TOBY WAS WORRIED. THE GLASS ornaments Bree had hand-painted with scenes from the island and sold for thirty-five dollars each were all gone, but instead of saving the money, she’d bought more to paint. It was stupid. Labor Day was three weeks away, and the tourists would be gone after that. She didn’t have time to sell more, and then what were they going to do for money? This had been the worst summer of his life. He was never going to see Eli and Ethan again. Even Mike hadn’t been around much lately. He was too busy with clients.

A gray SUV stopped. As the door opened, he saw the driver was Panda. Now that he’d gotten to know him better, Toby wasn’t so scared of him. Panda let Toby take a kayak out, and the two of them had paddled around the cove and even into the lake. Panda also let Toby help chop down a dead tree. Toby hoped he’d be as cool as Panda when he grew up. He liked the way Panda walked, like he was real tough and never had to worry about anything. He liked his shades. Nobody would ever mess with a guy liked Panda.

“How you doing, pal?” Panda said as he approached. “Made any money?”

“Sixty-eight dollars this afternoon.”

“That’s good.” He looked around. “I thought Lucy might be working here today.”

Toby shrugged. “I don’t know where she is.”

Panda nodded like he was thinking that over, although Toby couldn’t really see what there was to think about. “How is she?” he asked.

“Okay, I guess.” The scab on Toby’s knee was itching. He scratched around it.

“Is she walking okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is she limping or anything like that?”

“I don’t know. I guess not.”

Panda shoved his hand through his hair, like he might be getting a little upset. He was acting weird. “But she’s talking to you?”

“Sure.”

“So … Did she say anything to you about … anything?”

“Lots of stuff.”

“Like what?”

Toby thought about it. “She said she didn’t think anybody should go around saying the n-word, not even if they’re black like me. Her brother, Andre, is black. Did you know that?”

“I did.”

“She doesn’t think a lot of hip-hop artists are good role models for kids, but I think they are. They make a lot of money and everything.” Panda kept looking at him, like he expected Toby to say more, but Toby didn’t know what else he was supposed to say. “She put a mashed-up sweet potato in some bread she made, but it still tasted good.”

Panda kept staring at him. Toby was starting to wish he’d go away. “She told Bree that she likes to ride horses.”