Buried: A Bone Secrets Novel Part 34

Jamie heard his voice shake and watched him scan Chris's face, gripping his hand, searching for a hint of the boy he'd known. He must have found it, because recognition suddenly shone in his eyes.

"Daniel," he whispered.

Cecilia rushed him, wrapping her arms around him and wiping tears on Chris's shirt.

"I...I think I need to go by Chris," Chris mumbled. He slowly wrapped his arms around his mother and closed his eyes.

His arms trembled slightly, and Jamie felt the pain of how hard that intimate contact was for her reclusive brother.

"I don't care what you want to be called," Cecilia stated. "You're back. I always knew you'd come back. I never gave up hope. Never!"

The frail woman got more than her son back; she got her life back. Chris had been a match for her kidney transplant. The only male in her family with two strong kidneys had immediately undergone surgery for his mother. Six weeks had pa.s.sed, and Chris moved like he'd never been under the knife.

Brian had been delighted to find he had an extended family and took to his grandparents right away. He'd confided in Jamie that he'd always wanted grandparents, but his dad had said they'd died in a car wreck. "Just like my mom," he'd said with solemn eyes.

Jamie did her best to step into that mothering role that Brian had needed so desperately. Chris had tried hard to create a young man, but every young man also needs some coddling. Every boy needed a dog, too. Sheriff Spencer had found Juan's missing dog and turned him over to Brian. The pair was inseparable. Brian was a happy boy who laughed and loved to share his imagination. He drew, like his father had, and dreamed up stories, which he shared with Jamie day after day. Most of the stories were of a young boy, his dog, and his exciting adventures, but occasionally the boy faced evil demons.

In his stories, the boy always conquered the demons.

Jamie loved him. She'd given Chris a piece of her mind about keeping the boy's existence from her and then promptly forgiven him. Chris had provided her with an incredible gift in her nephew. It was odd. Her real brother was long dead. But when she looked at Chris, she couldn't feel the loss. She'd searched for the emotions, combed through old pictures, trying to remember the real Chris, but this man had been her brother for the last eighteen years. The real Chris she'd known for eight short years.

Her left leg gave a small spasm, and she glanced down at the scars from the governor's knife. They'd fade in time. A few st.i.tches had put her back together. Therapy sessions had done away with most of the nightmares of being kidnapped by a vicious killer and locked in a car trunk. The sudden claustrophobia at weird times was new but nothing she couldn't deal with. She simply avoided small, enclosed s.p.a.ces.

Michael had installed a top-of-the-line alarm system in her home. They'd discussed moving in together, and agreed it was too soon, but he spent every night and day at her house. When Chris moved out, they'd approached the moving-in idea again. They agreed it was still too soon, and things were going great, so why mess up a good thing?

Then Michael put his house on the market.

Jamie's eyes had nearly popped out of her head as she'd pulled up to his home and seen the sign. "What? When did you do that? Why did you do that?"

He'd shrugged. "I'm never home."

"But...but..."

"Why am I paying someone to clean a house and a service to take care of the yard if I'm never there?"

"Well...but, I mean..."

"Don't worry, princess. I've got a nice apartment picked out not too far from you. I feel like renting for a bit." Then he'd given her a look. A look that plainly told her he had no intention of renting. Ever.

His house hadn't sold yet. But he'd moved half his belongings into her little home. For a man, he had an incredible amount of stuff. Maybe they should considered living in his...

"Doing okay?" Michael asked over his shoulder as he held a branch out of her way.

Jamie looked up, smiled, and nodded. And felt her heart beat a little faster. Michael made her feel good. For a man with a wild streak, he was all seriousness when it came to the two of them. He put her first, he made her try new things, he made her leave the dishes on the kitchen counter overnight, proving that life goes on even if everything isn't in its place.

For her, he was steadfast.

She'd fallen head over heels for the man. And had no idea when it'd happened. It'd crept up on her and snuck under her heart when she wasn't paying attention. When she'd been locked in that trunk, he'd been all she could think about and all she'd worried about. Obviously, her love for him had started before that. Maybe it'd been that steamy night at the bed-and-breakfast, or when he'd arrived to take charge after her attack. It didn't matter.

She was in love with Michael Brody.

It was the biggest leap she'd ever taken.

He waited for her to pa.s.s him on the deer trail and took her hand, walking side-by-side as their s.p.a.ce had widened.

"Hey, gorgeous." His green gaze held hers.

"Hey," she whispered back. The forest was silent except for the crush of the dirt under their feet. Jamie embraced the peace of the woods and simply smiled at her man, moving in unison with him as they hiked. She'd never felt a connection like this one.

d.a.m.n, she had eyes that didn't let him look away. Michael took a deep breath to recalibrate his brain, which was suddenly full of images of Jamie. Some clothed, some not. The last two months had been the most intense of his life. A red-hot roller coaster that he didn't want to end. Well, the good parts anyway. He could do without the vanishing girlfriend or gunshot parts.

