16. Chapter Sixteen
”Football,” Alex groaned. He shot a sidelong glance at the assembly of brothers, grumbling at what Kane had got them into. ”With lumberjacks. Yeah, ”friendly” isn”t the first word that springs to mind.”
”Come on, Alex,” Jackson chided with a nudge of his elbow into Alex’s ribs, ”It’s for a good cause. And I like that we get to do something fun instead of just handing over money. It’s character building.”
”Character breaking, more like,” Alex muttered under his breath, rubbing the spot where Jackson’s elbow had landed. The thought of the six brothers going up against a team of tree-felling titans felt akin to playing chicken with a freight train.
”I”ll cover the event for the paper. This is going to be gold,” Maya declared, her eyes gleaming with the prospect of front-page material.
”Really?” Jackson leaned closer to Maya, his protective stance softening into something that bordered on affectionate teasing. ”You think watching us get pummeled into the dirt will sell papers?”
”Correction: watching you try not to get pummeled will sell papers,” Maya corrected.
”Hey, I”ve got pride on the line here,” Jackson continued, puffing out his chest just enough to catch Maya”s attention. ”And maybe a little something extra if we win?”
”Keep dreaming, Hart,” Maya shot back, but her lips betrayed her with a smile too warm to miss. Jackson”s grin widened, knowing full well he”d scored a point without setting foot on the field.
”Listen up, people!” Kane said. ”It”s time we shake off the rust and get back to our prime fighting form.” A collective groan rose from the group, mingling with the sound of rolling eyes and shuffling feet.
”Come on,” Kane continued. ”We”ve been living the soft life too long.”
”Speak for yourself,” Ethan muttered, but there was a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
”Kane”s right,” Jackson interjected. ”Let”s give those tree-huggers a game they”ll never forget.”
”Tree-huggers who can squash us,” Luke piped up from the back, earning a round of chuckles.
”Which is why we start training tomorrow. Bright and early!” Kane said, his enthusiasm annoying the others.
”Guess we”re dusting off the old playbook,” Jackson mumbled to Maya.
”Playbook?” Maya teased, looping her arm through Jackson”s. ”I hope it involves more strategy than ”run fast and don”t get tackled.””
”Alright, team,” Kane clapped his hands together. ”Let”s show Bear Ridge what Stoney Ridge is made of!”
”Hopefully not bruises and broken bones,” Sarah mumbled as she looked around the room.
”Alright, alright,” Alex said. ” But just so we’re clear, if I end up in traction, I”m sending you all my medical bills.”
”Deal,” Kane said as they all groaned at the thought of being tackled by anyone from Bear Ridge.