Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(36)

“Jesus, you’re exasperating.”

“You’re cryptic.”

“I have been all around the world, dealt with mob bosses, politicians, royalty, and terrorist leaders who are less suspicious than you.”

“I doubt that,” I reply.

He glares at me, but there’s humor underneath. “I swear, Brie, I am not going to hurt you. When I was in Algeria, I interviewed this woman, Yamina, who was known to be an incredible healer. People from all around the country came to her to heal their ailments. The story was that she could touch someone who was suffering, and within days, they’d start to recover. Miraculously. Of course, I thought it was all complete bullshit.”

“Of course, because you’re the most pessimistic person I know.” I laugh.

“Realistic. There’s a difference,” Spencer corrects me. “I had a point.”

I extend my hand, insinuating he should get to it then.

There is a low huff of annoyance before he goes on. I love irritating him. “Anyway, I stayed there for weeks, ready to document every trick she did. I was so sure I could debunk the claims that I extended my stay for a month. Sometimes she could help with an herb. Other times, it was an elixir that she once said was nothing more than water with ginger and some other natural ingredients. Most of the people she touched weren’t physically healed, though. What she did was open their minds to understanding what was broken. She would spend hours with them, calming them, allowing them all of her attention. Yamina made them feel seen and she gave them hope, healing them on a spiritual level. She was patient beyond anything I’ve ever seen. I can’t explain it because there are parts of it that I still don’t know how they are possible.”

“So, you want to heal my spirit?” I ask, mocking him a little.

“I wish I could. Hell, I thought about flying you somewhere to find someone like her.”

“Is she not still healing people?”

Spencer’s eyes fall to the pattern on the blanket. “She passed away about a year ago.”

“You sound sad about that.”

“I am. She was a remarkable woman. Far more intuitive than anyone I’ve ever met. She never judged anyone who came to her. She had the most incredible capacity to love everyone. The more broken someone was, the more her heart grew for them.”

I can’t help but wonder . . . “Did she heal you?”

Now his eyes meet mine. “She helped me see what I was missing. So, in a way, yes.”

“What were you missing?”

“Love.”





Chapter Twelve





SPENCER





I’m teetering on a very precarious line. One step and I’ll fuck everything up, which I can’t do.

It’s just that, being with her here, in the same place that I proposed, is too much. The way her hair catches in the breeze. How the sunlight dances across her skin makes me want to haul her in my arms and never let go.

Brie seems to be taken aback, and she looks away. “So, you have someone?” Her voice is hesitant.

“There’s someone I love, yes.”

Not a lie.

Her smile is forced. “Good, but I hope she’s not the girl you were complaining about.”

There are these times, like now, when I swear she feels it too. The pull to each other and the fact that we have history, even if she doesn’t remember it. The tone of her voice that sounds almost hurt that I love someone or how her eyes aren’t quite meeting mine because she’s trying to hide the emotions.

It’s there, under the fog, it just needs to lift.

I choose my words carefully. “And if she was?”

“Then you need to get over her and find someone else.”

Never. I will never get over you.

“That’s like me telling you to just remember.”

Brie turns onto her back and closes her eyes. “Well, I’ll let you do your mind trick so we can see if it works. Who knows, the next time I open my eyes, I may remember everything.”

“Let’s not put that much trust in me,” I say under my breath.

Yamina worked with a man in the village who had been injured and still struggled with his past. He could remember, but that was the issue. He needed to forget because the pain was too much. The accident that took his family from him was so painful, he was literally dying from it.

I am going to have Brielle try that same meditation Yamina had me do and pray I have even an ounce of her powers.

“Keep your eyes closed the entire time. I want you to relax, keep your breathing steady, and try not to focus on anything until I tell you to.”

“You know that I’m going to see Holden’s friend that Cora suggested who does this too, right?”

“Holden’s friend isn’t into holistic medicine, he’s a therapist. But let’s pretend this is practice. Now, close your eyes and relax.”

“So, what do I think about?”

“Let the thoughts come and go. Whatever they are. Just let it go in and out, not lingering on anything.”

Brielle lets out a deep breath, her clenched hands relax, and she nestles deeper into the makeshift pillow of sand under her.

I take a second and just watch her, staring at her long blonde hair fanning out around her. I would do anything to kiss her or feel her body against mine, but I need to be patient.