The Sweetest Love (Love Conquers All Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

brother. Enjoyed how as a chubby toddler she would follow him around everywhere he went. And it didn’t hurt when he’d walk to the corner store with Abby riding high on his shoulders, and all the attention he got from the girls as they abandoned jump ropes and jacks to get a look at the little cherub. “Oh, Adam your baby sister is so cute,” they’d say. His favorite was, “Let me hold her,” as the budding breasts of one of Abby’s admirers brushed against him as they reached for the bubbly toddler.
    Adam chuckled at the memory. Even at eleven years old, he appreciated the fairer sex.
    Things changed shortly after Abby’s fifth birthday. Daily belly pains and nausea with occasional bouts of vomiting was cause for concern. The entire family was shocked when she was diagnosed with the Hepatitis C virus. After testing both parents, who were negative, the doctors came to the conclusion she had received tainted blood during the transfusion that saved her life. Although the medical community had been testing for the HIV virus in blood donors in 1988 when the accident occurred, they weren’t testing for the Hepatitis C virus. Testing for the virus didn’t start until 1992.
    The Wests made the mistake of being honest with their family, friends and neighbors regarding Abby’s condition.
    That was a big mistake.
    Those same girls that found Abby so adorable as a toddler wouldn’t even look at her. The principal received calls and notes from parents voicing their concerns over the child being in the same classroom with their children. “What if she gets hurt and starts to bleed or cuts herself? Our children will be at risk of getting her disease.”
    Suddenly Brenda and her little girl were no longer invited to play dates and birthday parties.
    The illness wasn’t the only thing that dimmed Abby’s once exuberant, bubbly personality. She had pretty much spent kindergarten through third grade being snubbed by children she should have been playing with. The only thing she had to keep her company was her dolls. That is until fourth grade rolled around and something wonderful happened. A new girl had moved into the neighborhood. Roxanna.
    Roxanna and Abby had loved each other. The two were closer than many biological sisters. The sight of an inconsolable Roxy with her head buried in her mother’s bosom haunted Adam for years. Late at night when his mind wandered back to the gut-wrenching day of Abby’s funeral, he could still hear Roxy’s pitiful sobs and groans. He wished he had reached out to her then. He wished he had thanked her for all the times she made his little sister laugh, for how she played with her for hours, and how she had visited, bringing goodies and dollar store toys each time Abby was admitted to the hospital.
    Taking a deep breath, Adam made his way across the gravel road to the one person who understood his pain. The closer he got to her, guilt began gnawing at his insides. He didn’t know what he would say to her after all this time. But he did know that he had to make things right with her. He had to let her know that she didn’t have to be alone with her pain.
    Startled, Roxanna’s eyes flew open and her heart began to thunder in her chest from the hand now resting on her shoulder. Spinning around, she reflexively was ready to put up a fight. When her eyes collided with the dark ones boring into hers, every ounce of fight fled as her heart continued to thunder for another reason.
    Adam.
    She wished she hadn’t gazed into his eyes. The pain she saw shining in their dark depths was achingly palpable. She attempted to take a deep breath to ease the tight squeeze in her chest. It didn’t help. Just looking at him made her heart hurt even more for the loss of her friend.
    Even though Abby drove Adam crazy, he loved his baby sister. There were those rare times when he playfully teased Abby, sending her into fits of laughter. Another time he patiently helped them build a volcano for the science