Read Online Still the One by Robin Wells - Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t. It had hurt like hell that she’d been traded
     in on a younger model, like a car that had too much mileage. She tried to take good care of herself, but gravity inevitably
     took a toll.
    It had taken a toll on Dave, too. He looked like he’d aged ten years in the four since they divorced. For some irritating
     reason, though, it hadn’t detracted from his attractiveness. Why was that? Why did men seem to age with impunity? It wasn’t
     fair.
    “Annette…” Dave’s brown eyes held a disconcerting amount of pain. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for my behavior.
     I was a fool.”
    She picked at an invisible piece of lint on the sheet. What did he expect her to say? That it was all right? It wasn’t. It
     never would be. Besides, this wasn’t the first time he’d apologized. He’d started begging for forgiveness before he’d even
     gotten his pants zipped that awful afternoon. He’d apologized when he’d picked up the belongings she’d tossed on the lawn,
     he’d apologized on her voice machine when she wouldn’t take his calls, he’d sent her flowers and candy and—unforgivably, she
     thought—a teddy bear that had made her cry, because it reminded her of the one their son had dragged everywhere when he was
     little. Dave had finally, thankfully, quit badgering her to take him back when the divorce papers were finalized.
    He leaned forward, his head down. “I know it’s no excuse, Annette, but I had a drinking problem.”
    “No joke.”
    A nerve twitched in his jaw. “I know, I know. I should have listened to you. You’d been telling me that for years. But I didn’t
     listen, and, well, I guess it takes what it takes. Anyway, I joined AA, and I’ve been continuously sober for a year and a
     half now.”
    “Congratulations.” She hadn’t meant for the word to carry a derisive tone, but it did anyway. Why the hell couldn’t he have
     done that back when they were married, back when she’d begged him to, back when she’d started going to Al-Anon?
    His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’m working my way through the steps. I’m at the ninth one now.” He paused and swallowed again.
     “I want to make amends to you, Annette.”
    Make amends? How the hell did he think he was going to make amends for ripping her world apart? “Just how do you intend to
     do that?”
    “I—I don’t know. By being here for you, I guess.”
    Annette pulled herself higher on her pillow. Her leg throbbed. Her heart throbbed harder. Anger pulsed through her, hot and
     sharp and acute. Who the heck did he think he was, that she would want or need him, after the way he’d treated her? He’d betrayed
     her. Why should she do anything that would make him feel better? She fixed him with a hard glare. “Quite frankly, Dave, I
     don’t want you here.”
    “I can understand that, but…”
    “No buts about it, Dave. The best thing you can do for me is stay away.”
    He dropped his head and rested his forearms on his thighs, his hands clasped together. From her position above him on the
     hospital bed, she saw the balding spot on his crown. An unwanted ache of tenderness squeezed her heart. He’d hated his thinning
     hair, but she’d secretly loved the widening patch of skin on his head. It made him look somehow… vulnerable. It reminded her
     of the head of their child when he’d first been born.
    He blew out a long sigh. “Okay. I’ll go for now, but before I go, there’s some news I need to tell you.”
    The somber note in his voice made her stomach tense.
    “Have you seen Katie today?” he asked.
    “She came by this morning.” Alarm shot through her. “Why? Has something happened to her?”
    “No, no. She’s fine. But she came into the bookstore this afternoon, and…” She knew that expression, knew that pause of silence.
     He was about to tell her something she wouldn’t like hearing. “Annette, she wasn’t alone.”
    Oh, Lord. She’d known that someday Katie was likely to