Page 69 of Sutton's CEO

“I liked the part when he said Gabe was a giant among men,” she snickered. “Never knew such a skinflint in my life. That’s funny stuff.”

There was a smattering of nervous laughter through the crowd, almost as if they couldn’t believe what was happening right before their very eyes.

Alice joined her. “He watered down the ketchup so badly that it looked like loose stools.”

Snorts of laughter filled the room.

Another man stood. “It wasn’t as watered down as his drinks. I could have sworn they were 98% water, 1% alcohol, and the last percentage food coloring.”

I felt Sutton move beside me, and when I glanced at her, she had the strangest expression on her face.

More members of their town stood telling funny stories and memories about Gabe. They weren’t all bad, and it seemed that at some point in his life the man did retain some of the things his mother had taught him.

Another movement beside me, and to my surprise, Sutton stood to speak.

“Gabe was as close to a sibling as I had ever had.” She made a funny face. “He treated me like an unwanted little sister that his mother insisted he take care of. And in a lot of respects, that is exactly what happened.”

She cleared her throat, and I could see fresh tears on those gorgeous lashes of hers.

“Gabe had many faults.” Nods filled the room. “But he always looked after me and even cared enough about Max to fly down to the city to find me. I resented him for a long time. I don’t want to paint the past into something that it wasn’t. But I wonder if I had listened to him more closely if we wouldn’t be sitting here today. For that, I am sorry Gabe, truly sorry.”

Once again with just a few words, this woman had ripped her heart from her chest and laid it bare. I don’t know of a time I had ever been so in love with an individual.

In love.

I was in love with Sutton.

Wow.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Sutton

The last thing I ever expected was Max showing up at the funeral. He wasn’t one for church any more than I was. And now that he was there, I wasn’t about to let him get away. I needed answers, and it was time he gave them to me.

After my impromptu speech, instead of sitting, I walked to the back of the room, grabbing Max by the elbow and proceeding to drag him into the churchyard.

“Shit, Sutton, you wrinkled my shirt!”

I gave him a look. This was the same shirt that he had been wearing when I visited him in jail days ago. Whatever bender Max was on, it was a rough one.

My finger pointed directly at his chest, I burst out, “Cut the shit, Max. Tell me what is going on.”

His bushy brows knit together, and I knew he was going to start in with the lies.

“I’m fucking serious, Max! I’ve never seen you like this. I hear you are breaking shit and then I get here and you’re in jail? You aren’t taking care of yourself and Gabe is dead?”

“I didn’t kill that bastard,” he said quickly. “And it wasn’t me that busted up his bar. I just happened to get there at the wrong time.”

“Really?” I was astonished. “You want to fill me full of bullshit? Fine, Max, that’s just fine. I thought we had a better relationship than that, but I guess I was wrong.”

I turned on my heel to leave and he grabbed my arm.

“No, wait a minute.” Max sounded defeated. “We need to talk, Sutton. There are some things I need to tell you. Things about your daddy.”

“You never knew my daddy!”

I wanted to scream at him, beat my hands against his chest, and cry for the girl that ate up all of his lies. Why was he dragging up things that were still a sore subject to me? It didn’t make any sense.

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