sis. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. You’ve been a constant rock for me. I hope you know how much I appreciate all you’ve done.”
“I would do anything for you,” Candace said.
“I know. But now it’s my turn to do something for you.”
Candace gave her a questioning look and waited for her to continue.
“I am going to come home with you and help you get back on your feet.”
Candace shook her head. “No. I don’t need the help.”
Jessica laughed out loud. “Yes, you do. And you can’t convince me otherwise. But that’s not something we need to discuss right now, since I know you’re stubborn and will argue it for the next two hours if I let you. For now, you need to go talk to Brent.”
“What if I can’t fix this?”
“Honey, I know you don’t see it, but Brent looks at you like you’re the only person in the room. He always has.”
Candace raised an eyebrow and gave Jessica a look that said she was full of it.
Jessica giggled. “I know you don’t believe me, but he does. Talk to him. That’s all you need to do.”
Candace knew she needed to, but part of her wondered if it was too late.
There was only one way to find out.
