The Sweetest Love (Love Conquers All Book 5) (11 page)

Reba paced the floor in worry. She had wanted to be with her baby, but Roxy had been adamant about meeting her sisters alone. “I should have gone,” she said aloud in the empty room. A glance at the clock showed that it was almost ten and she hadn’t heard from her yet. Where was she?

All sorts of crazy thoughts began to run through her mind. What if they had her hemmed up in a corner blaming Roxy for her sins? What if they were saying mean and hateful things? Just because Donna, their mother, had been understanding and hadn’t pointed an accusing finger didn’t mean Harold’s daughters wouldn’t.

The ringing of the phone made her jump out of her skin. Running to the cordless on her bedside table, she snatched it up. “Roxy!”

“Hey Mom. What’s wrong?” Roxy queried, noting the anxious edge in her mom’s voice.

Reba let out a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t dare tell her child how uneasy she was about her meeting her sisters. Sitting on the side of the bed she smoothed her hand over the bedspread. “Nothing’s wrong baby. It’s just a little late and I hadn’t heard from you.”

Roxy laughed. “Mom, it’s only ten. Hardly past my bedtime
and
I am a big girl.”

“Don’t you sass me, Roxanna,” Reba chided before asking, “So, how did it go?”

Kicking off her shoes, Roxy plopped down on her new leather sofa. The smile in her voice was evident as she began to speak. “Oh Mom, they were so nice to me. You know I almost didn’t go tonight because I was so afraid of what they might think or say to me. I thought they might blame me for their parents not being together.”

That had been Reba’s worry, too. She was relieved to hear Starr and Karen hadn’t blamed Roxy for their family not being together.

“So tell me, what are your sisters like?”

“Mom, I can’t believe how we clicked right away. It was like we’ve known each other our whole lives,” Roxy gushed.

Reba quietly listened as Roxy told her about her newly found sisters. She hadn’t seen her daughter this excited about anything since she was child. She was truly happy that Roxy now had someone else to call her family. She had often wondered what would become of her child if something were to ever happen to her. Who would be there for Roxy? It killed her to think her baby would be alone in this world.

She sincerely hoped and prayed that she built a long-lasting relationship with her sisters. Although she and Roxy were close, she knew that there were some things she didn’t feel comfortable talking to her about. Having sisters would hopefully fill that void.

“And you’re not going to believe this Mom.”

The excitement in Roxy’s voice made Reba’s mouth curve into a warm smile, “What’s that baby?”

“Karen and I look so much alike! And Starr and I have the same eyes. It’s crazy considering I look just like you,” Roxy rambled, still amazed at the resemblance between her and her siblings.

Reba chuckled. “Yes, you do look like me, but you have some of Harold in you, too.”

Roxy let out an exaggerated groan. “Please don’t tell me that.”

“Well, it’s the truth.” Reba softly countered. “It’s not like he was an unattractive man.”

A strained silence hung in the air at the mention of Harold Avery. Roxy wondered how in the world such a horrible man had fathered daughters that were the complete opposite of him? What she really wondered was how he had snagged two decent women who fell for his lies?

“Mom, what was it about him that made you fall in love?”

Roxy could hear her mother’s soft sigh as she gathered her thoughts. Had she been too forward in asking such a thing? She knew this was really difficult, but she had to know what was so special about her father. How had she fallen for someone who could be so cold and calculating?

“Being under my father’s roof wasn’t a good thing. I knew he and his wife really never wanted me there. They never showed me any kind of love or concern. Even when I did well in school I never got, ‘I’m proud of you. Keep up the good work.’ The only thing I was good for was cleaning up after them.”

Reba took a deep breath to steady her shaky voice. So many painful memories were charging to the surface. Yet as painful as they were, Roxy had a right to know this history, her history. “My father would always tell me I was an ugly whore just like my mother, so much so that I believed him. Well, not the whore part because I had never done anything with boys,” she quickly explained.

Roxy could hear the wounded woman-child in her mother’s voice as she thought of her once young, naïve self. “Your father was the first man to tell me I was beautiful. He was the first man to treat me with kindness and tell me he loved me. The first one to buy me flowers.” She giggled before adding, “Even if they were supermarket flowers. And when he stood up to my father and took me in when I had nowhere else to go, I thought he really
did
love me.”

“That all changed after you got pregnant with me,” Roxy softly interrupted, feeling a pang of guilt for being born.

