Your'e Still the One by Debbi Rawlins

den.”
    “Drunk?”
    “Not yet.” Matt waited for her to join him on the stairs and then slid an arm around her shoulders. “You have the upper hand,” he whispered. “You say whatever you want. I’m with you all the way.”
    “Thanks.” She exhaled. “Go first.”
    He took his time, then waited at the bottom, his heart twisting with each slow painful step she took. When she motioned for him to enter the den first, he took the lead, panicking for a second when he didn’t spot Wallace. Then he saw him, sitting in the longhorn chair near the bar, small and frail, his hands clasped between his thin legs.
    It was gonna take some doing for Matt to get used to the new image. His father had been a virile handsome man well into his fifties. Next to him on the side table was the Jim Beam bottle and the empty glass.
    “Come on.” Matt gestured for Nikki when he realized she was still at the bottom of the stairs.
    She lifted her chin and moved to stand alongside Matt, her cynical gaze slowly finding the man who’d fathered her.
    “This is Nikki,” Matt said, switching his attention to Wallace’s drawn face.
    He stared, the prominent Adam’s apple in his thin neck bobbing with a convulsive swallow. Leaning slightly forward, he blinked at her rapidly then squinted, as if struggling to focus. His lips moved, but nothing came out, and the desperation in his tortured eyes actually got to Matt.
    “Wallace Gunderson,” Nikki said, her voice flat. “You look nothing like your picture.”
    He slowly shook his head, as if in disbelief. And then the strangest damn smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “Rosa,” he whispered, and tried unsuccessfully to stand.
    Nikki jerked.
    Matt took hold of her arm. They’d come too far for her to run just because Wallace had mistaken her for her mother. Of course Matt hadn’t seen this coming either. She resembled Rosa some, but not enough for his father to be confused. But then Matt hadn’t seen her as a young woman. And Rosa had lived a hard life, largely thanks to Wallace.
    He gave up trying to stand. Just sat there smiling, and whispering Rosa’s name again.
    “Wallace, this is Nikki. Not Rosa.” Matt tried to urge her into the room but she wouldn’t move.
    She held up a finger, glaring at Wallace, her anger so potent it seemed to suck the air from the room. “You aren’t allowed to say her name. Ever. You understand me?”
    “But—” His shocked gaze darted to Matt. “Why?”
    “Nikki is your daughter, Wallace. Yours and Rosa’s.”
    She twisted away from Matt, her body tense and ready to bolt. “I can’t do this.”
    “Wait.” He sent her a pleading look. “Please, Nikki, for me.”
    “Don’t, Matt.” Her lashes fluttered, trying to stop the moisture from seeping down her cheeks. He’d only seen her cry once, even though she’d had plenty of reason for tears. “Damn you, Matt, don’t ask this of me,” she begged softly.
    “I’ve only loved two women,” Wallace said, drawing their attention back to him. “My whole life. I know it was wrong, but I loved them both so much that I...” His voice trailed off and he slumped back, his shoulders sagging in defeat, his chin dropped to his narrow chest.
    Matt stared at him. Yeah, the old man admitted to loving Rosa. But it was the first time Matt had heard Wallace say he cared for Catherine Gunderson, the woman who’d loved him blindly and devoted her life to him. Not even at her funeral had he said the word. Yet he had loved her...in his own warped selfish way....
    Something weird shifted inside Matt’s chest.
    “I’m sorry, Matt.” Nikki had already backed into the foyer.
    “Hey,” he said, following her. “We knew this would be rough.”
    “It’s stupid and hopeless, and I can’t stay here.” She grabbed the railing. “I have to go back to Houston.”
    “Let’s take a minute. I’ll come upstairs with you.” He glanced back at Wallace, who’d found the energy to tip the bottle to his