Wade’s face turned red He brushed himself off He pretended that his shoulder didn’t ache from the fall Please don’t worry Maria said It’s my fault Sammy doesn’t like anyone but me to ride him Story of my summer Wade mumbled He swept past Javier and his laughter and marched back toward the house
CHAPTER 2 OUTSIDER Wade took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he walked The ground crunched under his uncomfortable cowboy boots Sweat dripped from his hair His shoulder throbbed from the fall but mostly his pride was wounded The summer hadn’t been going like Wade
had hoped Uncle Hank’s invitation to spend summer break at the ranch had seemed like a dream come true Wade was excited when his mom dropped him off He imagined doing things like riding horses roping cattle and breaking in a good pair of cowboy boots But after a month Wade was upset The only horse he hadn’t been thrown from was an old mare named Molasses He found he could barely tie a knot much less rope a calf His cowboy boots were giving him blisters Of course it hadn’t all been bad Everyone at the ranch treated him kindly and
he’d made a great friend in Javier The boys had become almost like brothers But Wade could tell that they all thought of him as a city boy A tourist He wasn’t exactly fitting in Wade heard footsteps behind him Javier patted Wade’s shoulder Hey man sorry for laughing at you he said
