But he chewed on the edge of his bottom lip, and his fingers beat a nervous staccato on the steering wheel. She had a suspicion her presence at the creek would be a big deal to someone.

Finally they pulled off the road onto a path through scrubby twisted oak trees and tall pines. It was shaded by climbing ivy that stretched from tree trunk to tree trunk, and a mixture of scents flooded the car—sweet honeysuckle, heady gardenia, and musky wisteria, though she saw none of those growing along the path. Every third trunk or so had a red piece of tape fastened around it, presumably leading them to where they’d end up.

After another minute of creeping through the trees, the path opened to a wide but shallow beach along the river. It was sort of like a cove—the shoreline was in the bright sun, but back from it just a little bit, the shade darkened everything to a cool blue. Cars, mostly trucks like Tyler’s, were shoved under the trees like shoes under a bed, and kids were everywhere—lying on huge rocks in the sun, swinging from a long rope and splashing down into the river, dancing to music coming from someone’s speakers, and congregating in groups talking. Maya’s stomach churned.

Tyler climbed out of the truck, Ruby close on his heels. He walked around the truck and reached for her door handle, but before he could open it, they both heard a loud, feminine squeal. “Tyler!”

“And so the fun begins,” he muttered as a girl came flying out of the trees in a few yellow scraps of nylon and flung herself at him.

“I didn’t think you were coming!” Cassie peeled herself off his chest and tiptoed up to kiss him—right on the mouth, right there in front of Maya and everyone else. Maya’s cheeks heated and she suddenly wished she was sitting on Violet and Trudy’s back porch.

Tyler gently pried Cassie’s hands from his shoulders. “Um, Cassie, you remember Maya.” He opened Maya’s door and extended his hand to help her out. He’d never done that before—was she supposed to hold his hand? She grabbed her bag holding her towel and a bottle of sunscreen and climbed down on her own.

“You brought her?” Cassie’s gaze scraped Maya’s body, starting with her toes and going up. Then, like a flipped switch, Cassie grinned and flicked her hair off her shoulder. “Welcome to the creek. You wanna try the rope swing?”

“Um, maybe later.”

“Great. Y’all grab a drink and come hang out.” Cassie turned and revealed her toned rear end barely covered by her bikini bottom. She sauntered toward a group gathered on towels in the sun on the other side of the beach and put her arm around another girl in an equally small bikini. Cassie leaned her head toward her friend, then they both stared back at Tyler and Maya.

“Well, you’re right.” Ruby ran up to them and Maya reached down to scratch her ears. “She probably didn’t notice me.”