from the cab of an ancient red pickup truck. “Come on over!” He handed his wife a bag of groceries, which she hoisted onto her hip and carted back around the house, giving Maddy a peck on her forehead as she passed.
“Morning, Fred! Morning, David!” Debbie called over her shoulder.
Maddy’s head shot up. David? She peered over her dad’s shoulder and finally noticed a guy with curly, sunbleached brown hair sitting in the truck bed, his arms looped easily around his knees.
“Morning, Mrs. Sinclaire!” The mystery boy rose and vaulted over the edge of the truck, landing lightly on the ground. He stood about six feet tall, and his old, slim gray T-shirt hung easily from his broad shoulders and showed off the muscles of his chest and arms. Even from where she was standing, Maddy could see that his forearms were strong and corded, and he had the kind of tan that only comes from working outdoors.
“Maddy, I want you to meet David,” her father said.
“This is Fred’s son. You two will be working together this summer.”
What?
Somewhere in the background, her dad was still talking. “Sorry, hon, I forgot to mention yesterday that David is staying up here at the vineyard for the summer too. Fred and I thought it would be great for you to work together.”
38
The Other Boy
David’s big, dark eyes were trained on her. For a moment, she stared right back. She felt her face get hot and her heart speed up. Wow, he was really cute. The moment stretched out until he blinked his long black eyelashes quickly, like he was trying to wake up from something, and stuck out his hand.
“Hey, nice to meet you.” His smile was wide and open and his teeth flashed white against the tan of his face.
Maddy’s mind raced. Why exactly had she decided to skip that shower this morning? Wait, stop. Who cared if he was gorgeous? You’re not available, Madeline! She summoned up an appropriately bored smile and shook David’s hand. His hand felt warm and firm against hers. She drew in her breath at his touch. What was going on?
Stop! She took her hand away and awkwardly brushed some hair back from her forehead. Maybe she’d had too much coffee. As Maddy considered switching to decaf, David casually stuck his hands in the pockets of his battered jeans and leaned against the side of the truck. He smiled at her again. “So, you all got in yesterday, right?”
“Um, yeah.” For some reason, she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
David waited for a second and tried again. “Cool. What do you think of the place so far?”
“Obviously, it’s great.” The sarcasm was unintentional; 39
Hailey Abbott
she was going for smooth. Damn. She felt like she was in school, standing at attention in front of him like she was about to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or something. She looked around for a place to sit, but there wasn’t one, so she just crossed her arms awkwardly. David seemed a little thrown. “Ah, yeah. The house is amazing. Have you seen the grapevines yet?”
She snorted a little, involuntarily. “Well, they’re hard to miss.” Arrrgg. Mean when she’d meant friendly. She was trying to be polite, but, honestly, this whole situation was just aggravating. The sun was too hot, her breakfast felt like a boulder in her stomach, and worst of all, she had no idea what “amazing project” her parents had cooked up for her and this guy. No matter how nice he was, he couldn’t teleport her back to the city, and that was really the only thing she wanted.
David opened his mouth but then shut it abruptly and fixed Maddy with a quizzical stare, as if he was realizing something. “Yeah, I guess it’s too bad if you’re antigrapevine. You’re trapped by about three hundred miles of ’em,” he said, rolling his eyes playfully and shooting her a rueful grin.
“Okay, kids!” Bob walked up, beaming. His bald head was sunburned, and he was already sweating in the strong mountain sun. He slapped his hands together.
“Now, I have a really special project for the two of you.”
Oh boy, Maddy thought. Here it comes. “What, Dad?”
40
The Other Boy
“Well, I think I should just show you—it’s going to be great when it’s all done. Come on, let’s take the truck.”
He climbed into the driver’s seat of the red pickup.
“Um, Dad,” Maddy asked, “where did you get this truck?” The windows were missing their glass, and the stuffing in the seats was bulging out everywhere. The inside of the cab was sprinkled liberally with dog hair and bits of straw.
“Got it at an auction when we came up here at Christmas. Remember, I told you about it?” Maddy did vaguely remember him going on about a great deal he had gotten up in Napa. “Climb in!”
David hoisted himself back into the truck bed. Maddy hesitated for a minute. She had never ridden in the back of a truck before. David was watching her from his perch on a straw bale.
“Want a hand?” he asked. He stood up and leaned over the edge, extending his arm toward her.
“No, thanks,” she said, trying to sound airy. She perched her sunglasses on top of her head and climbed awkwardly onto the tailgate, trying to avoid flashing her hot pink bikini underwear. Her feet were sliding around—sneakers probably would have been a better choice. She was almost in the truck, when one flip-flop caught on something and slid off into the dirt. Maddy looked down in dismay. “Crap!” she said. She was caught in a very unflattering position—straddling the 41
Hailey Abbott
tailgate, one leg in the truck bed, one outside, with her rear sticking out, and clutching the edge with both hands. She swung a leg back over so she could hop down, but before she could, there was a soft thud behind her. In one motion, David reached down, tossed her the flip-flop, and effortlessly swung back into the truck.
“Thanks,” she said, surprised.
“No problem.” He winked at her. Maddy started a little. Damn, he was sexy. She settled herself on a bale of straw, and the truck engine started with a roar. She jumped at the noise before she could stop herself. David glanced over at her. She lightly tossed her hair and looked away. He leaned forward and raised his voice over the engine noise.
“Your dad seems unaware that there’s this new invention called a muffler . . . ,” he said, gesturing to the front of the cab. Maddy laughed in spite of herself, the wind blowing against her face and her hair flapping out behind her like a long golden banner.
The truck bumped over the rocky soil down a dirt track that wound between the rows and rows of vines. The grapes hung thick in their clusters beneath their canopies of green leaves. Despite the neat, curving rows, the place had a slightly wild air. Crows perched here and there, eyeing the grapes. A red-tailed hawk circled overhead, momentarily hanging in the air before folding its wings and silently hurtling toward the earth. 42
The Other Boy
The truck stopped in front of a little stream. Maddy looked around at the rocky bank twisting along the field in a silvery streak until it disappeared out of sight between two hills. This must be the edge of the property. A broad meadow spread out on the other side of the stream, with tangled high grasses and scattered boulders competing for space with masses of blue and yellow wildflowers. The mountains lay brooding beyond, overlooking the landscape like sentinels. Dad killed the engine, and David rose quickly and hopped out of the truck. Maddy followed cautiously, eyeing the distance from the bed to the ground, trying to calculate whether she could make it without losing any more of her clothing. She looked up, realizing that David was watching her again.
“Don’t worry,” he teased. “I won’t look if you jump.”
Maddy scowled at him. The guy was reading her mind—
it was uncanny. Irritating and uncanny. He came back up to the edge of the truck. “Hey, I was just kidding.” He held his arms out. “Come on, I’ll help you.”
Maddy looked down into his sparkling, deep brown eyes from her perch in the truck, and awkwardly bent down, gathering the skirt of her dress between her knees. She grasped the edge of the tailgate with one hand and closed her fingers around David’s with the other. She leaped down clumsily, almost falling. Quickly, he grabbed her around the waist. For a split second, his 43