The Other Boy Read Online Free

see a gray-haired man about her parents’ age appear around the side of the house.
    “Fred!” Her father waved the man over. “Maddy, this is Fred Tighe, our business partner.”
    “I’m glad to finally meet you, Maddy.” Fred smiled at her through his beard, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. His voice was quiet and gentle as he wiped his hand on his canvas work pants and held it out. Maddy shook the outstretched paw.
    “Nice to meet you, too,” she said.
    Fred turned to her father. “Bob, I want to take a look at the southwest irrigation ditch, if you have a moment.
    I know you all just arrived, but darned if that hose hasn’t backed up and filled it in again.”
    “Damn. Not that thing again. You know, I think if we try that black tubing …” The two men disappeared around the side of the house, Bob gesturing and talking animatedly, Fred nodding.
    Mom was loading herself up with bags and a big box of groceries. “The front door key is buried in my bag somewhere, but the kitchen door’s open.”
    “Why can’t we just pull the car around back?” Maddy asked. “That would be a lot easier than hauling all this stuff around.”
    “Grab that suitcase, will you? We can’t pull the car around. The trees are too close—it won’t fit.”
    “Mom, I have to pee so bad!”
    “Well, go inside—take the suitcase with you. The bathroom’s upstairs. There’s only one.”
    “What?” Maddy couldn’t hide her unintentional indignation.
    Mom straightened up and pressed her lips together.
    She looked like she was about to say something but decided against it.
    “Whatever!” Maddy said hastily. “What I meant was, great! I adore sharing a bathroom with my parents and assorted wildlife. Maybe Jasper the pig would like to move in also.”
    “Perhaps he would. Why don’t you go back down the driveway and ask him?” Mom said calmly.
    They heaved the bags and boxes around to the back, which was covered by another shady porch. A swing and an array of wooden rocking chairs dotted the yard.
    Trellises stood against the sides of the house, covered in climbing roses. A large lawn spread out in a semicircle, surrounded on all sides by twisty grapevines. Clusters of lush purple grapes hung down. They looked delicious.
    Ignoring her bladder, Maddy wandered over to the grapes and picked a few of the ripest. They were firm and smooth and covered with a hint of silvery frost.
    Her mouth was already watering. She popped them into her mouth and bit down. Hot, sweet juice spurted onto her tongue. Mmm. Wow. They were more
    intensely grape-y than anything she’d ever tasted. She glanced back at the house and carefully spat the thick skins and seeds onto the ground.
    Maddy lugged her suitcase up the back steps and pushed open the screen door. She stepped into a little back hallway. She heard Mom already banging cabinet doors in a yellow-painted kitchen to her right. A steep wooden staircase extended up in front of her. She climbed the steps, listening to them creak under her feet.
    The upstairs hallway was narrow, with a few rooms visible through their half-open doors. Maddy briefly took in the cream-painted walls, wide-planked hardwood floors, and sunlight pouring in through open windows.
    She spotted the bathroom at the end of the hall and darted in. It was tiny, with just enough room for a pedestal sink, a toilet, and a huge old tub that looked like it was made of copper. The floor was covered with old-fashioned black and white hexagonal tiles. A dis-tressed old armoire painted shabby-chic white stood in a corner. Maddy thought longingly of the heated towel racks, three showerheads, and vast marble countertop of her private bathroom at home.
    She turned on the water at the freestanding sink and stuck her hands underneath. “Yowch!” she yelped, and yanked her hands back, shaking off droplets of scalding water. Maddy glared at the sink. Two faucets. Of course this house would have a sink from like 1776 with sepa-rate