His ribcage still ached if he took a deep breath or twisted a certain way. The bullet had run along a few ribs, removing a little bone and a lot of skin. No surgery needed, but it'd been an awkward place to heal, and the pain had stretched from his sternum to his spine. The st.i.tches on his lips hadn't been pleasant either. Hard to kiss the woman you love when your mouth hurts like h.e.l.l. It didn't help that the black st.i.tches had looked like they'd been sewn by a five-year-old.

The st.i.tches were gone, but he still had a weird numbness in some spots that the doctors a.s.sured him would return to normal. Then he wouldn't be distracted when he kissed his woman.

His woman.

He didn't dare say it out loud. She'd roll her eyes, but that didn't matter. He knew what she meant to him, and he made certain she knew it, too. He knew exactly what he wanted in his future. Her. All of her. But she had some weird idea about going slow. Why? He knew they were fated to be together. Why did they have to dance around and learn about each other? They could do all that later. He wanted one hundred percent of her now.

Putting his house on the market might have spooked her a bit, but hey, he was living at her place. She seemed to be in denial. She had some socially acceptable idea of the path a relationship should follow, and moving in together after knowing each other for two weeks didn't fit in her perfect world.

Screw her perfect world. He'd show her perfect.

Chris supported him completely. As did Brian and his parents. They all loved Jamie. She and Brian had brought an openness and affection out of his uptight parents that he'd never seen before. His father had resigned from the Senate and stood by his mother's bedside as she healed from her surgery. And they'd never looked happier.

Brian was spending the day with his grandparents while Michael, Jamie, and Chris tramped through the forest. Chris stopped, staring at a fallen tree off to the right. Michael felt a brief shudder shoot through Jamie, and he squeezed her hand.

In front of the fallen tree was a pile of river rocks, which surrounded a thin, concrete-like marker. It wasn't large, maybe eighteen inches high by a foot wide.

How had Chris hauled that into the woods?

Jamie let go of his hand and ran her knuckles under her eyes, moving closer to the marker. She squatted down and touched the pale concrete.

"I made the marker," said Chris. "I've been here maybe five times over the years. The first time I managed to find him, I buried him." He swallowed hard, his voice unnaturally hoa.r.s.e. "I don't know what you want to do, Jamie. Do you want him moved?"

Her fingers traced the letters, her face hidden by her long hair. Christopher Jacobs. Brother and Friend. There were no dates. Michael's heart ached for her.

She picked up a small rock from the pile, wrapped her fingers around it, and stood, turning to face both the men. She looked lost. Michael watched her study Chris's face. She had to be searching for the brother she remembered. Could she see the difference? Or had the years combined the two men into one? Her gaze locked with Chris's, and she gave a small smile.

"Look around," she said, her focus moving to the towering firs. "It's beautiful here. It's quiet and peaceful and calm. I feel a happiness and restfulness in the air. I can't think of a better place to be. He needs to stay here."

Michael felt the calmness, too. The forest was still and tranquil, almost welcoming. He studied the small marker, hating and loving the simpleness of it simultaneously. Part of him ached for it to be a huge monument, but most of him knew it was utterly appropriate.

He felt a kinship with the young man buried under the earth; it could have easily been his own brother. In a way, it was. Daniel hadn't returned; Daniel had died, too. But the man next to him was definitely his brother. And Jamie's brother, too.

"She's right," Michael said. "This is perfect."

Chris looked from one of them to the other and back. His shoulders slumped a bit in relief, and he nodded. "I'd hoped I'd done the right thing. It seemed right."

Jamie hugged him hard. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Michael slapped his brother on his back. "You did good." Chris surprised him by fiercely pulling him into the hug. Michael hugged him back and laid his cheek against Jamie's hair, inhaling her scent.

"You've got a family here, princess."

She met his gaze and smiled. "Always."

I have an amazing group of people who support my writing in different ways. My agent, Jennifer Schober, who handles the legal wrangling of my books. My acquiring editor, Lindsay Guzzardo, who guides me every step of the way through the production of my books. Charlotte Herscher, my developmental editor, who gently lets me know when I've created unlikeable characters. Jessica Poore, my author-relations guru, who promptly answers my million e-mails and sends me chocolate. Melinda Leigh, fellow Montlake author, who shares my roller coaster ride of tears and squees on the publishing journey. My husband, Dan, who suggested I quit my day job and hire someone to clean the house. He's a keeper.

Photograph Yuen Lui, 2010.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Kendra Elliot has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on cla.s.sic female sleuths and heroines like Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls before proceeding to devour the works of Stephen King, Diana Gabaldon, and Nora Roberts. She graduated with a degree in journalism but went on to become a licensed dental hygienist. Her debut novel, Hidden, was an overall top 100 Kindle bestseller for 2012. Elliot shares her love of suspense in her third novel, Buried. She still lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three daughters.

Also by Kendra Elliot.

Hidden.

Chilled.