Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(33)

Addison snorts as her head falls back. “Oh, and Brie can’t remember!”

I drop to the floor, laughing and rolling back and forth. “I have no memories!” I continue as though this is the best joke I’ve ever heard. “And I might be engaged!”

Emmett steps back, looking a little afraid as he glances to where Spencer stands in the doorway, saying, “I think they’ve lost their minds.”

“What are they laughing at?” Spencer asks as he moves closer.

Addy laughs so loudly Emmett cringes. “Our lives are horrible, that’s what!”

Spencer sighs heavily, dropping his notebook on the counter next to the ring. “Your lives are not horrible. Here, get up.” He grasps my hand and pulls me to my feet before helping Addy up.

She wipes at her face again and huffs. “You have no idea what we’re going through. Either of you. So, yeah, we might be losing our minds because our hearts are already gone.”

“Exactly,” I back her up.

Emmett shakes his head. “I am not pretending to know what you feel, but we miss Isaac too. He was a brother to us. It might not be the same, but it isn’t any easier to deal with.”

Addison’s head drops, and she nods. “I know. Some days are just harder, and when I heard Isaac’s phone ring, I lost it. I had a feeling she might be as well.” Then she looks to me. “Did you say you might be engaged? What the hell are you talking about?”

I look to Spencer and then Emmett. While Addison didn’t tell me anything, she did at the same time. She doesn’t know I am engaged, so either I am a jewelry thief or I never told her. Neither of those options seem likely though.

I walk to the counter and hand it to her. “I found it last night.”

Her eyes widen. “Where?”

“In my kitchen drawer, of all places.”

Addison shakes her head. “Why . . . who gave this to you?”

Spencer speaks before I can. “Do you know what that ring is?”

“No, I honest to God have no idea. I am truly confused.”

“So, this isn’t a memory that no one is telling me?” I ask.

“I am just as lost as you are.”

I don’t know whether I should be happy or sad about that. “If I were engaged to someone, I would’ve told Addy,” I explain. “So, whatever this ring is, it’s not mine.”

Emmett starts to pace. “Then why would you have it?”

“Maybe Isaac bought it for Addy and I was holding it?” I suggest.

Addison laughs. “You’re insane. There’s not a chance in hell that my husband could’ve afforded this. We live on a teacher’s salary and my income. We weren’t in the poor house, but we weren’t able to get a rock like this. Not to mention, the ring I wear was my grandmother’s.”

I knew that. “Maybe it’s a friend’s?”

The three of them look to each other. “It doesn’t seem likely,” Emmett counters.

“It’s more likely that it is yours and you put it there for a reason,” Spencer explains. “If you were keeping it safe, you’d probably have it somewhere like a closet or your jewelry box.”



The phone on my desk rings as I am sitting there, admiring the beautiful ring on my finger. Isaac’s name shows on the screen.

“Hey,” I answer the call.

“You ready?”

I pull the ring off, place it gently back in the box, and slip it into the bottom drawer.



I lift my gaze to Emmett. “The ring was in my office.”

“What?”

Addison clears her throat. “No, it was in the kitchen.”

I shake my head. “I remembered it. I had it on at work. It’s a blip of a memory, but I put it in my desk. The bottom right drawer.”

“When was that?” Spencer asks.

“I have no idea. I just . . . I remembered it.”

Emmett looks to Spencer. “Maybe she kept it there, and that’s what someone was looking for?”

“Why would she leave it at work overnight?” Spencer asks. “It’s more likely she kept it at home.”

“Or someone knew that,” Emmett says pointedly. “It could be connected to another event.”

“What other event?” I ask.

Emmett groans before answering. “Your office was ransacked. We are trying to get a list of what is missing, but since you didn’t have an assistant or anything, it is hard to tell.”

I gasp. My office was ransacked, and no one told me. I turn to Spencer. “You knew this?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m not supposed to talk to you about anything that’s happened in or related to anything that’s happened in the last three years. Also, I didn’t want to upset you or get you worried.”

I scoff. “Yes, and finding out like this is so much better.”

Emmett places his hand on my arm. “We are looking into it, but it could be what they were initially looking for. Spencer, you were there the day before that, did anything seem out of the ordinary?”

He shakes his head. “Nope.”

Great. Nothing to worry about other than my office being trashed, a ring that they may have wanted, and a mystery fiancé I may or may not have. All of this is making me sick to my stomach. If the person who gave me the ring wanted it back so badly, who is to say they didn’t check my apartment too.