Page 79 of The Way the Heart Breaks: Jade’s Story

I glance down at my clean gray track pants.

Lucas follows my eyes to his spotless white sneakers.

“Think we're underdressed?”

“By about a mile.”

A tractor pulls away from an empty wagon, and the man behind the wheel lifts a hand, motioning us toward an open spot near the barn.

Lucas parks and kills the engine.

The farmer climbs down from the tractor and walks over, wiping his hands on his jeans.

“You here to help?”

“Yes, sir.” He sticks out his hand.

“John Ross.”

After we shake, he gives us both a once-over, lingering on our spotless sneakers. “So, you two are the new hotshot football players.”

Lucas rubs the back of his neck. “Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

John chuckles. “Well, I'm glad you're here.” His eyes drop to our legs. “You sure about this?”

Lucas nods. “We're sure.”

John smiles. “All right.” He points at our track pants. “Just don't come crying to me when your legs look like you wrestled a bobcat.”

I glance at Lucas. “How bad can hay be?”

John just laughs and nods for us to follow him. As we round the corner of the wagon, Alex spots us and does a double take.

Ryan, right behind him. “No way.”

Alex laughs as he walks over, brushing hay from his gloves. “You two here to help?”

“Part of the team,” Lucas says.

Ryan circles us once, taking in the clean shirts, track pants, and bright white sneakers. “You two are either really brave or really stupid.”

I look at Lucas. “You can be brave this time; I’ll play stupid.”

Ryan’s lips twitch. He looks down at Lucas's shoes.

John nods to Alex, “They're all yours.”

With that, he turns and heads back toward his tractor, leaving Alex and Ryan grinning like they're going to enjoy this.

Alex jerks his head toward the barn.

“Come on.”

Lucas and I fall in behind him, Ryan bringing up the rear.

The closer we get, the louder everything becomes. A few teammates are on the wagon with a man who looks a lot like John, I bet it’s Jade’s father.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” he yells over the sound of them all hooting when they see us.