#ryder fields

With her brother finally home and safe, Candice felt comfortable moving on with her life and at home with the family as witness, she and Houston got married. It took a few more weeks to move Candice's things from Chestnut Ridge to the Prescott home in Copperdale between classes though.

Brandon was brought home a few months after his disappearance and was not happy with the scolding he got from Ryder for his vanishing act after Ryder expressed his relief of Brandon's well being. Ryder wondered what he could do to put his youngest's life back on the rails before it was too late, though he did fear that Brandon's lack of accountability might already be too far gone.

It wasn't long before Candice and Houston decided to get engaged just before the start of the next school year for Candice.

With Brandon gone and the family in chaos, Marigold decided to talk to Seraphine who was both disheartened and understanding of Josh and Flynn considering leaving Chestnut Ridge what with the scandal of Annie and Brandon. Nothing was set in stone yet but it was a thought being bounced around.

If the situation in the family wasn't bad enough, the tension between the siblings dissipated when Annie was dragged to the main Fields house to reveal that she had gotten pregnant at prom. Rosette had quite a bit to say on that. She was not at all happy with her teenage daughter being pregnant, less so who the father was and even more enraged when he refused to acknowledge his part in it. Brandon's reaction to the news initially calmed Annie when his disbelief mirrored her own anxieties about the situation but when he denied his role in things all of her worries about him shifted to a cold anger at being abandoned.

Then Rosette stormed over to the house a few days after Chihaya moved out to lay into Brandon after news of what happened at prom reached her ears. In private, Brandon was smug about it and held no regret for sleeping with his cousin as if it was fine because of the adoption but denied everything when Ryder heard the yelling. Ryder having no reason not to trust his youngest thought that Rosette's accusations were too far and thus the relationship between Ryder and Rosette took a hit as they decided to keep their distance. Which was just as well since Rosette didn't want Brandon anywhere near her kids anymore.

Ryder supported his daughter though he was also more convinced that his grandchild was his daughter's kid. Still the house was always open to her.

While the teens were at prom, Candice was happy to talk to Ryder about her excitement for the next term at school and her blossoming romance with a young man named Houston Prescott.