“I second that,” Emma laughed.
“Hey,” Kyle scoffed. “I thought we kissed and made up.”
“We only hugged, so I still don’t like you.”
Kyle tossed his head back, laughing, and the rest of us joined in. Luckily our younger brother was one of those guys who wasveryhard to offend.
“So what’s your decision, Keith?” Jake asked. “Yes or no? Do you want Sam to be cut from the guest list or not?”
I thought about it a moment, knowing Sam would probably say no anyway, and shrugged. “Go ahead. Invite her.”
“Oh, thank god,” Kyle blurted out. “Jake gets to live another day.”
The two tussled from across the table, Kyle grabbing ahold of Jake’s shirt and pulling down on the collar. Something caught my eye. Or actually, somethingdidn’tcatch my eye. I reached over and yanked on the collar myself. The agate necklace. It was gone.
“What the hell?” Jake asked, knocking my hand away.
“The necklace you always wore – where is it?”
Emma and Kyle glanced between us, as confused by the encounter as Jake.
“I took it off. Jesus.” Jake rearranged his shirt. “What’s your problem? I didn’t realize I needed to clear my jewelry selection with you.”
“You never take it off.”
“Well, I did. What’s wrong with you?” Jake stared at me curiously. “Are you mad?”
I realized I was probably sounding like a lunatic, so I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just surprised. Can I ask why you took it off?”
“I don’t know. After you gave me that whole line of bullshit that the stone had healing powers, I guess I thought of it like my safety net for a while. But once I met Casey, I realized I didn’t need it anymore. So I took it off. It’s in my safe. It’s nothing against you or the gift you gave me. I mean, I honestly didn’t think you’d care. And I definitely didn’t think you’d accost me over it.”
“I’m sorry. That was totally uncalled for,” I said, fidgeting long enough that everyone at the table was eyeing me with interest. “Okay, fine. I wasn’t totally honest with you about that necklace. I didn’t find it in the weeds on a cliff. Sam gave it to me. It was her grandfather’s. She believed it protected her, and before she moved away, she gave it to me because she knew I was in a bad place.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed in on me. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because you wouldn’t have taken it.”
“Obviously I wouldn’t have taken it.”
“But it helped you.”
“But it wasn’t mine. Did Sam even know you gave it to me?”
“Not until that day in your dressing room. She saw it around your neck.”
“Oh, my god, Keith. You put me in such a bad position.”
“No, she was happy you had it. I’m not kidding. The necklace had always brought her comfort, and she was proud to have you wearing it. The thing is, Sam’s going through some pretty heavy stuff, and it might help her to…”
“I’ll get it back to you tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to if you don’t want. It was a gift.”
“I’m sure.” No longer pissed at me, Jake relaxed and sat back in his seat. “I don’t need it anymore. Casey’s my agate.”
36
Samantha: On the Winning Side
