“I’d really like to talk with him privately for a few minutes. Is that all right with you? Then we can all talk together. Okay?”

“Okay. Can I climb the tree?” He stared at a large maple to his right.

Mother wouldn’t have approved, Bobby was better at falling out of trees than he was at staying in them. “I don’t know . . .” Then again, it would occupy him. But then I spotted a turtle making its way through the thick grass ten feet away and I pointed it out.

“Look!”

His eyes went wide and he ran for the creature. “A red-eared slider. Wow. Can I play with him?”

“I tell you what, you wait here and watch the turtle while I talk to Paul. After I’m done we’ll take him down to the lake. Deal?”

He chewed his lower lip and nodded his head, eyes fixed on the turtle. “Deal.”

He sat cross-legged in the grass and began to trace his finger over its shell.

Others thought Bobby was simple, but that’s what I loved about him. He saw the world like a child. Nothing was complicated; everything was fascinating, even a turtle, even though he’d seen a thousand or more.

“I won’t be long,” I said and looked toward Paul. “I promise.”

“Okay,” he said, but he was already transfixed with his new friend.

I took a deep breath, smoothed my dress, and started walking toward Paul. With each step my heart thumped louder and harder, just like it had when I stepped out of the boat the first time. No, it was more than that. This was joy and fear and something else I only felt when I was with Paul—something I couldn’t explain.

I couldn’t help but smile as I came closer. Paul was wearing a blue button-down shirt with khaki pants and black work boots. When I saw his eyes, a tingle spread through me. He wasn’t simply looking at me. He was staring like I was the only other person in the world.

My heart was flirting with temptation, I knew that much was true.

I stopped at the edge of the blanket and looked into Paul’s eyes. He took a step toward me and smiled. The summer breeze brushed his hair across his face. A wave of nervousness washed over me and I could hardly breathe.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

“I hoped you’d come,” he said.

“Here I am.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Here we are.”

“Here we are,” I said softly.

Neither of us said anything for a moment.

“Oh, hey . . . want to sit down? I brought a blanket.”

“I can see that.”

“Yeah, I guess you can.” He scratched the back of his neck, his only nervous tic. “Kinda stupid pointing out the obvious, huh?”

“No, it’s nice. Thoughtful.” I settled onto the blanket and nervously arranged my dress over my legs as he sat across from me.

We were both quiet and just looked at each other for a while. It was strange how Paul and Bobby were the only people I felt like I could simply be with and not feel like I had to fill the silence with small talk.

Paul smiled and fidgeted with his hands.

“What?” I said. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing.”

“No, what?”

“You look nice. I like your dress.”

“You’re just trying to flatter me.”

“Maybe a little,” he said. “Is it working?”

“A little.” My face got hot and I knew I was blushing.

The wind blew gently, bending the taller grass near the far edge of the field. Paul and I had spent time together before, but this seemed different. We weren’t kids anymore, simply passing the time with games and stupid things while the adults did the important things of life.

“I brought you something,” I said and reached into the deep pocket Mother had sewn into my skirt.

Paul’s attention went to the small package of brown paper and twine that I’d handed to him. “What’s this?”

“Just something I made for you. It’s not much, but . . .”

“Really?” He peeled the paper away and unwrapped the straw doll that I’d made for him the other day. His eyes went wide.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

He cradled it in his hands. “I love it.”

“You do?”

“You made it, so I love it. Thank you. I’ll keep this forever and think about you every time I see it.”

“I hope so,” I said. And I meant it.

We talked for a half hour as the sun sank lower in the sky. We talked about what we liked and didn’t like about living in the swamps, how I loved math and how he hated it. How his father wanted to bring him into the moonshining business even though Paul didn’t want to.

“Well, what are you going to do then?” I asked.

“I’m going to be in a rock band.”

“Rock band?” I asked. “Does your father even allow you listen to that kind of music? Mother never lets us listen to anything other than that old gospel music.”

“He lets me when my mom’s not around. My dad says the music he grew up with was the last time rock and roll was good. He lets me listen to all of his old records—Led Zeppelin, Queen, the Eagles. I’m even learning to play the guitar.”

There was a long pause in the conversation and he scooted closer. “I thought about you all day, Eden.”

I hesitated. “I thought about you too.”

“Really?” He blinked.

“You seem surprised.”

“Well, a little bit. What’d you think about? I mean, when I crossed your mind.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Little things, I guess. It’s stupid. Forget it.”

“No, tell me. Just one thing.”

“One thing?” I said.

He held up one finger. “Just one, then I won’t ask anymore. Promise.”

I fidgeted with the blanket. “All right then. This morning I thought about how you kind of snort when you laugh really hard.”

“I don’t snort.”

“You do. A little, but it’s cute.”

“I must get it from my mom.”

I laughed. “I think you’re right. I’ve always liked it, though.”

“If you like it then I’m happy. What else?”

“You said one thing.”

“C’mon, just one more. Please,” he said. “Then I’ll tell you something I like about you.”

I looked at him and smiled. “Well, there’s the way you make me smile. You always know what to say to me. No one else treats me like you do. It’s . . . nice. Besides Bobby, you’re my only real friend. You accept me for who I really am.”

“Liking you is easy. You’re perfect, Eden.”

“No,” I said. “Don’t say that. I’m not.”

“Maybe not in your mind.” He gently placed his hand on top of mine. “But you are.”

The warmth of his skin against mine sent a shock up my arm and through my whole body. I drew a short breath. For a moment I felt like that one touch would send me soaring on the wind and high into the sky.

“Would your father approve of you holding my hand?” I asked.

Paul’s eyes shifted to the tree line. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” He had a far-off look when he said it. So he was here without his father’s knowledge. He had taken his own risks to be here with me.

His fingers lingered across the back of my hand. I knew he was as nervous as I was because I could feel the slight tremor in his hands. “Do you see me as more than a friend?”

I hesitated. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a dam that was held together by a single pebble, and I was about to kick it loose. I wanted nothing more than to do just that no matter what might happen because of it.

“I don’t know. I think so.”

His eyes searched mine. His mind was churning, I could practically hear it. But what was he thinking? What if he didn’t really like me too?

“Yes,” I said. “I like you.”

Paul smiled and squeezed my hand. “You know I like you too. I kinda think of you as my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend. I liked the sound of that.

I turned my hand over until my palm pressed against his, and I held his hand. Wrong or not, I felt something special for Paul and I wanted him to know it. But only him.

“Girlfriend,” I said. “What does that mean? I’ve never been anyone’s girlfriend before. And what does it mean that you’re my boyfriend?”