have the stage. I wouldn’t have. But now that he’s shown us that several school projects can come out of his work, I’m thinking maybe it didn’t hurt anything. It might be good for the children to get involved. They’ll see what goes into a business enterprise like this.”
“He’s a liar, Mr. Anderson. I don’t want him within a hundred yards of my son.”
“Come on, Carny. You’re overreacting. He strikes me as someone who knows what he’s doing. He’s not just trying to grab people’s money and leave town. He’s taking his time, giving people a chance to think about it. I’m beginning to think that maybe this could improve our town.”
“I can’t believe you! Serenity has everything. It’s the sweetest, cleanest, most peaceful town I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty. Mr. Anderson, let’s just say he
is
telling the truth and there
is
going to be a park — which I’m absolutely positive there isn’t — don’t you realize that it would ruin this town?”
“This town could use a few changes,” he said. “Mr. Brisco is bringing us hope. All he wants is a little cooperation.”
“And a lot of money.”
“He doesn’t have to build the park here, Carny. If we give him too much trouble, he’ll take his plans somewhere else. Hugh Berkstrom had a meeting with him this morning.Hugh has a good head for investments. He wouldn’t even be considering it if it was a scam.”
“Oh, no,” Carny groaned. Surely the richest man in town had more sense than that! “Why won’t any of you listen? You all know where I came from. You know how I was raised.” She took a calming breath and tried again. “Look, Mr. Anderson, what if — just what
if
— I’m right, and Logan Brisco
is
a con artist? What if he got everybody in town, including the children, all worked up, and managed to walk out of here with all our money? It could ruin us. We’d never recover. This town has so many blessings from God, but if we do something stupid out of greed, we could destroy those blessings. Don’t you see how high the stakes are in this?”
“And what if he’s honest?” Anderson replied. “What if he gets impatient with us and goes somewhere else, and the next thing we know some other town is getting the park and everybody there is getting rich instead of us?”
“Then we’d find another way to stimulate our economy. But we’d still have this beautiful little town and all the good people in it, and our spirits would be intact, and so would our savings. We could do the
right
thing to help our people, not something that will completely break them.”
“That’s not good enough for me,” Anderson said. “And it’s not good enough for most of us here. Please. Just stay out of it.”
Frustrated, Carny hung up and threw herself on the couch as her son came back through the room at a clipped pace, lugging his backpack. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“To Nathan’s.”
“What’s in the backpack?”
He gave her an exaggerated look of innocence, which appeared more than a little guilty. “My homework.”
She got up and took the backpack from him. “This must weigh thirty pounds,” she said, unzipping it. “What a surprise. Money. The same money I just poured into that bowl.” Glancing toward the bowl, she slapped her forehead. “And now the bowl’s empty.”
“Mom! You’re ruining my dreams! I just want to be a part of it!”
“Over my dead body.” She put the backpack on top of the refrigerator. “I have to go somewhere for a few minutes. You stay at Nathan’s until I get back.”
“Mom, are you going to cause trouble for him?”
“You bet I am,” she said, grabbing her keys. “Logan Brisco has met his match.”
five
C arny shut off her Harley outside the motel and ran her fingers through her windblown hair. She hated wearing a helmet and only put the thing on when her son was riding with her. Someone from the sheriff’s department pulled her over at least once a
“He’s a liar, Mr. Anderson. I don’t want him within a hundred yards of my son.”
“Come on, Carny. You’re overreacting. He strikes me as someone who knows what he’s doing. He’s not just trying to grab people’s money and leave town. He’s taking his time, giving people a chance to think about it. I’m beginning to think that maybe this could improve our town.”
“I can’t believe you! Serenity has everything. It’s the sweetest, cleanest, most peaceful town I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen plenty. Mr. Anderson, let’s just say he
is
telling the truth and there
is
going to be a park — which I’m absolutely positive there isn’t — don’t you realize that it would ruin this town?”
“This town could use a few changes,” he said. “Mr. Brisco is bringing us hope. All he wants is a little cooperation.”
“And a lot of money.”
“He doesn’t have to build the park here, Carny. If we give him too much trouble, he’ll take his plans somewhere else. Hugh Berkstrom had a meeting with him this morning.Hugh has a good head for investments. He wouldn’t even be considering it if it was a scam.”
“Oh, no,” Carny groaned. Surely the richest man in town had more sense than that! “Why won’t any of you listen? You all know where I came from. You know how I was raised.” She took a calming breath and tried again. “Look, Mr. Anderson, what if — just what
if
— I’m right, and Logan Brisco
is
a con artist? What if he got everybody in town, including the children, all worked up, and managed to walk out of here with all our money? It could ruin us. We’d never recover. This town has so many blessings from God, but if we do something stupid out of greed, we could destroy those blessings. Don’t you see how high the stakes are in this?”
“And what if he’s honest?” Anderson replied. “What if he gets impatient with us and goes somewhere else, and the next thing we know some other town is getting the park and everybody there is getting rich instead of us?”
“Then we’d find another way to stimulate our economy. But we’d still have this beautiful little town and all the good people in it, and our spirits would be intact, and so would our savings. We could do the
right
thing to help our people, not something that will completely break them.”
“That’s not good enough for me,” Anderson said. “And it’s not good enough for most of us here. Please. Just stay out of it.”
Frustrated, Carny hung up and threw herself on the couch as her son came back through the room at a clipped pace, lugging his backpack. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“To Nathan’s.”
“What’s in the backpack?”
He gave her an exaggerated look of innocence, which appeared more than a little guilty. “My homework.”
She got up and took the backpack from him. “This must weigh thirty pounds,” she said, unzipping it. “What a surprise. Money. The same money I just poured into that bowl.” Glancing toward the bowl, she slapped her forehead. “And now the bowl’s empty.”
“Mom! You’re ruining my dreams! I just want to be a part of it!”
“Over my dead body.” She put the backpack on top of the refrigerator. “I have to go somewhere for a few minutes. You stay at Nathan’s until I get back.”
“Mom, are you going to cause trouble for him?”
“You bet I am,” she said, grabbing her keys. “Logan Brisco has met his match.”
five
C arny shut off her Harley outside the motel and ran her fingers through her windblown hair. She hated wearing a helmet and only put the thing on when her son was riding with her. Someone from the sheriff’s department pulled her over at least once a
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