Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(26)

And he does. When he was a kid, his mother would drop him off at our house, promise him she’d come back the next morning, and then neglect to show up. Spencer would hear my mother on the phone, pleading with her not to do it, but nothing she said mattered. Even though he tried to hide it, I still saw how sad it would make him, and I always wanted to cheer him up. His mother was in and out of his life, only showing up when it was convenient for her. When being a mother wasn’t something that interested her anymore, she would leave Spencer in my mother and father’s care.

“You were never forgotten.”

“It was a long time ago,” he says dismissively. “I was making a point.”

That may be the case, but I’m not letting it go so easily. “Spencer.” I wait until he looks at me. “You were never forgotten. Not by the people who loved you.”

“I know that.”

“Not by me,” I say softly.

His eyes find mine, and the way he’s staring at me has my throat going dry. I would swear he wants to kiss me, which is crazy because Spencer doesn’t look at me that way and we have never kissed . . . well, not like that.

He clears his throat, breaking the spell. “Your family saved me, and I will do anything for you guys.”

I tuck my hair behind my ear. “We appreciate it.”

Spencer rises and extends his hand to me. “Come on, let’s go to the apartments you lived in on the other side of town. We never know what we may find.”





Chapter Nine





BRIELLE





A whole lot of nothing. That was what we found today. I am worn out and over it all. Since my protective detail was in the middle of swapping out when I got back, I told Emmett to hang out, which then led to calling Holden. Now, the gang is here, minus my brother.

“Did you see Addy?” Holden asks Emmett.

“Yes, I was there loading the trailer for her.”

Holden sighs. “I asked her today when she’d be back, and she said she didn’t know. I really thought she’d change her mind and stay.”

“And we wish you’d stay,” Spencer counters.

Holden is a prominent doctor in Los Angeles. He moved there right after college and only comes to Rose Canyon once in a while to visit his aunt, who is the only member of his family left. He owns the clinic in town that handles most of our medical care, but he hired a staff to run it. When they told him about what happened to Isaac and me, he came home that night and has been overseeing my case since.

“I have to return to my cases.”

“And you have to avoid your ex-wife,” Emmett says with a smirk.

He and Jenna were the couple. They rivaled Addison and Isaac in every way. Jenna is stunning and ridiculously smart. She started a non-profit that helps thousands of at-risk children in Oregon. She and Holden got married their sophomore year of college and filed for divorce before Holden started med school.

“Jenna and I don’t have any issues being in the same room.”

Spencer snorts. “Yes, because it happens so often.”

“And what about you?” Holden turns the tables. “How is your love life? Is model number forty still around, or did you move on to someone else?”

“My love life is just fine,” Spencer says, lifting his beer in mock salute. “Why don’t you ask Brielle about her day, Dr. Dumbass.”

Holden rolls his eyes and turns to me. “I apologize, Brie. We should’ve asked. How was your day?”

“It was a waste,” I complain as I lay my head back on the couch. “I should’ve stayed here and went through mail.”

Emmett grabs a slice of pizza and flops into the chair. “Couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Oh, it was. We walked around Portland for what felt like hours and I didn’t remember a thing. Nothing.”

Holden brings each of us a soda and sits beside me. “It’s not a science, Brie. We can’t predict how the mind will work.”

“Isn’t that like, your entire job though?”

Spencer and Emmett both laugh.

“It would be if I were a neurologist,” he says under his breath. “I’m managing your case because the medical staff here are a bunch of idiots.”

“You hired them!” Emmett points out.

“I did, but I’m better. I can’t wait to return to Los Angeles.”

“Yes, back to LA, where everything is better, blah, blah.” Spencer leans back, resting one ankle over his knee. “You could come home and help the people in this town, who could use your knowledge. And your aunt needs you.”

This banter and conversation feels like home. Growing up, these guys were always at my house, laughing and talking over each other or finishing each other’s sentences. They are family, and I hadn’t realized how much I needed this until right now. Everything inside me is calm despite the grief of losing my brother that still weighs heavily on me.

The tenseness in Holden’s spine says that Spencer struck a nerve, and Emmett steps in, eyes on Spencer. “Do you think today’s investigation with Brie was a waste?”

“No. I think we got more clues than our pessimistic friend there does,” Spencer says with a shrug.

“What clues?” I ask quickly.