Author's Note: Well, I know that I am going to get flames for this next chapter, but please bear with me on this, okay? This story will have romance, as I have promised before, but it is going to happen a little bit differently in this story. So, as I have said before, be patient (and, yes, HAA, I do mean you). Read and review!

Chapter Twenty-two: Dinner

The inside of the cottage was simple and comfortable like the old house had been. The walls and floors were wood, as was the furniture. The living room was small and cozy, with a worn red sofa and two more rocking chairs. The room opened up into the kitchen, where Tuck stood arranging a stack of china plates. A rich aroma filled the air and Winnie's mouth watered. With only a small piece of bread for breakfast earlier, she was definitely hungry. All of the excitement caused by seeing the Tucks again had allowed her to forget about eating, but Mae's cooking was helping her to remember again.

Miles led Jeremiah over to his father and introduced them. Tuck responded kindly to the younger man and Winnie felt hurt all over again that he hadn't reacted the same way to her arrival. She watched as Mae approached the group to give her son the hug that she had been too distracted to give him earlier. "It's good to see you, Miles," Winnie heard her say.

Miles gave his mother a small smile and stole a quick glance at Winnie. "Uh, Jess? Why don't you give Winnie and Jeremiah a tour of the house? I know you love doing that."

Winnie heard footsteps behind her and felt her stomach muscles clench. Then she heard a voice answer softly, "Sure."

Jeremiah walked over to where the two of them stood as Miles began speaking in hushed tones to his parents. Winnie glanced over at Jesse, but he was looking at Jeremiah. "So, you want to see the house? It's not much," he said with a chuckle.

Winnie wanted to scream. I want to see the house! I want to hear you give the tour more than anyone in this room, she thought. Look at me, Jesse Tuck, and stop talking as though I'm not even here.

Jesse must not have heard her telepathic message because he did not look at her. Instead, he waved his arm in the general direction of the sofa chair. "Well, this is the living room." He took a few steps around the rocking chairs until he came to a door that had been left half-open. "This is Ma and Pa's room." Winnie peered through the doorway and into a small bedroom with a large wooden bed in the center. A bed. With blankets. She had almost forgotten how that felt.

Jesse led them up a narrow flight of stairs that opened into a loft. Two small beds had been placed side by side with quilts covering both. "This is where Miles and I sleep. That is, when we don't stay in town." Jesse looked at Jeremiah and grinned. "Not much of a tour, huh?" Jeremiah laughed with him, but Winnie felt like hitting Jesse upside the head. I love the house, she thought. I love it, but you don't care, Jesse!

When the three of them arrived downstairs, Miles was talking to Tuck in the living room. By the motions he was making with his hands, she could tell that they were talking about woodwork. She heard the last few words of the conversation.

"I'll be able to help you with that tomorrow, Pa."

"I thought you had to work."

"I'm going to be at the shop until early afternoon. Alfred said he and James could take care of things after that."

Tuck nodded and turned to see Winnie and the boys coming downstairs. He looked only briefly at Winnie before focusing his attention on Jesse. "Did you show them the house?"

"Yes."

"Good." Tuck nodded again and placed a hand on Miles's back. "Very good."

"Is everyone ready to eat?" Mae stood in the kitchen with a large plate of chicken in her hands. "The food is ready."

It seemed to Winnie that it took years before everyone had finally found his or her place at the table. She sat beside Mae, who was the only one who appeared pleased by her presence. Miles sat on her other side at one end of the table and Tuck took the other end. Winnie glanced quickly in front of her to see Jesse sitting beside Jeremiah.

Tuck blessed the food, and everyone began serving him or herself. Mae passed Winnie chicken, yams, and bread, and she took large helpings of all of them. She might have felt embarrassed about eating so much if she weren't so hungry, but the bread from her breakfast with Jeremiah that morning had gone a long time ago. She sneaked a peek across the table at her walking partner to find him scooping a large portion of yams onto his plate. I guess this is what he meant by the kindness of friends, she reflected thoughtfully.

The meal was taken in silence, as all meals were at the Tuck house. This time, Winnie did not feel uncomfortable as she ate because she could think of nothing but the plate in front of her while her stomach was so empty. Except for Jesse, of course, but she thought about him all the time anyway, so it really made no difference.

When she had finished her meal, Mae rose from her seat. "Is anyone ready for dessert? I just pulled a vanilla cake out of the oven and it should be cool enough by now." She disappeared into the kitchen when her sons gave her appreciative nods and returned a moment later with a large golden cake. "I hope it isn't too well cooked. It looks a little bit burned to me," said Mae with a regretful expression on her face, as though the happiness of her dinner guests rested on whether or not the cake had been cooked for too long. Winnie studied the dessert, but could not see how Mae thought that it looked burned.

