The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott

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 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.
    “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!”
    Maddy pointed. A peregrine falcon was soaring overhead.
    “Those are endangered,” David said, taking the tops off of some Tupperware containers.
    “I know,” Maddy said, spreading out the big green blanket. David did a double take. “Don’t look so surprised,” she teased.
    “I’m not,” he said unconvincingly.
    “Sure you’re not. For your information, I learned all about birds at the Raptor Center back in the city.”
    Maddy eyed him.