Page 45 of The Way the Heart Breaks: Jade’s Story

I follow and swim to catch up. “Why not?”

She rolls onto her back and kicks her feet, splashing me. “Why now?”

“Like I said at the school, none of them work for your dad on the farm or have swung a hammer for mine.” I rush to splash her now. “And truth be told, none of them knew my brothers, so maybe they won’t look at me like some broken little girl who needs saving.”

“Who looks at you like that?” she asks, pulling herself up onto the floating dock.

“You know who,” she says, doing the same.

“Ryan Brooks doesn’t look at you like you’re broken.”

“Care to eat those words?” I ask.

“Alex is looking at us the same way,” she says, lying back.

“Is not.”

“You ever think maybe Ryan likes you?”

I sure did… stupid girl. “Oh, that would be fun, making out with someone who thinks of my brothers every time he looks at me.”

“Jade, I don’t think he’d⁠—”

“Yeah, well, maybe I would. So, no. Just no.”

Tessa grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Okay. So, we wait for college. Just like we used to always say we would.”

I turn to her, determined to remind her that this year was our year, when I hear the faint sound of a vehicle in the distance, push up on my elbows, and see two trucks barreling down the dirt road. “Why wait to go to the market when the market has come to us?”

“Oh great,” she grumbles as the sound of a radio blasting Alabama’s ‘I’m In a Hurry.’

“We’re still a little country,” I push up to sit. “And a little bit rock and roll.” Grinning, I start to stand. “Here come the white hat boys, Tessa.”

She yanks me back down. “Weren’t we working on getting rid of our farm-girl tans?”

“Good idea,” I say, lying back. “Looking relaxed seems so much less⁠—”

“Desperate? Yeah.”

Lying on our stomachs, we watch as the guys, including a couple of the implants, hop out of the back of the truck and throw off their shirts.

“Lord have mercy.” I groan as they begin to race to the pond.

I catch sight of Ryan and Alex diving in before them, and they swim toward the raft. I pretend not to notice, but that is short-lived when they climb up and shake off, water spraying from their hair all over us.

“Assholes.” I huff as I hop up.

“Nice mouth.” Alex chuckles.

“Well deserved.” I wipe the water from my arms as some of the others climb up.

Ryan is blocking not just me from the view but the sun itself, and shifts every time I move to get around him. I’m about out of my way, so I can get a better look when I hear him say. “Look at her like that again, and you’ll be sleeping with the fucking fish.”

Then I see Tessa run and jump into the pond.

“Move it, Ry,” I push past him. “Wait for me.” I dive in behind her.

Swimming into shore, I turn back to see if the two guys from the parking lot are mixed in with the football players Ryan was blocking me from, and feel a weird flicker of disappointment when I realize they aren’t. But the second I face the shore again, there they are, pulling their shirts over their heads as Tessa rushes to the picnic table, snatches up her tank top, and yanks it on.