The Other Boy (9 page)

Maddy wandered along the sidewalk. After a couple of awkwardly quiet cleaning days with David, she had decided she needed a little alone time when she woke up this morning. A bike ride into town and a little retail therapy were just what she needed to clear her head.

Maddy stopped and gazed into a boutique window.

A gauzy, deconstructed silk dress floated from a hanger.

She squinted at the price tag: $1,500. For something that looked like a cat had tangled with it? She snorted and walked on.

The next shop was all hand-milled local soaps, body scrubs, and perfumes.
Mmm.
Maddy inhaled the scent of bergamot floating from the open door. But as she moved toward the entrance, she caught a flutter of cloth out of the corner of her eye. She turned around. A stall was set up across the street, with large, heavy rugs hanging from horizontal poles. The strong breeze sent a few swaying gently back and forth. Maddy started to turn back to the soap store, but something about the rugs made her turn around again and cross the street.

“Hi,” she said to the little woman sitting in the stall.

The woman’s hair hung in a long gray braid over one shoulder, and her face was as wrinkled as a raisin. But her eyes were shiny black and sparkled with mischief. She smiled at Maddy and nodded.

“I weave all of these myself,” she said in a gravelly voice, gesturing to the huge pieces of fabric hanging around her like a Bedouin tent.

“They’re beautiful,” Maddy said automatically, fingering one. Then she looked more closely. They really
were
beautiful: thick and heavy, with rich colors that glowed like jewels. They were unusual, too. Some were woven flat and neatly bound, but others were fantasy creations with metallic fabrics and odd shapes. Maddy bent to examine one huge rustic concoction of cream and brown wool. Strips of fabric hung off it at various points, accentuating its rough, uneven border.

“That was one of the first rugs I wove,” the woman said, watching Maddy. “No one is ever interested in it—

it’s quite unusual.”

“Yeah,” Maddy said slowly. “It is. I like it, though.”

The woman nodded. “Good eye,” she said apprecia-tively.

An idea was beginning to form in Maddy’s head. She pictured the rug flung over the scrubbed floorboards of the tasting room, patches of sunlight dancing over the weave. It was perfect for the space. “How much is it?”

She hardly dared to ask. The woman considered and Maddy held her breath.

“Five hundred,” the woman finally declared. Maddy exhaled. That was well within her decorating budget.

“I’ll take it,” she said. “Can you deliver?”

“My son delivers in his truck, but he won’t be back until next month.” They arranged the delivery date and payment and shook hands. Maddy walked back across the street, her heart still beating fast from the excitement of the purchase.
Just wait until David sees it,
she thought.

She was so immersed in mentally arranging the tasting room that she walked right past the soap store without even realizing it.

As she was starting on the bike ride home, her phone rang in her pocket. Maddy managed to answer without falling over.

“So, guess where Taylor and Sunny are going for vaca-tion this summer?” Morgan asked without preamble.

“Oh my God, don’t tell me—Baghdad.” Maddy grinned into her phone, trying to steer with one hand.

“You’re hilarious. They’re going to Dubai,” Morgan replied.

“Dubai?”
Maddy squealed.

“Supposedly, it’s amazing—better beaches than Maui.”

Maddy’s bike gave a big wobble and an approaching delivery van honked at her and swerved. “Hold on,” she told Morgan, and swung off onto the golden grass at the side of the road. Sticking the phone in her pocket momentarily, she hauled the bike over an irrigation ditch and propped it against a wooden fence post. She sank down onto the dry, fragrant grass and dug the phone out again. She could hear Morgan take a deep breath to go on with the details of Sunny and Taylor in Dubai, but suddenly, Maddy felt like she just
had
to say something.

“Hey,” she cut Morgan off. “Remember when you asked me if I’d met any hotties up here and I said no?”

Morgan screeched. Maddy held the phone slightly away from her ear. “There
is
a hot guy up there! I knew there had to be at least one in all of Napa Valley. Who is it?”

Maddy stared across the empty strip of asphalt before her. On the other side of the road was another wooden fence just like the one she was leaning against. “A guy from up here. His name’s David; he’s the son of my dad’s partner on the vineyard. We’ve been working together on this tasting room.”

“Have you been a good girl so far?
I
wouldn’t be.”

“Do you ever think of anything else?” Maddy asked, rolling her eyes.

