everything—because she had the perfect man. Forever.
She caught Ethan’s hand and dragged him to the platform. To the surprise of the other guests, Harris and Buck and Riley all whooped, cheering her name and swinging their fists in the air. But then, they were used to Rosie and her pushiness.
Once they were standing in front of the minister, Ethan pulled her close. “Love me forever, Rosie.”
She laughed and threw her arms around him. “I already have.”
BURIED!
Donna Kauffman
CHAPTER ONE
H ALEY B RUBAKER was somewhere over Texas when disaster struck. The pilot announced that an earthquake had just rocked Northern California. More important, the epicenter was being reported as just south of San Francisco. Which was exactly where Haley called home.
The extent of the damage was unknown, but they were being rerouted to a different airport well south of the area.
Her first thoughts weren’t of family and friends, as she didn’t communicate with the former and hadn’t been in the Bay Area long enough to develop the latter. Okay, so it had been two years. Maybe she needed to come out of her home studio more often. But this new life, the new business she’d started, meant everything. Slavish devotion was to be expected.
But, at the moment, her jewelry-making business was the furthest thing from her mind. All of her lovely, painstakingly handmade pieces,which she’d just signed a very nice series of contracts to sell in small, exclusive shops from L.A. to Dallas, were tucked away in velvet-lined cases, back at home, awaiting shipment. Her whole future was in those little boxes, and yet she didn’t give them even a passing moment of thought. She was only worried about one thing.
Digger. Her four-year-old Jack Russell terrier. The one and only living, breathing creature in the whole world who had never let her down, never turned his back in a time of need, never sneered at her big plans, never embezzled her hard-earned money, nor stomped on her too trusting heart. Digger. Her little four-legged fountain of unconditional love and affection. Possibly trapped…possibly worse.
She refused to think that, to allow herself to think that. The rest could be gone, she’d rebuild. She’d done it before. “Just let Digger be okay,” she murmured as she stumbled from the plane, almost numb from worry, and headed directly to the nearest phone. Lines were jammed and she finally had to borrow a fellow passenger’s cell phone to place the call to her pet sitter. Service was disrupted, so she tried the cell phone number. Finally, after a dozen tries, there was an answer.
“Mrs. Fletcher? Thank God! It’s me, Haley. Please tell me you—” She paused, barely able to hear the older woman over the pounding of her heart. A heart that fell rapidly as what the woman was saying sank in.
“I knew you were coming home today and thought you’d enjoy having him there waiting for you,” she was saying. “So I took him up to the house this morning.” Pauline Fletcher, who ran a little pet-sitting service in the oceanside town of Blue Moon, down below Haley’s house, was beside herself with despair. “I—I’m so sorry.” She broke down in tears.
It took a moment for Haley to get the lump past her throat enough to speak. “The town—the damage—”
She’d already heard enough, seen enough on the airport television monitors, to know several small towns along the coast, just south of the city, had been particularly hard hit. Blue Moon was one of them. But she hadn’t been able to gather any more specific detail than that. She knew she had to get to a rental car counter as soon as possible or there would be nothing left to rent, as many other flights had been diverted here, as well, and everyone was scrambling tofind a way home. But she needed to know everything Pauline could tell her first.
“Have you seen the town? Are you okay?”
Pauline sniffled, cried, then finally sucked in a steadying breath. “I was up in
She caught Ethan’s hand and dragged him to the platform. To the surprise of the other guests, Harris and Buck and Riley all whooped, cheering her name and swinging their fists in the air. But then, they were used to Rosie and her pushiness.
Once they were standing in front of the minister, Ethan pulled her close. “Love me forever, Rosie.”
She laughed and threw her arms around him. “I already have.”
BURIED!
Donna Kauffman
CHAPTER ONE
H ALEY B RUBAKER was somewhere over Texas when disaster struck. The pilot announced that an earthquake had just rocked Northern California. More important, the epicenter was being reported as just south of San Francisco. Which was exactly where Haley called home.
The extent of the damage was unknown, but they were being rerouted to a different airport well south of the area.
Her first thoughts weren’t of family and friends, as she didn’t communicate with the former and hadn’t been in the Bay Area long enough to develop the latter. Okay, so it had been two years. Maybe she needed to come out of her home studio more often. But this new life, the new business she’d started, meant everything. Slavish devotion was to be expected.
But, at the moment, her jewelry-making business was the furthest thing from her mind. All of her lovely, painstakingly handmade pieces,which she’d just signed a very nice series of contracts to sell in small, exclusive shops from L.A. to Dallas, were tucked away in velvet-lined cases, back at home, awaiting shipment. Her whole future was in those little boxes, and yet she didn’t give them even a passing moment of thought. She was only worried about one thing.
Digger. Her four-year-old Jack Russell terrier. The one and only living, breathing creature in the whole world who had never let her down, never turned his back in a time of need, never sneered at her big plans, never embezzled her hard-earned money, nor stomped on her too trusting heart. Digger. Her little four-legged fountain of unconditional love and affection. Possibly trapped…possibly worse.
She refused to think that, to allow herself to think that. The rest could be gone, she’d rebuild. She’d done it before. “Just let Digger be okay,” she murmured as she stumbled from the plane, almost numb from worry, and headed directly to the nearest phone. Lines were jammed and she finally had to borrow a fellow passenger’s cell phone to place the call to her pet sitter. Service was disrupted, so she tried the cell phone number. Finally, after a dozen tries, there was an answer.
“Mrs. Fletcher? Thank God! It’s me, Haley. Please tell me you—” She paused, barely able to hear the older woman over the pounding of her heart. A heart that fell rapidly as what the woman was saying sank in.
“I knew you were coming home today and thought you’d enjoy having him there waiting for you,” she was saying. “So I took him up to the house this morning.” Pauline Fletcher, who ran a little pet-sitting service in the oceanside town of Blue Moon, down below Haley’s house, was beside herself with despair. “I—I’m so sorry.” She broke down in tears.
It took a moment for Haley to get the lump past her throat enough to speak. “The town—the damage—”
She’d already heard enough, seen enough on the airport television monitors, to know several small towns along the coast, just south of the city, had been particularly hard hit. Blue Moon was one of them. But she hadn’t been able to gather any more specific detail than that. She knew she had to get to a rental car counter as soon as possible or there would be nothing left to rent, as many other flights had been diverted here, as well, and everyone was scrambling tofind a way home. But she needed to know everything Pauline could tell her first.
“Have you seen the town? Are you okay?”
Pauline sniffled, cried, then finally sucked in a steadying breath. “I was up in
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