“I don’t know,” he admitted, “but people would probably like a little more transparency and control after all this.” He glanced around. “Where is this mysterious boy?” he asked Kyle. “I’d like to see him before something happens and…I can’t.”

“Better move fast.” Kyle pointed to where the sheriff was carrying Theo’s body toward a newly arrived ambulance. Thanking him, Coy hurried off.

Through the crowd, Kyle saw Trixie, who waved at him before entering her store. He turned his attention back to the bank. It’s front door was open, and everyone was out. He saw no sign of any fire. The bank looked once again like the empty storefront it had been before First People’s arrival.

“Come on,” he told Anita and Nick. The three of them made their way through the growing throng to Brave New World. Kyle got out his key, opened the door and hurried to turn off the alarm. Nick, to his surprise, took the initiative and flipped on the lights. Through the window, they watched the chaotic scene outside.

“So what happens now?” Nick asked as the fire engine pulled out and the crowd began to disperse. “Are we still going to move?”

“Do you want to move?”

He shifted his feet. “I don’t know.”

“I’m still unemployed,” Anita pointed out. “I’m not even sure I will be able to find a job in town. And the bookstore’s not exactly thriving.”

“But it’s still open.”

“So…what?” she said. “We stay here until you go out of business?”

“For now, I guess. We’ll see what happens.”

“We just keep on?” Nick asked. “Like we are?”

“Yes, we do.” Kyle smiled at him. “That’s life,” he said.

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

They had entered the bank with high hopes. His daddy had filled out all of the paperwork and for the past week had been practicing his pitch in front of the mirror, in front of Rayshon and in front of his buddies at work. He’d tried to practice in front of Momma, but she just said he was being foolish and to knock it off. No bank was going to give his black ass a dime.

“That just shows how much she knows,” Daddy said, winking and elbowing Rayshon.

But immediately after entering the bank, Rayshon decided that Momma was probably right. He saw it in the looks they got from the well-dressed women behind the teller windows and the business-suited men at the desks. Daddy had not even put on a tie—did he own a tie?—and Rayshon was embarrassed by his father’s shabby dress.

And his own.