“Oh baby, don’t you dare sound like that,” Reba tenderly chided. She had never blamed her child for loving a man who didn’t deserve her love.

Tears in her voice, she swore, “Having you was never a mistake. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love you that much.”

Roxy wiped at a tear. “I love you too, Mom. I’m just so sorry you had to go through so much.”

“Yeah, me too. Me, too.”

Donna’s smile illuminated her face as she opened the door at the late hour. “What are you two doing out this late?” she queried as she stepped to the side to let her daughters in.

Each daughter kissed her cheek. It was Karen who said, “We need to talk to you,” as they headed back to the kitchen.

Starr automatically went to the cabinet and took down three mugs along with tea bags and honey. Karen filled the tea kettle. They had decided after they parted ways with Roxy that they had to go see their mother.

Karen dropped the tea bags in the mugs. “Mommy, where’s Poppa Patrick?”

“He’s at the pool hall with Dominic and Henry.”

Starr and Karen smiled at each other. They had the house to themselves. Poppa Patrick had zero tolerance when it came to Harold. His name was forbidden to be spoken in his home. Having him out of the house would allow them to speak freely.

Donna gave her girls a curious look. “What’s going on?”

Karen grabbed the honey and three spoons from the drawer before waddling over to the table and sitting down. “We met Roxy tonight.”

Donna nodded her head in understanding. “And?”

She intently listened as her girls filled her in on their meeting.

“She is absolutely adorable Mommy,” Starr gushed as she turned off the whistling kettle. Filling each mug with the boiled water, she gingerly carried them to the table.

Sliding onto a chair, she winked at Karen. “I bet you can never guess which one of us she looks the most like.”

Donna laughed. Karen was definitely her father’s child when it came to her looks. Which meant Roxy favored her oldest sister.

Karen rubbed her belly, grinning from ear to ear. She didn’t even bother to let her mother guess which sister Roxy mirrored. “My new little sister is my mini-me!”

“Sounds like you guys hit it off with Roxy.”

“We did!” Karen and Starr excitedly said at the same time.

“Poor thing was so scared we weren’t going to like her,” Starr said remembering how nervous she was.

Karen interjected, “She thought we were going to blame her for coming between you and Daddy.”

Stirring honey in her tea, Donna clucked her tongue. “That damn Harold always had a way of making others feel responsible for his crap.” Shaking her head, she was honest with her daughters. “You know I hated Reba, Roxy’s mother, for years.” Stirring her tea, she reflectively admitted, “Probably because she was the youngest and prettiest
one
he had messed around on me with. After I finally got your father out of my system, I stopped hating her. And when I ran into her and she told me her story I felt so terrible for having those evil feelings toward her. She was really just a kid when Harold started messing with her.”
Dirty bastard.

Both sisters nodded their heads in agreement. It was Starr who sadly noted, “And the fact that he got her pregnant and just dumped her, not even caring what happened to her or
their
baby.”

“I thought we had it bad growing up. At least we had each other and other family. We knew our grandparents before they died. We had aunts, uncles and cousins. But Roxy and her mom had no one,” Karen sadly observed.

Pride swelled in Donna’s chest. She had really raised remarkable daughters. Smiling at her girls she told them, “I’m so proud of the both of you for accepting Roxy. I can only imagine how good it made that child feel.” She was also certain any fears Reba may have had would be put to rest once she spoke with her daughter.

Starr smiled at her mother. “Mommy, it was the weirdest thing. When Karen and I hugged her, it felt like she really belonged to us.”

Laughing Karen teased, “I didn’t think Starr was ever going to let her go.”

“Oh, I wasn’t that bad!” Starr guffawed.

Lifting an arched brow, Karen gave her the, “Are you serious?” look. “Mom, Starr jumped all over Roxy’s friend Adam when he came to our table to check on her.”

“Karen! Don’t sit there like you didn’t have your say, too!” Starr fussed while laughing the entire time.

Donna shook her head as the sisters volleyed back and forth taking playful jabs at each other. She was nearly speechless when they shared with her that Roxy was an accountant at her son-in-law’s firm.
This truly is a small world indeed.

“What do you think about us inviting Reba and Roxy over for dinner so they can meet the rest of the family?”

“That would be really nice, Mommy.”

Karen nodded her head in agreement. “Yup, I think so, too.”

“Good. I’ll give Reba a call sometime tomorrow to see if she’s game. I’d like to meet your sister, too.”

