Author's Note: Once again, thank you for all of the reviews, even the ones who encouraged me to improve. I hope everyone loves this chapter. Keep reviewing, please! And tell me what you like about it or what needs to be better. I look forward to those the most.

Chapter Twenty-four: Talk

Jesse closed his mouth when Winnie's hand flew up to her face, but his expression did not change. It took Winnie only a couple of seconds before she realized that she needed to leave. She nearly ran to the staircase, mumbling, "Excuse me" as she moved past him. He said something to her as she hurried down the stairs, but in her haste, she could not understand any of it. When she came to the first floor, she made a beeline for Mae and Tuck's bedroom.

Walking into the bedroom, she saw Tuck leaning over the metal tub. Frantic to find somewhere to go to wipe off the cream, Winnie rushed back into the living room, where she ran smack into a person wearing a dirty white shirt that smelled like a barn. She looked up to see Jesse staring down at her with a bewildered expression on his face. Tears formed in her eyes and she moved away from him so that he would not see her cry.

"Winnie, wait!"

Winnie didn't stop, so Jesse placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around to face him. His eyes softened when he saw that she was crying, and Winnie tried to turn away. "Winnie, look at me," he said firmly and she obeyed. He studied her for a moment until she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment under the heavy layer of cream.

"What, do you like to see me squirm? Let me go."

Jesse looked hurt at her words. "Why are you mad at me?"

Winnie scoffed, unable to comprehend such a statement. "Why am I mad at you? Did you just ask me why I am mad at you?" She shook her head as white-hot anger surged through her body. "I'll tell you why I'm mad, Jesse Tuck. You didn't say two words to me last night at dinner. You hardly looked at me when you gave the tour. You-you-you just ignore me! And then you stare at me like I'm a horrible ugly monster and you still don't say anything!" Winnie felt warm tears flowing down her cheeks, washing away lines of cream.

Jesse looked as though she had just punched him in the stomach. "I'm sorry, Winnie. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"It doesn't matter," she said, suddenly very tired. "It doesn't matter anymore." She started to move away from him to find a towel to wipe off her face.

"Wait, Winnie, don't leave. Can we go for a walk or something? I want to talk with you."

Winnie stopped and turned back to face him. Even though her vision was clouded with tears, she could see that he looked hurt and apologetic. And, even though she felt like an idiot for thinking so, he still looked as good as he always did, dirt and all. Slowly, she nodded her consent.

She used a dishtowel to wipe off the cream and followed Jesse outside. The afternoon sun was warm, but not too hot. Jesse picked up one of Mae's hats from the porch and she accepted it gratefully. She might have felt embarrassed about wearing it, but after Jesse saw her with the treatment on her face, the hat seemed positively elegant.

Jesse led them out by the lake and down to the end of the dock, where they sat beside one another. Neither of them was wearing shoes, so they let their legs dangle out over the water like children.

They were silent for a few minutes, each of them soaking up the landscape and sorting through their own thoughts. Finally, Jesse spoke. "I'm sorry that I made you feel bad when I didn't talk to you. I didn't mean to do that."

"Then why didn't you talk to me?"

Jesse pursed his lips and breathed deeply through his nose. "I was scared."

"Scared?" Winnie laughed. "Of me? Why would you me scared of me?"

"Because I hadn't seen you in so long! Why, you were only ten when we left Treegap. It felt odd seeing you again."

"Odd?" Winnie's nose turned up at the word. "Did you just call me odd?"

Jesse's eyes grew large. "No! It's just that…you were so young before. Now you're…well, you're…"

"Older?"

"Yeah."

Winnie nodded understandingly. "It felt odd seeing you again, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

The two of them were silent for a moment as they retreated to their thoughts again. Winnie stared out at the lake and studied the way the water reflected the hills in the distance. She could not see the actual color of the lake, which was probably brown, only the greens and grays and blues of the trees and rocks and sky. A fish darted up from the water to catch a fly and broke through the layer of colors, sending ripples out across the lake. The tiny wave moved toward the dock until it lost its momentum and stopped beneath her feet.

"I'm seventeen now."

"Yes, I know."

"You do?" Winnie cast a surprised glance at Jesse's profile as he nodded. "So, why is odd for you to be around me?"

"When you were younger, it was so easy to be with you. I could dance and sing and show off and you would laugh like you really liked me. I knew it wouldn't be the same."

"Why not?"

Jesse sighed. "Because you're older now. You have other things in your life, other people you care about. You have your parents and your friends…and Jeremiah."

"Jeremiah? I only met him yesterday."

"Really? You seemed so friendly with him. I just thought that maybe…"

"Maybe what?"

Jesse took a deep breath. "I thought maybe you were engaged."

Winnie couldn't have been more surprised if he had told her she had grown an extra head. "You thought we were engaged?"

He nodded hesitantly, and she spoke again. "But we're not."

"I know that now, but before…I just didn't know how to act around you. It was…" Jesse paused and Winnie completed his sentence.

"Different?"

"Yeah."

Jesse's hands moved in his laps, as though he couldn't quite keep still. Winnie reached over and covered them with her own. His skin was warm and rough from working, and she smoothed her fingertips over his callused palm. His eyes met hers and she bit her lip. A part of her she knew the reason why Jesse felt so awkward around her. It was the same reason that she couldn't look at him without feeling her stomach tie itself up in knots.

"Maybe it's okay that it's different," she whispered.

He swallowed. "Do you think so?"

She nodded and kept her eyes locked on his. They were bright blue, like the sky or the ocean, and Winnie felt herself getting lost in their depths. Suddenly, the rational, self-conscious part of her brain barged in and trampled over her dreamy feelings. She looked away quickly as she felt her face heating up again. Luckily, the sunburn covered up any evidence of her embarrassment. She cleared her throat.

"So, it's settled then?"

"What is?"

"You and me. We aren't going to be awkward around each other anymore."

"Oh, yes, that's right. We won't." Jesse smiled at her, but she thought he looked disappointed.

"Jesse!" Tuck's voice cut through Winnie's thoughts like a knife. She and Jesse both turned to see Tuck standing on the porch with a hammer in his hand. Jesse stood quickly.

"Sir?"

"I need you to help me for a minute with this chair. We need an extra pair of hands."

Jesse turned to Winnie apologetically, but she waved him away. "It's alright. We'll finish talking later. I think I'm going to sit here for a while and watch the birds."

He nodded at her and started back down the dock. Then he turned back and said, "But we're okay now, right?"

"Yes, Jesse, we're okay."

He nodded again. "Good."

She watched his retreating form as he walked toward the house and ran the last few words of their conversation through her mind. Somehow, she was disappointed to only be "okay" with Jesse Tuck.