One Wild Night

While Candace wept happily, Andy and Jamal laughed as Jamal tried to bring Andy up to speed with all that had happened in her absence.

"This is grandpa\'s house, and we will all be living here. Do you like it? Although it\'s not as big as Tom\'s house, it is also beautiful...."

"Jamal, why don\'t you let us introduce ourselves to her, and allow her to settle in before telling her everything?" Aaron suggested and Jamal nodded.

"Alright," Jamal said, and Andy glanced from Jamal to Aaron.

Although she had noticed their presence from the moment they all stepped outside, she had focused on Jamal and Candace mostly because she wasn\'t sure what to expect.

"I\'m sorry. I should do the introductions," Candace said as she brushed off her tears and turned to face them.

"Andy, don\'t be surprised, okay? As soon as I get the chance I\'m going to give you all the details. This is Aaron, my biological father, and this is Harry my twin brother. Dad, Harry, this is Andy, my sister," Candace said and before Andy could say anything, Aaron embraced her.

"You are welcome home. I\'ve heard so much about you. Thanks for taking good care of your sister and Jamal. I\'m glad that I get to have two beautiful daughters," Aaron said, surprising Andy.

Andy opened her mouth to speak but no word came out. Although she had told herself that Candace\'s family had no choice but to accept her as one of them, a part of her had been scared that they wouldn\'t be welcoming but standing in Aaron\'s embrace now, she felt at home.

"You are welcome to the family, Andy. I hope you will be a better sister than Candace," Harry said when Aaron finally let go of Andy, and Andy giggled as she embraced Harry while Candace rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the warm welcome," Andy said looking from Harry to Aaron.

"You know Jade, she is Harry\'s girlfriend. And I\'m sure you remember Matt," Candace said and Andy raised a brow before shifting her gaze to Jade.

"Jade Hank. Who would have thought you would turn out to be our brother\'s girlfriend?" Andy asked with a grin as she went to embrace Jade, and both Aaron and Harry exchanged a pleased look.

It was obvious that unlike Candace, Andy seemed to be more easygoing and open minded to change and it would make it easier to get her to feel at home.

"I saved you for last," Andy told Matt with a grin and he chuckled as he embraced her.

"I\'m glad you\'re fine and came back in one piece," Matt said as he hugged her.

"I\'m stronger than you think, didn\'t Candace tell you that?" Andy asked as she touched his cheek.

"You still look as handsome as I thought when I first saw you. I hope she isn\'t giving you a hard time anymore? She can be too much to handle sometimes," Andy whispered loudly.

"I can hear you, Andy. We all can," Candace hissed and they all laughed.

"I now have a favorite sister," Harry announced as he placed an arm on Andy\'s shoulder playfully and Andy giggled while Candace snorted.

"Let\'s go in," Aaron suggested and led the way inside, while Jamal held on to Andy\'s hand as though he was scared she might disappear again if he didn\'t hold on to her tightly.

"How did you find us? How did you escape from Cassidy? What happened?" Candace asked Andy now as they walked inside, since she had not been able to do that earlier because Jamal and the others had joined them before she could ask.

"Why don\'t we talk about it later when we are alone and you can also tell me all that has happened in my absence?" Andy suggested and Candace nodded even though she wasn\'t sure she could wait until then.

"Why don\'t you show her to her bedroom so she can freshen up...."

"Her bedroom? Which room?" Candace asked in confusion and Aaron smiled.

"The room opposite yours," Aaron said.

"The one you said was for someone special?" Candace asked and then it dawned on her that her father and Harry had known that Andy was coming hence she was asked to get the door.

"You knew she was coming? How?" Candace asked in surprise.

"Yes, Harry, tell us how," Jade said as she looked at him, and he shrugged.

"Cassidy texted me. He wanted us to meet..."

"You met with him? Was that the reason you decided to travel down with us? Why didn\'t you say anything to me?" Candace asked with a frown.

"He asked me not to tell anyone. Besides, it\'s a pleasant surprise for you, is it not?" Harry asked Candace.

"Hold on, was that the reason you went to the hotel? You lied to me?" Jade asked in disbelief.

"I didn\'t lie. It was business with Cassidy. I just didn\'t tell you who I was meeting because he asked me not to tell anyone," Harry said defensively.

"But you told Tom, didn\'t you?" Jade asked with a scowl, and Candace rolled her eyes.

"I can\'t deal with those two," Candace said as she pulled Andy with her towards the stairs so that the lovers would have all the privacy they needed to argue.

"Come with us, Jamal. Men should stick together," Matt said before Jamal could follow Andy and Candace, and he followed Matt and Aaron to the living room.

"Jade is a drama queen. Don\'t be surprised to see her hanging on his arm when they are done," Candace said and they both laughed.

Candace stopped when something occurred to her and she looked at Andy, "You don\'t have any luggage?" she asked since Andy was carrying just a handbag.

"Did he kidnap me with my luggage?" Andy asked dryly and they both laughed.

"You know what I mean. Besides, how can you joke about being kidnapped?" Candace asked as they both continued up the stairs.

"Why is Matt here if he isn\'t part of my welcome party? Don\'t tell me he is our distant cousin? He isn\'t, right?" Andy joked and Candace giggled.

