“What happened?”
“I confronted him again, ordered him to get help for his alcohol problem.”
“I take it he didn’t agree.”
“Oh, no.” Sheila’s pretty features twisted in distress and anger. “He only got worse. A couple nights later, I came home from the gym and found him in the study, drunk out of his mind. That’s when he confessed about the games he’d fixed.”
A rush of protectiveness rose inside her. “It could have been the alcohol talking. Maybe he didn’t know what he was saying.”
“He knew.” Her stepmother offered a knowing look. “And what he said was confirmed to me by a player on the team.”
“The one you’re sleeping with?” Hayden couldn’t help cracking.
Two red circles splotched Sheila’s cheeks. “Don’t judge me, Hayden. I may have turned to another man, but only after your father betrayed me. Pres pushed me away long before I did what I did.”
Her mouth closed. Sheila was right. Who the hell was she to judge? What happened within a marriage wasn’t anybody’s business but the people who were married, and she couldn’t make assumptions or draw conclusions about a situation she hadn’t been a part of.
And if she were to draw conclusions, it startled her to realize she actually believed Sheila. She might not approve of Sheila’s contesting of the prenup or love for all things luxurious, but Hayden couldn’t bring herself to brush off what her stepmother had told her.
If her father had really bribed players, what would happen to him if—when?—the investigation revealed the truth? Would he get off with a fine, or would she be visiting him in prison this time next year? Fear trickled through her, settling in her stomach and making her nauseous.
With a sympathetic look and a soft sigh, Sheila said, “Things aren’t always as they seem. People aren’t always as they seem.” She averted her eyes, but not before Hayden saw the tears coating her lashes. “Do you want to know why I married your father, Hayden?”
For his money?
She quickly swallowed back the nasty remark, but Sheila must have seen it in her eyes because she said, “The money was part of it. I know, you probably won’t understand, but I didn’t have a lot of financial security growing up. My parents were dirt-poor. My father ran off with what little money we did have, and I was working by the time I was thirteen.” She shrugged. “Maybe I was selfish for wanting a man who could take care of me, for wanting some security.”
Sheila paused, shaking her head as if reprimanding herself. “But the money wasn’t the only reason. If it was, I would have married one of the many rich jerks who showed up at the bar I waitressed at, pinching my ass and trying to get me into bed. But I didn’t marry one of those guys. I married your dad.”
“Why?” Hayden asked quietly, strangely fascinated by her stepmother’s story.
“Because he was one of the good guys. I wasted so much time on the bad boys, the guys who light your body on fire but end up burning you out in the end. I was sick of it, so I decided to find myself a Mr. Nice—a decent, stable man who might not be the most exciting man in the world but who’d always be there for me, always put me first, financially and emotionally.”
A wave of discomfort crested in Hayden’s stomach, slowly rising inside her until it lodged in her throat like a wad of old chewing gum. She’d never thought she’d have anything in common with this woman, but everything Sheila had just said mirrored the thoughts Hayden had been having for years now. Wasn’t that why she’d chosen Doug—because he was nice, decent and stable? Because he’d always put her first?
“But nice men aren’t necessarily the right men,” Sheila finished softly. “Nice men make mistakes, too. They can take you for granted and they can play with your emotions, just like those bad boys I wanted so badly to get away from.”
She swiped at the tears staining her cheeks and lifted her chin. “Your father hurt me, Hayden. If he’d truly loved me, he would’ve seen that I was only trying to help him, that I wanted to be there for him the way I thought he’d be there for me. But he wasn’t there for me. I feel awful about not being able to get him help for the drinking, I really do, but I couldn’t take the way he was treating me. He went to another woman, he lied about his criminal actions, and now he’s making me out to be a selfish gold digger.”
With a bitter smile, Sheila leaned forward and stared at her with sad blue eyes. “How’s that for Mr. Nice?”
HAYDEN LEFT with no real idea how to help her dad with his drinking problem, even more concerned about his possible criminal activities. She was just as confused and upset as she’d been when she’d rung the doorbell. Her cell phone rang the second she got into her car, and just when she thought this day from hell couldn’t get any worse, it did. The number flashing on the phone’s screen belonged to Doug.