“What else is there?”

“Very funny. And the answer is yes, for your information. Of course I’ve been a good girl. But here’s the weird thing.” Maddy filled Morgan in on the details of the phone encounter. “So I freaked out for nothing and now Brian’s mad at me,” she finished. “This place is messing with my mind.”

“Well, it
was
annoying that he grabbed your phone like that,” Morgan comforted her. “Honestly, though? It sounds like he was flirting with you.”

“What?”
Maddy squeaked. “You’re insane!” Her mind flitted back to David’s “spoiled suburban brat”

remark the night of the dinner party. She shook her head. “Mor, believe me, this guy has no desire to flirt with me.”

“If you say so,” Morgan replied. “But it sure sounds like flirting to me, and I should know.” She laughed.

Maddy felt irritated. For practically the first time ever, her friend didn’t seem to get it.

“Look, he wasn’t, okay?” she said, more sharply than she intended.

“Okay, Mads, chill out,” Morgan said.

Maddy took a deep breath and changed the subject.

“Hey, guess what I found in town today?”

“What?”

“The perfect rug for the tasting room!” Maddy said excitedly. She waited for Morgan’s reaction.

“Um, great,” Morgan said.

“Yeah, isn’t that cool?” Maddy prompted. “It’s pretty unusual. I haven’t actually seen one like it before and the woman selling them said it was one of the first she’d ever made.”

“Awesome,” Morgan replied. “I’ve never know you to get this worked up over a rug before, Mad. Are you turning into a little Martha Stewart?”

Maddy forced a laugh. “Of course not. It’s just that, well, it’s a really cool rug—and I’m kind of having fun thinking about fixing up this room. Listen, I’m getting all itchy sitting here in the grass. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay, bye, Martha.” Morgan chortled, and clicked off. Maddy stuck her phone back in her pocket violently and grabbed her bike. She rode off, pumping hard on the pedals, even though the road was flat.

✦ ✦ ✦

The rosy shadows of dusk were gathering among the grapevines when Maddy rode up the long gravel driveway. The ride home had taken longer than she expected. She was halfway to the house when she saw David’s gray pickup approaching. She stopped, still straddling the bike, and waved. As he pulled up next to her and leaned out of the open window, Morgan’s words flitted through her mind:
“He was flirting with
you.”
Maddy looked at David carefully. He didn’t seem different, just cheerful and glad to see her.

“Hey, listen,” he said. “I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to tell you again what an idiot I was to grab your phone like that. Can you just chalk it up to me being a boneheaded guy?”

Maddy smiled back at him, tossing back her wind-tousled hair. “You’re forgiven, bonehead,” she said. “By the way, you’re going to love me even more after what I did this afternoon.”

“What, ran off to the spa again?” he teased.

“No, jerk!” She playfully punched his elbow resting on the truck window. “I found the ultimate piece for the tasting room. It’s going to totally make the look.”

“No way,” he replied enthusiastically, getting out of the car. “I didn’t know you were shopping for us this afternoon.”

“Um … yeah, I was,” Maddy said. He didn’t have to know her real reason for going into town.

“So? What is it? I can’t stand the suspense.” He flicked a mosquito away from Maddy’s shoulder.

“It’s—” She stopped abruptly. “Actually, I think I’m
not
going to tell you. It’ll be a surprise when it’s delivered.”

“You’re heartless!” he said, clutching his chest.

Maddy prepared to pedal off. “See you at the Robertsons’ tomorrow night,” she said. Everyone had been invited to a pre-harvest dinner party at the Robertsons’ vineyard down the road, celebrating the successful maturation of the grapes.

“I don’t think I’m going to go,” David told her. “I kind of feel like just crashing on the couch for a night.”

“Oh,” Maddy said, surprised by the disappointment that washed over her at his words.
Why do you care,
Maddy?
the voice in her head asked.
Well, I don’t,
she told herself.
He can do whatever he wants.
“See you later, then,” she said, her voice purposefully airy.

“Do you want a ride back? The bugs are getting pretty nasty out here.” He didn’t wait for her response as he reached for her bike.

“Oh, sure. Thanks.” She watched his strong arms lift the bike onto the truck bed as she climbed into the passenger seat.

The ride was short, and neither of them spoke much. But the quiet between them wasn’t awkward. In fact, as Maddy leaned against the worn seat, she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this at ease.

