Page 53 of Obsession

“Chris needs to photograph this,” Sam said.

She straightened and looked for the photographer. He was by the backhoe with Nate, who had returned. Sam yelled for him to come over.

“Can I help you get out?” Sam asked as the photographer ambled toward them.

Emma couldn’t move. The ring couldn’t be Ryan’s. She wouldn’t let it be.

Sam hopped out of the pit and knelt down to give her a hand up.

“Emma?”

She pulled her gaze away from the ring, looking up into his sad brown eyes. He thought it was her brother’s. Tears she refused to shed burned her eyelids. A heavy weight pressed on her chest.

“Take my hand,” he said softly.

Her mind numb, she let him help her out and waited for Chris to take his photographs. She was simply tired. That was the reason she couldn’t form a coherent thought. Emma hugged her arms to her waist, her mind totally blank. She should be preparing herself for the possibility that the ring belonged to her brother, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the thought. Sam put his arm around her shoulders and drew her to his side.

“It’s not Ryan’s,” she said angrily.

He didn’t answer, just squeezed her shoulders. Which was an answer in itself. Once Chris had his photos, Sam hopped back into the pit before Emma could and lifted the ring from the ground, knocking out the dirt caught in the middle. “It’s densely packed,” he said.

“That means it’s probably been there since the body was buried,” she said.

Once he held it in his hands, she could see the graduating year on the sides. 2012. The year she graduated. Sam used hisphone flashlight to examine the inside. Color drained from his face, and he wouldn’t look at her.

“It’s Ryan’s, isn’t it?” Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sam didn’t look at her. “The initials are RTW.”

Upon seeing that ring, she’d known in her bones who it belonged to. Just like she should have known that something had happened to her brother. She couldn’t hurt any worse if someone had slammed their fist in her stomach.

26

Sam had wanted the initials to be anyone’s but Ryan’s. Or for the year to be other than 2012. If Ryan Thomas Winters had not disappeared, he would have been in the class graduating from Mississippi State University that year along with Emma. Sam climbed out of the grave and handed the ring to her, pointing out the engraving.

“It’s possible it’s not his,” he said, “but—”

She swayed and dropped the ring as her knees buckled. Sam caught her before she hit the ground. Swinging her up in his arms, he carried her up the walk to the back of the Mount Locust Inn. She came to before he reached the back porch and pulled away from him.

“I’m okay now. You can set me down.”

“You’re not going anywhere, and be still. I don’t want to drop you.”

Sam felt her stiffen in his arms, but he kept walking. He couldn’t believe how light she was, but her tough manner always made him forget how tiny she was. And if she struggled again, he feared he would lose her. “Just relax. We’re almost there.”

Emma huffed a breath, but then she relaxed. He didn’t realize she was crying until he felt her shoulders shaking.

“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured. That seemed to make it worse as she buried her face in his chest.

When they reached the inn, he set her on the porch steps.

“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping tears from her face with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s been a hard day,” Sam said gently and handed her a clean handkerchief from his back pocket. This produced more tears from Emma. He didn’t know what to do. Everything he said or did made it worse. Awkwardly, he patted her shoulder and looked helplessly at Nate, who had brought up the rear.

“Th-thanks,” Emma said and pressed the handkerchief against her eyes. When her tears subsided, she blew her nose and leaned against the post.

“Try this.” The sheriff uncapped a bottle of water and handed it to her.

---