Page 90 of Close to My Heart

How could I get him off the topic of me and Sutton’s situation? “Dad’s talking about moving Charlotte into the cottage.”

Teddy leaned forward with a frown. “I thought that was the deal if her probationary period went well.”

“Dad’s pissed because you won’t sit down to go over the numbers, and you didn’t cooperate with her to hold the Santa visits and other stuff.” He’d stonewalled Charlotte at every turn.

“Do we need an official time to go over it? Dad sent it via email. It’s there for anyone to see.”

“I think he wants us to discuss it like adults. We’re running a business together.”

“I don’t think we need a marketing person. It’s a waste of money we don’t have.”

I moved toward the table. “Charlotte wanted to do more, and you threw up roadblocks. I think her idea to have a Santa for pictures was a good one.”

“We didn’t have time to organize most of the things she wanted to implement.”

“We do this year. That’s why Dad wants to get her on board. Charlotte is smart, and everyone loves her. She’s going to get scooped up by someone. She isn’t going to stick around and market for a small Christmas tree farm.”

Teddy scowled. “Ya think?”

I gave him a look. “You know I’m right.”

He tipped his beer back. “Yeah maybe.”

“Give her a try. It can’t hurt anything. Her salary is mainly living expenses.”

“I don’t want her living on the farm.”

“Why? Afraid you’ll have to see her too much?” I lifted the top of the grill to check the burgers.

“Do you know she says ‘Happy Sunday’ or ‘Happy Tuesday’? Who’s says that? Who’s happy all the time?”

“I think it’s nice.” She lifted everyone’s mood.

Teddy groaned. “It’s too much. She’s too much.”

Sutton had always been a lot, but I loved every piece of her. She was the best part of me. I touched my chest where the pain was the sharpest.

When I heard another crunch of leaves and snap of twigs, I let my head fall back. “Can’t a guy get privacy around here?”

Jameson smirked as he came around the corner, waving his phone in the air. “It’s not every day you go viral.”

“I don’t need to hear about it,” I singsonged back, then returned to check the patties on the grill.

Jameson sat next to Teddy. “There’s a new video. You should see it.”

“I don’t want to see any more of what they’re saying on social media.” I’d perused the comments last night, and some were mean. Sutton’s followers felt duped, and I couldn’t blame them.

Jameson grabbed the remote for the TV and turned it on.

I breathed a sigh of relief that he was going to let it go, and this wasn’t going to be some sort of Calloway brother intervention.

I carefully moved the grilled patties to the platter. I’d need to grab plates if we were going to eat out here.

“First I want to apologize—” Sutton’s voice came over the outside speakers.

“What?” I asked, turning to find Sutton’s beautiful face filling the screen. Her expression was one of regret. Her eyes looked red and puffy like she’d been crying.

Sutton cleared her throat. “I want to apologize for lying to all of you. You’ve become important to me over the years. I adore sharing my life with you, and I need to be honest.” She drew in a sharp breath. “My grandmother put a stipulation in the will that I had to marry to inherit the estate, or it would be sold. You know how much I love the house and the grounds. I wanted to host more tours and events there so everyone could enjoy it. I wanted it to be marked as a historical residence. I didn’t want it to be razed to make way for a housing development. And I wasn’t dating anyone at the time, so I decided to marry someone to satisfy the stipulation.”

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