"God, I can\'t believe how much I missed you," Candace said as she stopped to look at Andy\'s grinning face once again.

"For a moment I thought you might have forgotten all about me since you now have your family," Andy confessed with an awkward smile.

"How could you ever think such a thing? And it is OUR family not just mine. I can\'t forget you, Andy. Never ever," Candace said and Andy smiled.

"Yeah. You dare not," Andy said as she embraced Candace again.

"This is your bedroom...."

"I can\'t believe he reserved a bedroom for me," Andy said, feeling very touched by the thoughtful gesture.

Candace smiled, "I know, right? Well, this is my bedroom. That is Jamal\'s bedroom. The one next to yours is Harry\'s, and that is Dad\'s," Candace said and Andy grinned.

"Dad\'s," Andy repeated with a giggle.

"That sounds so foreign coming from you. Am I dreaming, Candace, or do we really have a family now? A father and a brother?" Andy asked as they both walked into the bedroom.

"We have always had a family. You, me and Jamal. But now we have a dad and a brother. And no, you are not dreaming," Candace said as she watched Andy look around the bedroom.

"Are we going to be living here? What about our apartment?" Andy asked curiously.

"You don\'t mind living here, do you?" Candace asked and Andy shrugged.

"Where else will I want to live when my family is here? As long as I\'m welcome here, I will stay. We have so much to talk about, Candy. I have so much to tell you, and so much I want to ask you," Andy said and Candace grinned.

"Me too. I will go get you some clothes and you can freshen up so we join the others for dinner. Let\'s stay up all night to chat," Candace suggested as she headed for the door.

"Wait," Andy called when something occurred to her and she narrowed her eyes.

"You didn\'t answer my question earlier, and I noticed you didn\'t say anything about Matt\'s bedroom just now. Is it what I\'m thinking?" she asked, wriggling her brows playfully and Candace giggled.

"If you\'re asking if I\'m dating him now, the answer is yes," Candace said and quickly walked out of the door, but not fast enough to miss Andy\'s shriek of delight at the news.

Candace giggled as she unpacked her bag to take out some clothes for Andy. They were both going to have to find a way to go get the rest of their clothes from their former place.

"You look really happy," Aaron observed with a happy smile.

He had come to find out if Andy needed anything but had stopped by Candace\'s door when he saw that it was open and Candace was unpacking, he decided to check with her instead.

"I am. I am actually very happy," Candace admitted happily.

"Thanks for welcoming her that way and for preparing a room for her. It means a lot to me," Candace said as she stopped what she was doing to look at Aaron.

"She is your sister, and as such, my daughter too. You don\'t need to thank me for that. I wanted to see if she needed anything," Aaron said and Candace smiled.

"She is fine. I will give her some of my clothes and maybe tomorrow or next we can go to our place to get some of our stuff," Candace said and Aaron was silent for a moment.

"Do you really have to go back there? Can\'t you just get new things? Or is there something very valuable there that you can\'t let go of?" he asked carefully, not wanting to offend her.

Candace thought about it for a moment, "Not exactly valuable. It\'s just that I\'m attached to lots of my stuff," Candace explained and he nodded.

"I still don\'t want you girls going back there. I don\'t think it\'s safe. So, why don\'t I have some people go over there and move all your stuff to a warehouse. And then at a later time you can go pick up your valuables? Until then you both can get new clothes and whatever you need. Don\'t bother searching for a job. I will take care of your school and Jamal. And I will take care of whatever Andy wants to do. What do you think she might want to do? Would she want to go to school too? Or has she graduated? Or do you think she might want to work? I can get...."

"Calm down, dad," Candace said with an amused smile.

Andy, who was dressed in a bathrobe and had come to ask Candace for a hair brush, stood by the open door with a grin on her face as she listened to Aaron who had his back to her.

"I\'m calm," Aaron said and then turned when he saw the way Candace was grinning as she looked behind him.

"You\'re here," he said as his cheeks burned with mild embarrassment.

"Yes, I am. I came to get a brush for my hair," Andy said with a grin.

Even though she had only just met Aaron, she loved him already and had no doubt that they were going to get along really well.

"Oh, I didn\'t remember to ask them to get that. I\'m sorry. I didn\'t know what beauty products you use, and since I couldn\'t ask Candace, I asked them to get the same ones Candace use. I hope it\'s to your liking?" Aaron asked hopefully.

"Yes. It is fine. Thanks for going through so much trouble for my sake," Andy said and Aaron gave her a nod.

"I will leave you two now. We will be waiting downstairs for you both to join us for dinner," Aaron said as he walked away, and both Candace and Andy giggled.

"What do you think about them?" Candace asked curiously.

"You mean our dad and brother?" Andy asked and Candace nodded.

"Aaron is sweet, and Harry is funny. I thought things were supposed to be awkward between us in this situation, but I don\'t feel awkward at all," Andy said and Candace smiled.

"Yeah, I felt so too. I\'m glad. Here is the hairbrush and some clothes. Go get dressed let\'s join the others. The earlier we get done with dinner, the sooner we can talk," Candace said and followed Andy as she returned to her bedroom to get dressed.