Getting only a few hours of sleep last night… well this morning, did nothing to keep that extra little bounce out of her step. Roxanna Harris was on cloud nine and nothing or nobody was going to drag her down.

As she chatted the night before with her mom about her sisters, she’d let it
slip
that Adam had gone with her to the diner for support. Of course after this faux pas, she
had
to fill Reba in on her budding relationship with Adam. Like always, her mom cautioned her to be careful.

After she had gotten off the phone with her mom, she performed her nightly routine of picking out an outfit for work, brushing her teeth and showering. By the time she removed the throw pillows from the sofa and converted it into her comfy new bed, exhaustion had begun to claim her.

Turning off the lamp, she got into bed. Snuggling under the cool, crisp sheets, her thoughts turned to Adam.

Adam.
A gentle warmth caressed her from head to toe as she thought back on his encouraging words as they drove in his vehicle. “Babe, try to relax. I bet your sisters are just as nervous to meet you. They’re going to think you’re as adorable as I do,” he assured her, flashing a crooked grin.

Her stomach was so tied up in knots that the normally fluttering butterflies didn’t come out to play when he grinned at her. Doubt crept in as she began to protest. “What if—”

Immediately cutting her off, he told her, “No what if’s. Think positive. And if things do get a little rough for you in there, I won’t be far from you. Just holla and I’ll be there, babe.”

Fumbling in the dark, she blindly searched on top of the coffee table for her cell phone to call him. He picked up on the second ring.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, you didn’t. But you sound pretty tired.” He noted as he logged off his I-pad from checking work emails.

Roxy let out a drowsy yawn. “I am. But I just wanted to call you and thank you again for going with me.”

“Babe, you don’t have to keep thanking me,” he said as he leaned back in his comfy leather chair, fully stretching his legs.

“I feel like I do,” she softly countered. He had tickets to the Phillies’ game and was walking out the door to meet a buddy from work when she called him. “You didn’t have to change your plans for me. I wish there was something I could do for you.”

“Roxy, you don’t have to do anything for me. I was there because I wanted to be. It didn’t matter what my plans were. You needed me, so I was there.”

She was silent for a moment, taking in everything he had just said. She was so used to always having to return a favor, that she immediately believed he would want something in return. But he didn’t. And for that, her fondness for him had hitched up another level. Maybe one day she would be there for him.

Changing the subject to a lighter conversation Roxy teased, “Any more blind dates?”

Roxy closed her eyes at the sexy rumbling floating over the phone lines from his deep laugh. She wrapped her free arm around her waist, wishing it was his. Oh, how she wished it was his.

“Funny, Roxy… real funny.”

The couple stayed on the phone laughing and talking for hours, neither seeming to care that they had a busy work day ahead of them.

She was heavily focused on a spreadsheet when she heard a tap at her office door. Looking up, she wasn’t too surprised to see her boss — brother-in-law — standing in the doorway.

“Roxanna, I need to see you in my office for a minute.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before pivoting on his heels and going back to his office.

Sonia stared nervously at Roxy. Since working at the firm she’d only seen the boss personally summon an employee to his office once or twice, and it hadn’t been a good thing. “What’s that all about?” Sonia whispered, concerned.

Hunching her shoulders, she replied, “I don’t know.” Well, she most likely did know, but she very well couldn’t tell Sonia she just found out the boss is family. At least not right away.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Good luck,” Sonia wished her as Roxy made haste out of the office.

“Come in, shut the door and have a seat,” Kevin told her, leaning back in the firm leather chair.

Roxy squirmed. She felt like she was under a microscope as he scrutinized her. Boy, this was really awkward. What was he thinking?

“I knew you looked familiar to me,” Kevin commented, twirling a gold pen between his fingers.

Uh-oh.
She knew what he was thinking.

Setting the pen down, he leaned closer, inspecting every inch of her face. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he whispered in awe, a grin spreading across his handsome face. “Starr said you had her eyes. And you and Karen do look alike. The only thing you don’t have like them are the dimples.”

Roxy’s smile was sheepish. “So, I guess they told you?”

Kevin threw his head back and laughed. “Yes! My wife,” Kevin pointed a playful accusing finger at Roxy, “your sister, kept me up for hours talking about you. I’ve seen her excited over a lot of things, but finding out about you was right up there with finding out we were having triplets.”

