Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(10)

She rolls the IV pole over to me, and we head out of the room. We make our way around the floor, and I move a little easier as my muscles get used to the exertion. After spending four days unconscious and another two days being limited to these short walks, it’s nice to be up and moving. I do this a few times each day, gaining strength a little at a time.

“Hey there, Mrs. Davis.” Holden smiles as he puts a file on the nurses’ desk.

“Hello, Holden. I don’t know how we would’ve managed without you overseeing things. I always knew you were special,” Mom replies.

“I don’t know about that, but I am glad to see Brielle recovering nicely.” He looks to me. “You’re going slow?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Slow and steady is what we want to see.”

I roll my eyes. “You have always been the annoying one.”

Holden grins. “Well, at least that’s a memory you still have.”

“Yes, lucky me.” Then I stop. “When did you get back into town anyway?” He watches as something starts to form in my head. “You moved to California, so does your being here now mean you moved back?”

His gaze doesn’t move from mine. “No, I’m not here permanently.”

“Okay, and what about the case you were working on in Seattle?”

Holden and my mom share a look. “What do you mean Seattle?”

“You were consulting on some big case, right?”

He nods. “I did. I was there a few weeks ago, actually.”

“Weeks? Were you there before that too?”

He shakes his head. “I wasn’t. This is the first consult I did for a case in Seattle. It was a big deal as it was for a research trial.”

“I remembered something recent,” I say, more to myself.

“Have you had any other glimpses or memories?”

I squint, trying to think, and Mom and Holden watch me. “I have this . . . thing. A key. I don’t know what it is. I can’t figure out why or what it means.”

“Is it like the key of the photo?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s an actual key. Like an antique one with the fancy scrolls up top.”

“Anything else interesting on it?” Holden asks with encouragement.

I work hard not to get frustrated because, again, I don’t know much. Just this key keeps coming into my head. “It has a red ribbon on it. I have no idea what it is for.”

“That’s great, Brie,” he encourages. “Anything else?”

I shake my head. “What’s the key to?”

My mother and Holden look back and forth at each other. “I have no idea.”

“It’s the key I gave you when I asked you to move to Portland with me.”

I would know that voice anywhere.

“Henry!” I turn, relieved that he’s here.

He smiles, apprehension in his eyes, but then he approaches. “Hey, Brie.”

My breathing slows, and he leans down to kiss my cheek. Warmth floods me and a sense of normalcy returns. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

His hand moves to my cheek. “I didn’t know until this morning. I am so glad you’re okay.” He turns to the audience behind us. “Mrs. Davis, Holden,” he says.

Mom moves toward him and pats his chest as she says, “I’m glad you’re here, Henry.”

Holden takes a step forward, extending his hand. “Good to see you, Henry. It’s nice to see Brielle relax a little.”

“Yes, she seemed to just now,” my mother muses.

I link my fingers with his and tug him closer. “I was wondering why you weren’t here when I woke up, but I’m glad you’re here now.”

His lips flatten into a thin line. “I didn’t find out until a few hours ago. I came as soon as I heard.”

I turn to my mother. “You waited almost six days to call him?”

“No, no,” Henry cuts in. “She did. I was actually away on business and as soon as I got the message, I came.”

My mother nods with a strange smile. “You’re here now and that’s what matters.”

“I am so sorry about Isaac,” Henry says, and when his strong arms wrap around me, I close my eyes.

“I loved him so much.”

“I know.”

This feels safe and right. I may be missing the last three years of my life, but this is familiar. The way we fit together makes sense. I look up to him, tears in my eyes. “I am so glad you’re here. I needed you.”

He smiles down at me and then glances at my mother, who is watching us with wary eyes.

“Mom?”

She smiles much too quickly. “Sorry, I’ll give you two time to visit. I have some things I need to do before you’re released tomorrow, and I also have to help Addison before the funeral.”

“You don’t have to leave.” Clearly, whatever rift had formed between them years ago hadn’t mended. When he and I first started dating, she loved him, but right before graduation, she’d encouraged me to end things. She didn’t like how controlling he was and that we never seemed happy when we were together.

“I wasn’t going to stay long. I wanted to check in on you. Now that Henry is here, you both could use some time to talk without me sitting here.”