CHAPTER 5

A few days later as Jeremy is building some shelves in the bedroom, he hears a knock at the door. Opening it, Candy stands there with a picnic basket. "Hello," she says.

"Hi, what are you doing here, Candy" he asks.

"Well, Josie told me you weren't eating anything but soup. I thought I'd bring you a home cooked meal. I fixed your favorite, fried chicken."

"You didn't have to do that. I'm capable of taking care of myself, thank you. Besides, I like soup," Jeremy states.

"As I recall, you really don't like soup. You just tolerate it."

"Well, I've had to learn to tolerate a lot of things lately." He grabs a towel and wipes the sweat from his face.

Tears sting Candy's eyes. "I just thought I'd. . .uh, Jeremy, do you want the food or not? I can always take it to someone else."

Jeremy gives a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. Yes, of course I'll take it. Would you like to come in? I'll give you the grand tour of the place. All two rooms of it," Jeremy chuckles.

Candy steps inside. "Jeremy, this doesn't look like the same place." She walks around and looks at the improvements that have been made.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. The boys have been helping me some. They've turned into very good carpenters. I'm quite proud of them."

"So am I. I'm very impressed with what you all have done," she says.

"Thanks. Would you like to see the bedroom?"

Candy's eyes get big.

"Candy, I'm not trying to get you in the bedroom to have my way with you. My gosh, you don't trust me at all, do you? I just thought maybe you'd like to see what we've done in there," Jeremy fumes. "Forget it. You probably wouldn't like it anyways."

As Candy sits the basket on the table she says, "I better be going. Hope you enjoy the food."

"You didn't poison it, did you?" he asks. When he sees her eyes fill with tears again, he regrets what he said. "I'm sorry, Candy. I didn't mean that. I was just being a smartass. Please, forget I said that."

"Take care of yourself, Jeremy," she says as she gets to the door.

"Yeah, you too," Jeremy replies as he shuts the door behind her. He sits down with his elbows on the table and rests his head in his hands. Why did I talk like that to her? I don't want us to be enemies.

A knock on the door startles Jeremy. He answers the door and Candy is standing there. "I'm sorry Jeremy, but there's something I have to clear up. The day you left us, you said something that has really bothered me. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Well Candy, I said a lot of things that day. Some I regret saying and others I don't regret at all. So, I guess you'll just have to tell me what it was I said that bothered you."

She stands there with her head hung low and wringing her hands. She takes a deep breath and looks up at the ceiling. Finally, she looks at Jeremy and says, "You accused me of being in love with . . .with Jason. Jeremy, that is so not true. I have only loved one Bolt brother and it wasn't Jason. Or Joshua. I have only loved you, Jeremy. You are the one who stole my heart. If I ever made you feel like a consolation prize, I'm sorry." Tears are falling as she continues. "I never thought of you that way. I thought you were the grand prize and I was the lucky winner."

"Oh Candy," Jeremy says as he starts to take her in his arms. "I'm sorry, I forgot," he says as he backs away from her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you. I should have kept my mouth shut. I was trying to hurt you since you hurt me by saying you didn't believe me. Again, I'm sorry." He grabs a handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to her.

Candy wipes her eyes and replies, "Jeremy, do you really feel like that? Do you really think that I love Jason?" she says as a new batch of tears start.

Jeremy bites on his lip and answers, "There were times that yes, I wondered about it. You know how much I love my brother and how back then, I almost worshiped him. I know I'll never measure up to him and be as good as him. What woman wouldn't fall in love with him? Including you. Why would you fall for a dumb, shy, stuttering boy when the almighty Jason Bolt was available?"

"Oh Jeremy, please don't think that. I really did fall in love with you, a handsome, shy, stuttering young man, not Jason. I loved you so much. I do love Jason like a brother, but there was never any romantic feelings towards him. And I'm sorry and ashamed that I ever made you feel that way. Please, forgive me for that." she cries.

Tears run down Jeremy's face too. "Candy, you keep saying loved instead of love. I guess that tells me how you feel now. I guess we're really finished. I love you, Candy. I hope someday you'll realize just how much I do love you and that I would never lie to you."

"Jeremy, I never said we were finished."

"It's not what you said Candy, but what you didn't say. You have always begged me to please, not leave you. Well, you didn't say it this time. You've always told me that you can't or don't want to live without me, but you didn't say that this time either. I got the message."

"I wasn't sending you a message. I'm sorry, Jeremy. I shouldn't have come up here. It seems I just made things worse."

"No, you didn't make things worse. I'm glad you came. Uh, would you care to stay and have lunch with me?" Jeremy asks.

"I don't know, Jeremy. Maybe I shouldn't."

"Stay, please. We don't have to talk about us. You can tell me about what's going on in town. Anything new?"

"Are you sure you want me to stay for lunch? It might feel awkward," Candy replies.

"I'm sure. Awkward or not, I'm sure we can make it through lunch. Here, come on in and have a seat."