Candice's Choice

By Carol Styron and Carol D. Styron

Candice Foster, a successful psychiatric nurse, is in love with two men and she must make a choice!

 

Candice believed that Kent Darby was the love of her life before he disappeared while waiting for a plane at a Boston, Massachusetts Airport three years prior. Kent's disappearance broke Candice's heart. She thought that she would not ever love another man until she began dating, Dr. Shawn Prince.

 

She opened her heart to Shawn and fell in love. Mysteriously, Kent re-enters Candice's life and her world turns upside down. Will Candice's heart lead her to the correct choice, or will unforeseen circumstances lead her down a different road?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carol Styron
• Release date: Dec 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215298671

Book preview

CANDICE’S CHOICE

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ONLY THE HEART MAY KNOW SERIES-BOOK 2

CAROL D. STYRON

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRELUDE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

PRELUDE

Hello, babe, Candice Foster said speaking on her landline phone to her boyfriend Kent Darby who sat in a Boston, Massachusetts airport waiting for his airplane to arrive.

Hi, honey, Kent said to his live-in girlfriend as he spoke into his cell phone.

What time do you think you will be home?

I missed my flight, so I’m waiting for another plane.

How did you manage that? Candice waited for a response, even though, she knew the answer.

Umm! I got up late and it took me a long time to check out of the hotel.

I told you this would happen one day!

You’re right. You warned me that my tardiness would be the death of me.

When is your next flight?

In a couple of hours. Don’t worry, I’ll be home before you know it.

What’s your flight number?

I’m flying Jet Blue and the flight number is 347.

Please call me as soon as you land.

Will do, and wear something nice because as soon as I get home, I’m taking you out to dinner.

Won’t you be too tired?

Just dress up, I have a surprise for you.

At least give me a hint about what the surprise is.

You’ll have to wait and see.

I guess I have no choice.

I love you in spite of your impatience.

I love you too.

Kent snapped his silver-flip cell phone closed and placed it in his black jacket pocket. He pulled out a Sports Illustrated Magazine from his briefcase and flipped through the pages. He lifted his earplugs from his black leather messenger’s bag to listen to some jazz music on his MP3 player. He paused after hearing two young Black men arguing as they walked in his direction.

Who do you think you’re talking to? the light-skinned man yelled at the stocky, dark-skinned man walking beside him.

I’m talking to you, you dumb fuck! the stocky man replied. The light-skinned man’s nostrils flared as he shoved the stocky man, but the stocky man didn’t budge. The stocky man gritted his teeth and pushed the light-skinned man so hard that he tumbled backwards and hit the floor. The light-skinned man crawled on his knees and struggled to get up. The airport was nearly empty. Kent and an elderly white woman were the only two people witnessing this altercation. The woman sat snugly on the black leather padded chair on the opposite side of Kent, grasping her pocketbook so tight that her bony knuckles turned red. As the men got closer, she slid out of her seat and scurried to the opposite side of the airport to avoid them.

Candice loved that Kent was a good Samaritan, but she told him that being helpful in every situation was not necessary. He agreed with her but felt his purpose in life was to right the wrongs in an unjust society. The light-skinned man managed to get up from the ground as the men continued to argue. Kent stuffed his airphones back into his bag and dropped the magazine on the chair beside him. He stood up from his seat and planted himself between the two men that now stood in front of him.

Stay out of our business! the light-skinned man shouted.

We are all brothers, said Kent. We shouldn’t be fighting each other.

Nobody asked for your help, the stocky man yelled.

I know, man, but the black community has so many serious issues to deal with. We should try to work together as a people and not fight one another.

Oh, I see we have a preaching peacemaker here, said the light-skinned man. Who do you think you are the Rev. Martin Luther King?

Brother, I’m only trying to help here, Kent said.

Drop the brother shit! the light-skinned man terse. My mother didn’t give birth to you.

I was trying to defuse the situation between the two of you. If you don’t want my help, so be it, knock yourselves out. Kent threw up his hands and proceeded to walk back to his seat. The light-skinned man ran behind him, hitting him over the head with a blunt object, knocking him to his knees. The stocky man jabbed Kent in his right jaw, knocking him out. The two men grabbed him by his arms and dragged him towards the exit door. The light-skinned man sprinted back to where Kent was sitting, seized his belongings and left the area.

***

I would like to know if flight 347 has landed? Candice nervously asked the airport agent over the phone hours after she had spoken to Kent. She tried reaching him on his cell phone a few times before calling the airport.

One moment, Madam.

Candice shook her hands in the air trying to dry the sweat oozing from them as she held the phone between her shoulders and ear.

Flight 347 landed in North Carolina at 4:15 p.m. this afternoon.

Thanks, Candice said as her voice dropped.

Is there anything else I can help you with?

Candice hung up the phone without responding. She dialed out and tried to reach Kent on his cellphone again, but the call went straight to voicemail.

Where can he be? She thought. Kent wasn’t the most punctual person, but he wouldn’t do something like this to her. After several hours passed, Candice called the police and reported Kent missing. The police started an investigation, but after a few weeks, there were no signs of him. Her family and friends felt that the police didn’t put a lot of effort into locating a missing Black man from North Carolina. Her friends created a search party but turned up empty-handed.

As time rolled by, Candice concluded that Kent was either dead or he changed his mind about sharing his life with her. Either scenario broke her heart, but she decided to concentrate on her work because she didn’t think that love was in the cards for her after losing Kent Darby.

CHAPTER ONE

THREE YEARS LATER

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I couldn’t wait for this day to end, Shawn Prince sighed, lifting the dark blue medical scrub top over his head and off his chest. He tossed the item in the passenger’s seat of his Maroon BMW. It was 11:00 p.m. and he had just gotten off from work. He lifted a 16-ounce bottle of Poland spring water from the glove compartment, twisted the top off and took a gulp of water. He screwed the top back on and rolled the bottle under his seat.

I’m so glad this day is over too, Candice agreed, as she sat in the back seat of his car right behind him. You looked sexy today, strutting into that patient’s room and taking charge like that. She swayed her shoulders from side to side imitating him.

"The thoughts I was having about you