After they pulled up to the house, Maddy stood on the porch steps as David retrieved her bike from the back of the truck. He revved the engine, waving as he drove off down the driveway. Not that Maddy wanted him to stay longer. She was much too good a girl for that.

Mouth agape, Maddy stared up at the Robertsons’

concrete and glass house in front of her. “What
is
this place? A huge sculpture?” she whispered to her mother, who was examining the twenty-foot steel-beamed ceiling.

“A lot of the vineyards up here are doing an ultra-modern thing,” her mother whispered back. “I feel like I’m inside a Picasso.” They wandered up the remainder of the stone path to the house, with Dad following behind. All around them, little knots of well-dressed wine lovers stood chatting, long-stemmed glasses in hand, or strolled through the fields, inspecting the fruit and vine leaves. A buzz of conversation rose above the murmur of the evening wind in the treetops and mixed with the heavy scent of grapes that hung in the air.

For a nice change, Maddy was feeling annoyed with Brian. He hadn’t called since their spat on the phone, and Maddy was determined not to be the first to call.

She hadn’t done anything wrong! She jumped out of the way as she walked practically on top of a girl examining some flowers at the side of the path. The girl straightened up and turned toward Maddy and her parents, the automatic smile fading from her face.

Maddy narrowed her eyes. “Hi, Rain,” she said delib-erately. She was pleased to see the girl blush a little. She should, after the porch incident. But Maddy’s fleeting sense of triumph faded fast.

“Hi,” Rain said smoothly, tossing her hair over one shoulder. She met Maddy’s gaze coolly and confidently, with no hint of embarrassment.

Maddy gritted her teeth. Her mom tapped her shoulder. “Daddy and I are going to say hi to the Robertsons,”

she said. “We’ll see you inside.” They strolled away, hand in hand.

Thanks a lot, Mom,
Maddy thought as silence descended. She was stranded. Walking away now would make her look like a complete doofus. “How’s it going?” she asked in her frostiest voice, pretending to inspect the red flowers on a tree next to her. Really, though, she was eyeing Rain’s outfit. Once again, she’d gone with the outdoorsy look: sage green cotton sundress, thin leather flip-flops, and a simple silver bangle on one wrist. Her hair was done in two loose, tousled braids. Maddy fidgeted with the tie of her own black jersey wrap dress. It had seemed so elegant when she put it on an hour ago, but now it felt stuffy next to Rain’s earth-girl freshness.

“Great!” Rain said aggressively. More silence, which was broken by the sound of a woman calling from the house.

“Dinner is served! Fresh tomatoes are waiting!”

Laughing and talking, guests began streaming up the path in twos and threes, clutching their glasses, the women picking their way carefully in high heels. Rain turned with a huff and flounced toward the house.

Maddy tried to look nonchalant as she followed, attempting to squash the miserable anger welling up inside her.

Dinner was buffet-style, so Maddy was able to avoid Rain completely, for which she was profoundly grateful.

Proximity to that witch would’ve spoiled her appetite, and she planned to enjoy her rare sirloin.

After filling her plate, Maddy perched next to her parents on an overstuffed bench on the expansive teak patio. She thought she might broach the subject of her birthday again. She’d been so good recently—working on the tasting room, helping around the house, not complaining. Dad had already said the shed looked even better than he had thought it would. They had to let her go to the city. Her annoyance with Brian faded as she smiled to herself, thinking of seeing him in San Francisco. It would make up for all of this work if she could just have a weekend alone with him, she thought, spearing a piece of nicely browned potato. She took a deep breath. “Um, guys.”

Her mom looked up from her steak. She smiled fondly at her daughter. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Well, I was thinking about my birthday… .” Mom looked at Dad and set down her fork. Maddy rushed ahead. “And you know how I had mentioned maybe I could go down to the city for a couple of days? Or just overnight?” she added hastily, seeing her mother open her mouth as if to object. “I mean, you know, since the tasting room is looking so good—right, Dad? A couple of days off wouldn’t hurt.”

Maddy’s mother sighed and set her plate on the glass table in front of her. She looked at her husband. He chewed thoughtfully. “Maddy, you know it’s not about the work up here,” he said. “You’ve done a wonderful job so far—your mother and I have been very impressed.