"It looks wonderful, Mae," said Angus as he watched his wife cut the first piece. The boys all nodded in agreement as she placed individual slices on each of their plates. Winnie raised the fork to her mouth and sighed. The cake wasn't burned at all, of course; it was delicious.

Jeremiah finished his cake very quickly and placed his fork on his plate. He turned to face Tuck and spoke directly to him. "How long have you and your wife been living here, Mr. Tuck?"

Winnie froze at the question and looked at Tuck for his response. Tuck was looking at Jeremiah carefully, as though he wasn't sure how to proceed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Miles jumped in before he could get anything out. "Actually, our name is McCormick."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought that since Winnie said…"

Winnie wanted to hide under the table as she felt three pairs of Tuck eyes focused in her direction. Only Miles remained unruffled at Jeremiah's words. "Yes, I know. Tuck is a family name, but it isn't used very often. It was my father's mother's maiden name that my parents used after they arrived in America. McCormick, being a Scottish name, wasn't taken very well by the neighbors."

Winnie breathed a shallow sigh of relief at his words. So, that was what Miles had been thinking about on the ride home.

Tuck leaned forward again. "To answer your question, Jeremiah, we've been living here for about four years."

"Oh, really? Do you know Henry Childers then? He's lived in Patterson for about two years now, but I've known him for much longer than that. It is his house that I am staying at."

Tuck shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that I don't."

The table fell silent as everyone struggled for something meaningful to say that would not result in Miles having to explain part of their secret. Winnie hated that she had revealed so much to Jeremiah, and wondered if the Tucks were angry with her because of it. She looked at Tuck searchingly and his eyes met hers. His eyes were unreadable, but she saw his jaw clench, and he looked away. Winnie stared down at her napkin shamefully.

After the dishes had been taken into the kitchen, Jeremiah thanked the Tucks for their hospitality and announced that he would be leaving. "It is getting late and I don't want Henry to have to wait for me too long."

Miles went outside to get the horse ready as Jeremiah said his good-byes to the Tucks. "Dinner was delicious, Mrs. McCormick, especially that cake." Mae brushed away the compliment, but Winnie could tell that she was pleased.

Jeremiah approached Winnie as she waited for him by the door. "Thank you, Jeremiah," she said. "Thank you for giving me your water and your food…and your socks."

Jeremiah laughed. "It was my pleasure."

"Yes, but I appreciate all that you did very much. If it weren't for you, I never would have found Miles…or the rest of my family." She paused and tried to think of something else to say. Too much had already been said, but she felt that it was necessary to try to explain herself. "I just hadn't seen them in so long and…it was good to finally be here…with my parents and my brothers."

Jeremiah's lips curved a little, and Winnie noticed. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, you were thinking something. I could tell."

Jeremiah paused and rubbed his hand over his chin. "I was just thinking that I wished you didn't feel like you had to lie to me."

Winnie felt her face growing warm, but tried to remain confident. "What do you mean?"

"I know that these people are not your family."

Winnie breathed deeply. "Of course they are. Why would you think that?"

Jeremiah's eyes locked onto hers. She could see now that they were deep brown, like mud or chocolate. "I know that Jesse is not your brother."

"And how do you know that?" Winnie knew that her voice was growing defensive, but she could not help it.

Jeremiah smiled slowly, almost sadly, and cocked his head to the side as he had done so many times that day. "My sisters don't look at me the way you look at Jesse."

Winnie was speechless, but it didn't matter because the door opened and Miles entered the house. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes," Jeremiah responded and gave Winnie a final grin. "You take care of yourself now, Winnie."

"You, too," she said quietly, but he was already gone. She turned and went back to the kitchen, where Tuck and Mae were wiping off the counter. "Where is Jesse?"

"I think he went upstairs for something," offered Mae. Tuck concentrated on the counter and did not look up at her.

"Do you need any help?"

"Oh, no, dear. You just go into the living room and make yourself comfortable. I know you must be exhausted."

Winnie nodded gratefully and went into the living room. She practically fell into one of the padded rocking chairs, which felt good to her tired body. She glanced at the stairs, but did not hear any noise coming from the loft. It's just as well, she thought. He doesn't want to speak to me anyway, so why make both of us uncomfortable?

After a while, Winnie felt her eyelids growing heavy. Several times, her head would fall to her chest and she would awake with a start after dozing off for a second. However, she was not able to fight off her drowsiness for long and fell asleep leaning against the wooden back of the chair.

The next thing that Winnie was aware of was a strong pair of arms lifting her from the wooden seat. The room was dark, except for a small ball of light coming from a candle that she did not see. Her eyes tried to focus but could not. "Who's there?"

"Hush, child," whispered Angus Tuck. "Hush and go back to sleep." He lowered her onto the sofa, then placed a quilt over her small frame. However, Winnie did not notice the quilt. She was already asleep.