The sky is the limit. We have that carved on a sign outside the main camp lodge, and we truly believe it. The sky is the limit for our camp and for every camper who comes here. I’m open with them about what I went through and how I cope with it, and it’s the best therapy I’ve ever known. When a little girl slips her hand into mine and tells me it’s all okay now, I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
I wasn’t able to fly to any of Derek’s games his last season. I wanted to, but he insisted that I not do it. I road tripped to several, my family taking time off from the farm to come with me.
Derek reminds me often that he loves his claustrophobic wife-to-be. He doesn’t want me to change. It means everything to me to have a partner who understands that the trauma of my childhood is still there, buried inside me. I used to think strength was being able to let it all go and face my fears of basements, confined spaces, and abandonment.
But now I know that strength is admitting those fears are there without shame. This is who I am. This is how I got here. I talk about it a lot at Camp Caroline, and I hope it helps the campers to know you don’t have to push all the pain down and ignore it to be a survivor. Quite the opposite.
“You okay?” Derek sits down next to me after making his water police rounds.
I reach for his hand and squeeze it. “I’m great.”
“I was gonna tell you tonight, but I heard back from our real estate attorney on the purchase of the adjacent parcel. We got it.”
My mouth falls open with shock. “We got it? How?”
Derek grins, bringing out the crinkles in the corners of his eyes that melt me every time.
“Don’t worry about the how, babe. We got it.”
“Did you overpay?”
He shrugs. “Not really. Consider it a wedding gift.”
I take his face in my hands and kiss him. “I couldn’t love you more.”
Some nearby campers giggle, and Derek rolls his eyes at them. “You guys see what I have to deal with? She can’t keep her hands off me.”
I nudge him playfully, and he wraps his arms around me. We’ve been wanting to buy the adjacent property for more than a year now, but the owner, knowing Derek has deep pockets, was asking an outrageous price.
The property is four times the size of what we have now, though, and it has a huge lake. Derek has said all along he wants to build a new lodge on that lake, many times the size of our current one.
I’m pretty sure the new lodge will rival the one we live in, which is the one Derek rebuilt on the site where the bunker is.
I haven’t been back down there. I probably won’t ever go back. Derek took Matias’s family there, because they were visiting us with Matias and asked to see it. He also showed it to his dad. Other than that, we keep it locked at all times. There are good memories, but also not so good ones.
Matias will always be dear to us. We talk to him at least weekly and spend holidays with him. We’ve never spoken to Kenna since being rescued and probably never will. I’m not saying we were happy when she didn’t win Survivor, but…we were.
And Bryce…that one’s still pretty hard for both of us. I had a lot of guilt over giving him the benefit of the doubt. Derek tells me he likes that I think the best of people, but in this case, I feel like I literally helped someone get away with murder.
We had no way of knowing, Derek reminds me when we talk about it, which is a lot less often now. But his gut steered him a lot better than mine did.
Derek has a private investigator trying to find Bryce. He’s had no luck yet, but Derek says he has to try. What we’ll do if he does find him, I don’t know.
We’ve moved on, for the most part. We’re getting married at Morrison Farms this fall, and then we plan to do a little traveling and dig into our plans for Camp Caroline.
“You ready?” Derek asks me, standing up and stretching his arms into the air.
“Ready.” I bend down to grab my pack, but it’s not there.
I look up and see that Derek has shouldered both his pack and mine. He does that all the time, despite my protests. I shake my head and smile at him.
He takes my hand and says, “Lead the way, babe.”
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Buried!
I have a BIG FAVOR to ask of you. PLEASE, please don’t spoil any element of this book for other readers as you review it. Even saying, “I did NOT SEE that ending coming!” kinda ruins the twist, because then readers know there is one. I love reviews that say my books kept a reader guessing or blew their mind, but please don’t say anything about plot turns.
This story was inspired by a photo I bought from Kelsey Keeton of K Keeton designs (which is on the cover of the book). I love the way, as an indie author, I can follow the muse in any direction it takes me.
If you enjoyed the book, I’d so appreciate a review! It doesn’t have to be long – just a few heartfelt words can help other readers give the book a try.
I’d love to connect with you in my Facebook reader group, Rothert’s Readers.
About the Author
Brenda Rothert is an Illinois native who was a print journalist for nine years. She made the jump from fact to fiction in 2013 and never looked back. From new adult to steamy contemporary romance, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. She's a lover of Diet Coke, chocolate, lazy weekends and happily ever afters.
Also by Brenda Rothert
NOW SERIES:
Now and Then
Now and Again
Now and Forever
FILTHY SERIES:
Dirty Work
Dirty Secret
Dirty Defiance
FIRE ON ICE SERIES:
Bound
Captive
Edge
Drive
Release
LOCKHART BROTHERS SERIES:
Deep Down
In Deep
Drawn Deeper
Hidden Depth
ON THE LINE SERIES:
Killian
Bennett
STAND ALONE BOOKS:
Barely Breathing
Blown Away
Hooked
His
Come Closer (available only at Amazon)
Healing Touch (available only at Amazon)
Sweet Sixteen (available only at Amazon)
Alpha Mail (available only at Amazon)
Acknowledgments
I couldn’t do what I do without the fantastic team I have around me. Huge thanks to all the following people who helped make this book happen.
Michelle Tan helped me form the grain of an idea in my head for this story. I showed my beta group the photo and asked them what it made them feel, and her feedback was the spark I needed.
Janett Gomez was my partner in crime on this book. She read it chapter by chapter and made me keep writing, even when I didn’t want to (which was a lot, yo). Chelle Northcutt also read it while it was in progress and gave me feedback and exclamation points to keep me inspired.
Beta readers Michelle Ericksen, Chantal Gemperle and Lisa Kuhne – big heart eyes all around. Love you guys.
My editor Lisa Hollett line edited this book and whipped it into fighting shape. She’s the best evah. And proofreader Rosa Sharon gave it the final polish it needed.
My publicist Jessica Estep is there for me in every way. She keeps me organized and does all the promo so I can focus on writing. She’s such an important part of my team.
Everyone in Rothert’s Readers – thank you so much for your support. In this market of nearly unlimited choices in authors and books, your choice to pick up my books and give them a try means the world to me.
Thanks to my youngest two boys, who are patient when my schedule gets demanding around a deadline. And a huge thank you to Dan Hopkins, who helped with this book in more ways than he even knows.
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