Chapter Twenty-Four
Richard sauntered along, kicked a rock, and kicked it again. He wondered if he could kick it all the way to school. Autumn was the best time in Kansas, right before the trees that lined the streets started to change and color the landscape. There were no tornados to run from like in May; and no swimming lessons, thank goodness. No Boy Scout camp that came with mosquitoes to swarm you at breakfast, lunch and dinner. No blizzards that could come up like a spring storm and take a life just as quickly if unprepared.
This year everything changed. The school year was barely started, but he felt so different. There was Elizabeth, and everything that came with her. He was older than she, but in the same grade because he was held back. Scarlet fever had made him vulnerable and
