Anna followed the trail to the creek, past the smoky engine still chugging away, and deep into the woods. She was nearing the slough, where noise from Si’s engine was distant and blessedly muffled, when she heard the sound of splashing water. Jesse’s smoky clothes lay in a heap beneath a sprawling oak, which cast its shade onto the beautiful natural pool that Si and Dolly had shown them. Anna set down her basket and spread the quilt.
At first Jesse didn’t see her beside the tree. He was a few yards from the bank, standing in a sunny spot with his back to her. The water hit him just below his shoulders. After tipping his head back into the water, he reached up to run his hands through his hair. Anna had always thought his arms and shoulders were beautiful. Hard work had chiseled them with strength, and she loved the feel of them.
He turned around and caught her staring at him. For a moment, he stared back. But then he smiled and said, “Sure looks hot up there on that bank.”
Anna smiled back at him.
“Want to come in?”
She looked around. “What if somebody catches us?”
Jesse scanned the woods around the slough. “All clear.”
“I’m your husband!”
“I know, but it’s broad daylight!” Anna argued back.
“Okay, okay, I’ll turn around.”
Anna hid as best she could between the oak tree and a canebrake encircling part of the slough and laid her clothes in a neat stack. Then she scanned the woods one last time, got a running start, and jumped into the slough before anybody could see her.
Jesse was laughing when she wiped the water from her eyes and opened them. She had to stand on tiptoe when she reached him.
“Did you peek?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Are you touching bottom?”
“Barely—another step and I’ll be swimming.”
“Remember how to swirl?” He held his arms out with his palms up.
Anna smiled and laid her arms over his. They held on to each other, both of them laughing as he pulled her through the water in a circle around him.
“Think your pirate and his lady ever did this?”
“I hope so,” Anna said. “I’d hate to think Catherine missed out on it.”
Jesse stopped, but they kept holding on to each other, still at arm’s length. “Anna,” he finally said, “I’ve been such a—I mean, I’ve thrown away so much of our time together—I’m so sorry for the way . . .”
“I don’t want you to be sorry,” she said. “I just want you to let me back in. It’s so lonely out here without you, Jesse.”
He pulled her to him and held her close as she buried her face in the curve of his neck and released a year’s worth of sadness. He stroked her back and her long, wet hair, letting her cry all of their hard times into a sunlit pool deep in the Alabama woods.
As Anna’s tears subsided, Jesse’s hands were no longer comforting but reclaiming. The waters of the slough reflected a kiss, long and deep, before Jesse carried Anna to her mother’s quilt and the two of them let the tall pines drink in their kisses and sighs and whispers.