Her parents exchanged a classic our-teenage-daughteris-such-a-pain-in-the-you-know-what glance. Good, Maddy thought. We’re all on the same page. I think you guys are a pain in the ass too. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the leather seat back. She could hear a double bam-bam as her parents got in and shut their doors. Maybe she could just sleep the whole way. 17
Hailey Abbott
Peaceful silence filled the car as her dad wound through the streets full of Spanish-style and Victorian mansions and then bumped over the railroad tracks. He drove through a Hispanic neighborhood, where the bodegas and shops selling quinceañera dresses were crowded together with skinny brownstones. The brownstones gradually gave way to warehouses and car dealerships. They turned onto the highway. The soft hum of the engine and the comforting voices of NPR hosts filtered into the backseat. Maddy drifted away, her head lolling on her shoulder.
“Madeline.” Her father’s voice jerked her awake.
“Huh?” A trickle of drool had reached her chin. She wiped at it furiously.
Her mom twisted around to face the backseat.
“Daddy and I want to talk to you about this summer.”
Maddy groaned.
Her dad went on. “We’re going to need you to pitch in and do some work on the vineyard grounds. You’re starting at zero on the responsibility scale. This vineyard is very important to your mother and me, so we expect you to take this seriously.”
“Umm?” Maddy tuned them out when her purse started buzzing. She slid her BlackBerry Curve out of her Kooba bag. chat request from morgan. She held it down by her side and pressed start conversation. how r u?
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The Other Boy
awful, of course—what do u expect? Maddy typed without looking at the keys.
k and i miss u already! at orchids 4 brunch. Maddy’s stomach rumbled at the thought. Orchids had absolutely the best strawberry waffles in the city. thanks for that. i’m probably heading off to eat gruel all summer.
going to the beach later—it’ll be so weird without u. i know. all i want is to hang out with you guys, sleep in, and see brian. but i’m going to be slave labor for the next two months.
poor girl! maybe k & i can come rescue you!
that would be so great. i don’t think u could get past the prison guards tho.
k & i will be thinking of you. xoxo!!
Maddy pressed end conversation, heaved a gusty sigh, and stared out the window at miles and miles of pine trees; rocky, sandy soil; and distant, bluish hills. They passed a vegetable stand with a sign in the front that read tomatoes $1/lb.
Of course, Maddy had seen pictures of Napa and its acres of twisty grapevines wrapping around the hills and spreading across the valley floor. But even though the vineyards were less than two hours from the city, Maddy had never actually seen one before. She leaned a little closer to the window. The land was completely covered 19
Hailey Abbott
in vines, stretching as far as she could see. Low stone walls lined the two-lane road. Hand-lettered signs reading wine tasting today and north ridge winery flashed by. Occasionally, they passed a palatial gate with the name of the vineyard spelled out in iron letters at the top. Past these gates were long, groomed gravel driveways lined with towering trees. Maddy settled back into her seat, comfortably wiggling her shoulders into the cushy leather as she pictured a massive stone villa, surrounded by acres of manicured lawn. She’d be clad in a clingy black dress, pouring wine for a clutch of sophisticated vineyard visitors. “This is our newest blend, a merlot-burgundy,” she imagined herself explaining. “It has very strong legs.” Everyone nodded, impressed with her knowledge, and sipped delicately from their long-stemmed glasses. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, she thought as she dozed off. 20
Chapter Four
!
Here we are!” Her dad’s voice was offensively cheerful. Mom was rummaging around in her handbag, muttering something about the keys. Maddy leaned forward eagerly as the car turned onto a long, rocky hillside. Twisted pine trees were around them. She rolled down the window and inhaled a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. It did smell good out here.
The car slowed down and turned through an opening in a crooked wooden fence that looked about a hundred years old. An enthusiastic profusion of morning glories and wisteria vines draped over the top rails. Maddy squinted at a little wooden sign hanging crookedly next to the driveway: ironstone winery. 21
Hailey Abbott
“Our front entrance,” her dad announced grandly. Maddy’s vision of the lush vineyard with romantic stone buildings and polished tile floors began to crack. Everyone hung on to their door handles as her dad swerved to avoid the gaping holes along the bumpy driveway. Maddy tried to focus on the looming pine trees surrounding them.
“Whoa!” Bob slammed on the brakes.
“Oh my God,” Maddy said, squinting through the windshield from the backseat. “Is that a pig?”
Mom sighed. “Mr. Jenkins next door keeps them, and sometimes they get out. I believe that one is named Jasper.” The enormous white pig meandered around the middle of the driveway. Bob blew the horn, which the pig haughtily ignored.
Mom opened her car door. “Let’s see if he’ll just walk off with a little urging. We can call Mr. Jenkins when we get to the house.” Gingerly, she stepped toward the pig and put her hand in her pocket. She drew something out and flung it into the bushes by the side of the road. Jasper lifted his huge head, snorted, and lumbered off toward the object.
“What was that?” Maddy asked as Mom got back in the car.
“Oh, nothing.” Her voice was airy. “I had some cheese crackers in my pocket.”
“Wow. Now can we please drive up to the house?”
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Maddy shook her head, trying to reconcile the sophisticated Mom she knew, who never left the house without her Chanel lipstick, with a woman who kept pig bait in her pocket.
Leaving Jasper happily eating his processed cheese, the SUV passed through the little grove and rounded one more turn. Maddy’s father pulled up to a clearing in the grass. “Welcome to Ironstone Vineyard,” he announced.
“First tasting will be held in the wine room in”—he looked at his watch—“approximately two months.”
Maddy stared at the structure in front of her. It was more a cottage than an actual house, and it looked like it belonged in an English fairy tale, not Northern California. Ivy covered the white clapboard sides, climbing to the slate roof. Curtains fluttered from the open windows upstairs, and a porch with elaborate wooden railings, scrolls, and gingerbread carving spread across the length of the house. The place was sitting in the middle of a giant, overgrown flower garden, where rosebushes competed with hollyhocks for the most sunshine. Who lives here? Maddy wondered. Elves?
Her parents practically leaped from the car as Maddy extracted herself from the backseat. The only sounds were of her parents rummaging around at the back of the car, the wind moving through the tops of the trees like the ocean hitting the shore, and a mockingbird singing madly on a branch over her head. The air was dry and 23
Hailey Abbott
cool in the shade, but when she stepped into the sunshine, she could feel its heat on her bare arms. She fished in her bag for her oversize Dior sunglasses. A mosquito whined in her ear. She swatted at it and slapped another one on her leg. Perfect.
“What do you think?” Mom picked up a big canvas bag and glanced at her daughter. Her father was busily pulling boxes and bags out of the trunk and piling them on the ground.
Maddy chose her words carefully. “It’s . . . nice. Little.”
Mom gave her an absentminded smile, but before Maddy could respond, she heard a crunching sound behind her. She turned to see a gray-haired man about her parents’ age appear around the side of the house.