Page 62 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

Candi’s mouth gaped, but no words came. She blinked a couple of times, as though she were trying to compute this information. As though needing time to make sense of what she’d just been told, she turned and got them two cups of coffee.

She placed Brooke’s cup on the table. “Sit down. Please.”

Brooke decided to give this reunion another try. She sat down and stared at the steaming cup of coffee. She didn’t want to tell her sister that the temperature outside was much too hot for her to have coffee. So she’d just let it sit and cool off.

“So Mom and Dad know all of this? About Josh being the one that called off the wedding?”

“They do now. When I first left town, I didn’t want to talk about it. As time passed, it just seemed like it didn’t matter who called it off. The effect was just the same.”

“Don’t you understand it would have helped me to know the truth. All of this time Neal has been grouching that it was my sister that broke his best friend’s heart, and if I hadn’t insisted on setting you two up that it never would have happened.”

“I’m sorry you went through that. I never thought Josh would let everyone believe a lie.”

“Especially his father. Did Mom tell you how horrible Mr. Simms has been to Dad? He even refused to process Dad’s grain. He had to haul it to another town. I didn’t know people could be so mean and petty.”

“It’s what happens sometimes when you live in a small town. People take sides.”

Her sister’s gaze met hers. She reached across the table, placing her hand on Brooke’s. “I’m sorry I believed his lies.”

“It’s okay. It’s in the past.” She truly wanted to believe that, but she knew some people, like Mrs. Walters, would have long memories.

Candi’s gaze searched hers. “Can we be sisters again?”

“We were always sisters, but I would like if we could stay in touch. I really missed talking to my big sister.”

Tears shimmered in Candi’s eyes. “I missed my little sister too.”

They talked until it was time for dinner. Brooke was emotionally exhausted by then and decided to skip seeing her brother-in-law, who still didn’t know the truth about what had happened between her and Josh.

Brooke drove around for a while, taking in the sights. She’d truly missed Monarch. She promised herself she wouldn’t stay away for so long the next time.

When she arrived at her parents’ house, dinner was over. Her mother had made up a plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes for her. Brooke didn’t have much of an appetite. Still, she knew her mother would fuss if she didn’t eat something. She warmed the food in the microwave and then took it to her room.

She pulled out her phone and wasn’t surprised there still wasn’t any word from Logan. The ache in her heart grew until it felt like it was going to suffocate her. It was over. Tears rushed to her eyes. She had to come to terms with that fact.

Maybe she’d write to him one more time. What would it hurt? If he didn’t want to hear from her, he could just press delete without reading it.

It has been an exhausting day. It’s not even eight o’clock, and I’m ready to call it a day. It’s a good exhausted, though. I’ve done some stuff that was long overdue.

I went to visit my sister. On my way, I ran into Josh. I thought about telling him what a jerk he’d been to me, but realized that it was all in the past. And the anger I’d had for him had faded away. Instead, we had a brief but cordial conversation. He’s engaged again, and he appears to be happy. He’d heard that I was engaged, and I happen to be still wearing your ring, which I will return to you as soon as I get back to San Francisco. For now, it’s safe and reminds me of what would have been if I’d have handled things differently. Anyway, he wished me well, and we went our separate ways.

Seeing my sister again was the hardest of all the reunions. She was pretty upset with me. It seems her husband didn’t take my “dumping” his best friend well and he blamed her for setting us up in the first place. I felt really bad for her. I told her the truth, that it was Josh who had dumped me at the altar. She couldn’t believe I hadn’t told people before now.

Here I thought it was best just to keep it all to myself. I’m learning that I need to use my words more and to express my emotions through my words. If I had done that—if I had told you that I would like us to find a new house of our very own and more time to prepare for the wedding—then maybe things would have worked out differently. I don’t know.

This is the most painful lesson I’ve ever had to learn. So, if you’re reading this email, I hope you know that I’m trying hard to be a better person—to learn from my mistakes. If you give me another chance, I will do better. I will speak up and not just try to make you happy while sacrificing my own feelings.

Before I go, I want to ask about Kaylie. How is she doing? She must be so confused about the wedding not happening. For that I’m so sorry. I never ever wanted to hurt her. She is the sweetest little girl.

This ended up being longer than I’d intended. So, I am going to go now. I hope you have a good evening. Please know that I’m thinking about you.

xox

B

Now that she’d let out her emotions, she found that her appetite had returned. The food was now only room temperature, but it was good enough for her. She turned on the television in her room and found an old series that she’d watched when she was a kid.

She downed the delicious meal quickly and then changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. With the television playing, she quickly dozed off.

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