Chapter 13
Linda was already out in the soybean fields beyond the cannery when Alex got there, her grey head standing out among all the teenagers around her. None of the kids had clear memories of football or baseball fields instead of neat rows of fading green plants stretching nearly out to the mountains surrounding them.
Caela, Gwen, and Connor ran to the group of older kids, each sending wisps of steam into the mid-October air with their chatter. The light and the last few days let Alex know it would be warm enough for the short sleeves they all wore under their jackets by the afternoon.
“Where do you need us?” Alex said as he joined Linda and several of her former students.
“Help me keep an eye on these troublemakers,” she said, slapping Jimmy Adams on the back. He’d been one of A