Shaking his head he went on. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, as soon as I dozed off, Karen called. Starr didn’t come back to bed until about four this morning.” His eyes twinkled when he joked, “Girl, you disturbed my household.”

The lump rising up in her throat was making it hard for her to breathe. She couldn’t

stop the single tear sliding out of her eye and down her cheek. She accepted the box of tissues Kevin nudged across the desk to her. Dabbing at her eye, she smiled at her brother-in-law. “I was up half the night talking to my mother and friend about them, too.”

Kevin nodded his head. He really liked Roxanna Harris as a person and an employee. She came to work on time, was a hard worker and a team player. He didn’t for one second think she would take advantage of the fact that she was now family.

Getting to the point of why he asked her to come to his office he said, “How do you want to handle this?”

Panic swept through Roxy.
Handle this? What is he talking about? Oh! My! God! He’s not going to…
“Are you firing me? Because I need my job! I’ve got bills to pay!” she rushed out in a panic.

Kevin laughed. “No, no, calm down. I’m not firing you. What I meant was do you want the other employees to know we’re related?”

Roxy let out a sigh and slouched in her seat. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, totally embarrassed by her panic-stricken outburst.

“I really don’t think it’s anyone’s business, but I do want to tell Sonia, Jen, and Kay because we’re friends. I believe if I ask them not to tell anyone they won’t.”

Kevin nodded his head in agreement. The three women she named had been with his firm almost from the beginning. He was confident that they could be trusted not to make their being relating office gossip.

“Okay, tell them when you’re ready.”

Roxy nodded her head. Her coworkers had been really nice to her, taking her under their wings and becoming her friend. She thought it was only right for them to hear the news from her.

“Is that it? I have a lot of work to finish up.” Standing she grinned, “Wouldn’t want the boss to think I’m slacking off.”

Kevin chuckled. “That’s it.”

Just as Roxy’s hand touched the doorknob, Kevin called out her name.

Looking over her shoulder she beamed when he said, “Welcome to the family.”

She skidded to a stop. Nosy box one, two, and three were gathered around her desk peeping at something.

“Oh, they’re beautiful,” she heard one of them whisper.

“You think they’re from Adam?” another whispered.

“Probably so,” whispered the other.

“Hey! What’s going on over there?” she shouted and laughed when all three women jumped and swung around wide-eyed.

“Girl, what’s wrong with you scaring us like that?” Kay fussed, placing her hand over her pounding heart.

Stepping into the office, Roxy rolled her eyes. “Y’all are at my—” Roxy’s smart retort was halted by the beautiful bouquet of exotic flowers on her desk. They were absolutely breathtaking. She didn’t have to read the card to know who they were from, but reached for it anyway.

Her fingers trembled as she removed the envelope and opened the card.

Roxy,

I changed my mind. I do want something from you. Have dinner with me tonight?

Adam

“Aw…” Roxy dreamily breathed out. This day just kept getting better and better.

“What? What did the card say?” Jen asked while trying to sneak a peek over Roxy’s shoulder.

Laughing, Roxy protectively clutched the card to her chest. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

“Come on, girl. Tell us what it says,” Sonia pleaded, sidling up real cozy to Roxy.

Shaking her head, she replied, “Uh-huh, I’m not telling.”

Kay leaned her hip against the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. Zeroing in on Roxy, her top lip twitched, the beginnings of a smile forming. “We know the flowers are from Adam. It’s not our business what’s on the card.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jen mumbled under her breath, still craning her neck to get a peek.

Rolling her eyes at Jen, Kay didn’t bat an eye when she said, “What I want to know is why the boss man called you into his office.”

The content of the card no longer held interest. The other two women in the room perked up, their expected gazes gawking at Roxy.

Lord have mercy, these three were a hot mess. Each of them had inched their way closer to Roxy. She couldn’t help but to laugh at them. She was tempted to make them wait until the end of the day to tell them her news.

“Y’all are about some the nosiest folks I’ve ever seen.”

When three sets of pouty lips frowned at her, she laughed even harder. She held up her hands in surrender when Jen put her hands of her hips demanding, “You better stop that laughing or else…”

“Alright, alright, I’m going to tell you, but not in here.” Turning serious, she eyed each of them. “Sometimes the walls have ears. Know what I mean?”

She waited until each of them nodded. This was family business and she didn’t want to risk being overheard. “We’ll take a walk at lunchtime.”