The Other Boy

Maddy opened the bathroom door and ran smack into David, who was standing right outside. “What are you doing here?” She gasped.

He scratched his curly head. He was wearing a fitted navy blue polo shirt that skimmed his chest and khakis with Reef flip-flops. It was the first time Maddy had seen him in anything but an old T-shirt and jeans. He looks good, she thought to herself. “I’m staking out the 108

The Other Boy

bathroom to see if I can pick up chicks,” he told her.

“See? It worked.”

Maddy laughed, totally forgetting about her foul mood. “I thought you weren’t coming tonight,” she said. David led the way to a striped sofa in a corner of the huge, packed living room.

“I decided I was in the mood for free food after all. Anyway, you can only watch ESPN Classic for so long before your brain starts melting.” He stretched his legs out in front of him and laced his fingers behind his head. “Nice place, huh?” he said, taking in the white armchairs, white rugs, and geometric black-and-white paintings on the walls.

Maddy shrugged. “If you like this sort of thing. I’m more into—”

“Hey, David.”

They both craned around. Rain stood just behind the sofa, a frosty glass of mint lemonade in hand and a broad smile pasted on her face. “Oh, hi, Rain,” David replied. Maddy glanced quickly at his face. He looked relaxed and friendly as always but not particularly excited. Rain came around to the front of the couch and threw herself down into one of the white armchairs across from them.

“What’s been going on with you?” She directed her question only at David, Maddy noticed bitterly.

“Not much,” he said briefly, and turned back to 109

Hailey Abbott

Maddy. “Did I tell you my brilliant idea for the tasting room? I think I’m going to patent it.”

Maddy smiled. “No, what, Einstein?”

“I think we should do little tables instead of one long one.”

“They have that over at Smithfield,” Rain broke in.

“Have you been over there?” She looked at Maddy. “I don’t know if you’d be interested. It’s pretty . . .” She paused. “Rustic.” She giggled a little and glanced at David. He shrugged.

“We’ve been rustic all week, haven’t we?” he replied, looking at Maddy instead of Rain. “The bike trip wasn’t exactly a luxury ride.”

“Not exactly.” Maddy was only partly listening to David, though. She was watching Rain’s face, which wrinkled with confusion. This clearly wasn’t going as she’d expected. And to be honest, it wasn’t going as Maddy had expected either. As if to confirm her thoughts, David turned back toward Maddy.

“Next bike trip, I’ll show you this amazing little cave my friends and I found one summer.”

“Cool . . . ,” Maddy said slowly, trying to calm her thoughts. Rain was staring at them, openmouthed. She had loved their bike ride, Maddy thought. Other than the Brian weirdness, hanging out with David had actually been the highlight of her prison sentence. But he’d been 110

The Other Boy

all into Rain at the last party—and now he knew that Maddy had a boyfriend. Everything seemed different somehow. He was practically ignoring Rain. What the hell was going on? Whatever it was, Maddy decided she liked this new situation much better.

111

Chapter Thirteen

!

Maddy tucked the edges of the old quilt around the wicker picnic basket so it wouldn’t jiggle in the car, and flopped into the backseat. She tugged at her bikini underneath a white C&C California tank top and a pair of ancient Blue Cult jeans.

Her dad was sitting in the driver’s seat with the door open, rustling around with a giant map and talking to himself under his breath as he marked a route with a pencil. “Turn onto 17, then down three miles, left at the gas station. . . .”

The whole family was going to a beach nearby. “A nice little outing,” Maddy’s mom had said. Fred and David were meeting them there. Maddy had had to force herself not to make a remark about what a Napa 112

The Other Boy

beach might be like compared to a San Francisco beach, but she’d managed to keep her mouth safely shut. Things between her and her parents had been a little stiff ever since their fight the week before. She hadn’t really said much to them since then—just “Please pass the milk,” “I’m going to bed,” things like that. She had to admit that it was a gorgeous day. The sky looked freshly washed, and fluffy, woolly clouds floated above in a dignified procession. A mass of flowers had bloomed by the side of the driveway and around the house—purple, red, and blue with splashes of orange. The air smelled like earth and fresh pine. After about twenty minutes of driving past little grocery stores, vineyards, and farm stands selling melons and blueberries, turning onto progressively smaller and smaller country roads, Bob said, “Debbie, look at the map, will you? I think Fred said it was right past Mason’s, but I don’t see the—ah!” He jammed on the brakes, jolting Maddy against her seat belt. “Here it is!”

Maddy just barely detected a tiny dirt path winding back into the pine forest, just off the road. It was almost hidden by the drooping branches of the massive fir trees lining both sides of the pavement.

She leaned forward as they wound down the tiny, dark road. The forest looked like something out of a creepy fairy tale, with huge trees and tangled grass all around. Barely any sunshine filtered through those 113

Hailey Abbott

enormous branches, leaving the spaces underneath dark and shadowy. Maddy’s dad peered through the windshield as he slowly drove down the bumpy dirt road.

“Bob, are you sure this is the right one?” Her mother asked, anxiously looking out the window.

“Well, it was right past the shop, like Fred said. Anyway, I think there’s a clearing ahead.”

Maddy could just see a patch of light at the end of the road. The patch grew larger as they drove until it suddenly widened into a broad, sun-flooded meadow. Switchgrass, heavy with seeds, nodded on each side of the window as the wind blew through the stems. At the base of the meadow, Bob parked next to the gray pickup. Maddy was surprised at how happy she was to see David’s long, lean figure climbing down from the cab. Fred and her parents disappeared down a short path just in front of them. “Hey,” Maddy said, greeting David.

He blasted her with the full wattage of his white smile. “Hey, cutie.” What? David was still talking but Maddy barely heard what he was saying. She felt a dopey grin spread over her face. Stop it, she instructed herself. You do not care that David thinks you’re cute. What’s with the giddy schoolgirl reaction? Why did he have this effect on her?

David, oblivious to Maddy’s internal drama, reached into the cab of the pickup and pulled out a big hamper. 114

The Other Boy

“You are going to love this lake,” he told her. “It’s my favorite place in Napa.”

“I can’t wait to swim,” Maddy said, getting a grip on herself. “I haven’t been in the water since leaving the city.”

The little dirt path wove through the pine trees, twisting right and then left again. Maddy ducked to avoid the low-hanging branches and stepped carefully around a boggy spot in the middle. In another dozen yards, the trees gave way to some shrubs, which opened onto a little beach. The change was so sudden that Maddy stopped short, causing David to bump into her. A small, calm lake spread before them, glistening in the early afternoon sun, completely surrounded by the forest. The sandy beach edged the water and an old, weathered dock extended out from the shore. The air smelled of rich mud and silt. Little crabs ran over the sand and hid in their holes. In the middle of the lake, Maddy saw a silvery splash as a fish jumped toward the sky. Except for the fish, the place was completely deserted. Her parents were already setting up low lawn chairs and a few pillows. Fred dragged over a big log to serve as a bench. David started unpacking the food. “Look!”