Interpret the last line of the novel. Why does Cassie cry for TJ if she doesn't like him? Why does she cry for the land?

Cassie doesn't understand what is going on, but she does realize that her father started the fire.

She knows TJ was set up by the brothers. Even though TJ invites trouble for himself, he is still innocent. Prison will break him.

'I cried for T.J. For T.J. and the land.'

Cassie tears are not just for TJ. She knows that her father's actions have cost them a part of their crop, and that the crop is what keeps them going. Her mother always said that the family's blood was tied to the land..... Cassie cries because she knows that somehow they've lost something they cannot get back.