Free Secrets over Sweet Tea by Denise Hildreth Jones Page A

worse.
    It happened four more times that same month. After that, he never touched her that way again.
    She had wondered at first if Tyler was having an affair. But there was no evidence of that—at least not when it all began. These days, for all she knew, he could be having a hookup with a different woman in every city where the team played. But when it began, at least, it was all about the liquor. And that was bad enough.
    Over time, the situation got worse and worse. The late-night calls for her to pick him up at bars. The explosive rages—though thank goodness he never actually hit her. The secrets from her parents. The excuses to friends. The call-ins on days when he needed to be training but couldn’t get out of bed. She had told more lies for Tyler than she had ever considered telling in her life.
    Then came the traffic stop. Tyler had clearly been drinking and driving. But the arresting officer happened to be the brother of one of Grace’s close friends. So instead of actually arresting Tyler for DUI, the officer simply called Grace to come get her husband.
    She considered letting Tyler go to jail, maybe learn his lesson. But the prospect of all that negative publicity led her toaccept the officer’s gracious offer. Maybe, she thought, the near arrest would motivate Tyler to try counseling or rehab.
    It didn’t. He refused to even admit he had a problem.
    Finally, desperate, she left him for four months—long enough to shock him into getting some help. He confessed his drinking problem to the counselor—the first time he’d ever gotten honest with anyone. He checked himself into a good rehab center the counselor suggested. And when he got out, he begged Grace to come home.
    Encouraged, she agreed. But he looked at her that first night they were back together and said, “Don’t expect me to just go right back to making love to you.”
    Though the words shook her, she still held on to hope. They were at a different place than before. Tyler was being honest, working on his problem. They were at a place of possibility.
    Two months later Tyler was drinking again. Their place of possibility turned out to be just another a bastion of false hope.
    The kiss Tyler had just given her in front of a watching crowd was the first time he had kissed her like a husband in years. Oh, he kissed her—the obligatory small kiss at night, sometimes even a kiss that was soft and kind, but nothing that would allow him to go to any place of desire. He would not fail in front of her. If he was going to be judged by people, he was going to make sure that what they saw put him in the best light possible.
    Even if the whole thing was a sham.
    “Here comes Clay.” Julie interrupted Grace’s thoughts. “Oh, my word, he looks ridiculous. He should have taken lessons from Tyler before he got out there.” She hung her head. “I can’t look. Maybe no one will realize we’re married. If he even thinksabout pulling me up on that stage, he will sleep on the sofa for the next year.”
    Clay came near the end of the runway. His expression quickly registered that he had seen Julie’s hidden face. Grace gave him her biggest smile. He looked handsome and kind. He gave her his best in return.
    “Tell me when he’s done,” Julie whispered.
    “He did wonderful,” she reported. “That man is a treasure.”
    “What he is, is a nerd. You would never know that man slams people into acrylic partitions for a living. I wish he could bring some of that energy to our life.”
    “You need to cut him a little slack, Julie,” Grace said as the houselights came up. She yawned, grateful the charade was over. She remembered now why she rarely came to events. She had spent the majority of the last ten years sleep deprived. She wasn’t too keen on willingly putting herself in situations that drained her more.
    People began to drift out into the lobby and head home. Tyler and Clay made their way to them.
    “Gracie, I think me and the boys are going to