Excerpt from The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

They crossed the Fremont Bridge in the still black of night and the radio played and the rain fell. Kenny looked out the window at the blurred lights of Portland and Lynette leaned into the driver's-side door and sighed.

2

The 9th Street Bakery had sold its employee parking lot two years earlier. In its place was a half-built ten-story condominium building. Lynette was now forced to park on the street. It was free until eight a.m. and then she paid by the hour until she left at noon. That morning she found a spot directly across from the bakery. She and Kenny got out of the car and she held his hand and carried his backpack as they walked across the pavement. The bakery was closed, but a side door was left open and they went through a storage area to the break room, where she sat her brother at a table with her phone, a sheet of butcher paper, and a box of crayons.

"Don't leave this room unless you have to use the bathroom," she said, "but find me first. And don't wait too long like you did yesterday because I forgot to bring you a change of clothes. So hold it and then find me, okay? Hold it and then find me. You know where I'll be. I won't be mad. I really won't. I'll be happy if you let me know. Understand?"

He nodded and she started the movie Toy Story on her phone and left. She clocked in at four a.m. and began her shift as the pastry lead, taking trays of croissants and danishes from the proofer and putting them in the oven. Every hour she would go into the break room and check on her brother. She would walk him to the bathroom and try to get him to use it or start another movie on her phone. At seven she took her first real break and sat with him.

Kenny pointed to the window outside.

"I don't have time today, but I'll let you walk around the block. If I do, though, I have to keep the phone."

Kenny shook his head.

"You can't have both, you know that. Choose one."

Kenny handed her the phone.

"Don't stop unless you see Karen waiting outside Fuller's, okay? If you see her and she invites you in, then you can go. But if she's not there, don't let any bums talk to you, especially if they're young. And if they have dogs, well, then, just turn around and come back here. Those kinds of dogs don't want to be petted. Remember what happened last time? That bite really hurt and you were really scared. So no petting dogs. Especially a bum's dog." She put his coat and hat on and kissed him. She unlocked the side door and watched him head down the sidewalk. She got a cup of coffee, sat at the break table, and called Fuller's Coffee Shop.

"It's Lynette. Kenny's coming. Can you can give him just one pancake and two scrambled eggs? The scrambled eggs have to be sitting on top of the pancake or he won't eat the eggs. And like always will you just pour the syrup? He'll use the whole thing if you let him. If he gets upset, just tell him I can see if he uses too much. That I see from where I am ... I know, same old story ... And don't leave the syrup anywhere near him. I've seen him drink a whole bottle... . I know, it's disgusting... . Thanks again. I'll bring you over some treats when I get off. And I'll pay you for this week, too... . Text me when he's leaving, okay?"

She hung up, took a sip of coffee, and set her head on the table and closed her eyes. Her break ended and she went back to work. More employees came, including the owner, and the bakery opened. She worked for forty-five minutes more, then received a text and went outside and met her brother on the street.

"You ready for your nap?"

Kenny nodded.

They came to her car, she opened the passenger-side door, and Kenny got in. From the back seat she took a sleeping bag and covered him with it. "The owner's here now, so you can't come in. Just sleep, okay? I'll check on you my last break and we'll go to Fuller's and use their toilet. We only have four more hours now. We're almost there. I'll come check on you every chance I can. If it's an emergency and you have to go to the bathroom, just get out of the car and come find me. That's only for an emergency though. And remember not to open the door for anyone. Not anyone, alright? Not even if they look friendly or if they're wearing hard hats. Not even if they look like policemen and knock on the door and smile. Okay? And I saw a red car when I was walking toward Fuller's. So that's two. Pretty exciting. Let me know if you see any more." He put his arms out and hugged her and wouldn't let her go. "Come on, quit playing. I gotta work." He let go of her and she said, "Okay, Superman, it's time to sleep. That's an order." She kissed him and locked the car door.

Excerpted from The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin. Copyright © 2021 by Willy Vlautin. Excerpted by permission of Harper. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.