And here's the last of it. Hope you've enjoyed reading, I've enjoyed writing.
Deeper Secrets chapter fourteen: Deeper Secrets Revealed
A month had come and gone. The plantation was running good. No more problems with the weather. Everything was going good. The last of the crops had been picked, and soon they would need to plant for the new season. Jeffery was sure this would be a good year. He stood looking over the field as the sun was rising. He breathed in the deep air. Free air.
"Know of a good place a fella can get a place t'stay?" A voice called from behind him. He knew that voice and turned at it.
"Remy!" The man in the uniform slide from the stallion's back, and hugged his friend.
"Watch da shoulder, mon ami. Still sore."
"Remy, we thought you were tried and hanged." Jeffery tried his best to hide the excitement.
"Somebody was watchin' out for me." He tugged, and Jeffery saw the gold cross around his still tanned neck.. "Helped me find my way. I was able to prove my innocence."
"That's great!" the big man yelled then sobered. "Ro...thinks you're..."
"I get the idea," he said mounting up.
"What happened to your shoulder?" he asked out of curiosity.
"Fell getting my proof. Jus' sore from ridin'."
"Wonderful horse," he commented eyeing Remy's mount.
"Came from a wonderful friend. I'm off t'see Ro."
"She's at the house."
"Thanks, and congratulations." He rode off. When he reached the house Ro was sweeping the porch off. He let the horse wonder and silently crept up the steps. Pulling the scarf out of his pocket he stepped behind her, slipping it over her eyes.
"What the..." she screamed and reached for the scarf.
"No need t'struggle, chere." She turned around.
"Remy! Oh my goss," she said in a soft voice and reached up and hugged him. "Tell meh dis isn't a dream?"
"It's not a dream, chere." He dropped the scarf around her neck and pulled her close. "Neither is this." He leaned over and took her to himself. A kiss deeper than the ocean passed between them, and all the passion of a month without her flowed from him.
"Ah thought...you were..."she said when they had broke.
"I'm here, chere. And I'm not leaving 'long as you want me."
"Remy,...Ah want you, but...there's some things Ah need to know first."
"Answer mine, I'll answer yours. Any and all." She smiled at him, and he picked her up with a moan and carried her into the house.
"You're hurt," she said when he placed her on the couch in the living room.
"It's nothing," he dismissed, but she insisted and pulled him to the couch beside her. Undoing his uniform and shirt brought up memories of the flood, of lying next to him. Could she handle losing him again? I ain't leaving. Finally, with the last button undone, she pushed his clothes back to reveal his bandaged shoulder.
"What happened?" she breathed.
"Fell of the side of a cliff while climbing down it. Remy fine...now that he has you." She had missed the third person, but hit him instead of kissing him.
"Why were you on a cliff?""
"Retrieving my proof, chere. Proved my innocence, I did." She rubbed over his left shoulder.
"There is no innocence to you, Remy LeBeau." Something caught her eye. It was a dark scar that she had never seen before. "Is this...new?" She brushed it with her fingers.
"Happened long time ago, chere. Worth the pain. Saved a close friend." He answered with a smile.
"Who was this close friend?" she asked with suspicion.
"Is Normington. John Normington. Right after the war started. They made me captain 'cause of it."
"Normington. Ah'd like to give him a piece of my mind."
"No, chere. Ya don't. Told the colonel my story, got him to believe it. Let me go get the proof I needed. He's still my friend. Gave me his best mount."
"Ah don't know if Ah can ever trust him after what he's done," Ro stated bitterly.
"You may not trust Remy after ya hear your answers." She looked at him funny. "You won't like what you hear." So they began.
"Question one," she stated.
"What happened t'Joseph? How did he die?" She had briefly told him, but wanted the whole story.
"At the last race he rode Ace. They were at the last leg of the race, he was in the lead. There was a tricky jump. When they landed, Ace stumbled. Joseph...he...fell into a fallen tree. It had broken limbs everywhere. They pierced his body. No one knows if he died instantly or suffered." She was crying now and used the scarf to wipe her eyes.
"Dat's why ya didn't want me to ride?"
"Ah was afraid it might happen to you, and Ah'd...lose two...that Ah loved." She was shaking now.
"Easy, love," he said pulling her into his arms. "It's fine. Question one?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Ah have so many questions."
"We've got the time, chere."
"Okay. Let's...uh...Ah don't know where to start," Ro admitted.
"Shall I tell it from the beginning?" She shook her had and he began.
Hours later, after he had spilled his soul to her, they sat there. Him still on the couch, her in the farthest chair from him. He was drained, and scared. Truly scared. She was silent. Too silent.
"I told ya, you wouldn't like what you heard. I go now," he said and waited for a reply. None. Then a sigh.
"Let me see if Ah've gotten this. You were born in New Orleans and grew up there as a thief. A master thief. You ran away when you were fifteen, and became a killer-for-hire known as Gambit. And made a good livin' because of your skills." She paused and he nodded. "You did that until you were nineteen, when you found out you had killed an innocent man and possibly more. Struck with horror you ran off an' joined the army, telling them nothing of your past." Pause again. Nod. "You've been in the army for six years, making you twenty-five. You had no official training because you were already skilled with a gun. No mention of the past. You were made captain at twenty-one, have been ever since. And you have medals for saving Normington, the colonel, your entire squad, amongst other things. You were accused of murdering one of your own men, Scott Somters, Jr., who left you that cross, and were found not guilty because of a carrisack you stole from the Union spy that killed Scott. Have Ah missed anything?" she asked after summarizing everything he had just told her.
"The reason I stopped being a killer."
"Go on," she urged.
"The innocent man I killed...was John's father. David Jonathan Normington. His son vowed to kill the man who killed his father. When I learned who John's father was, I had to tell him the truth. That was after I had...saved his life they say."
"They say?" she inquired.
"I was just protecting a man. He forgave me, and has never held it over my head." He smiled, a short laugh escaped his parched throat. "Think of all dose that would like to get a piece of Gambit." He sighed. She knew everything. His entire life laid out on the table. This was the most vulnerable he'd ever felt. He hung his head. Too much silence.
"Remy." He looked up. "Ah don't believe it."
"It's true." She got up, padded over to him, sat on the couch, a finger pressed against his lips to stop the flow of words.
"No. Ah won't believe it. You're a good man, Remy. Yes, you have a bad past. But it's the past. Look what you've done for me. For the farm. All of the money for supplies. Then the race winnings."
"You got those?" he asked quickly, having forgotten them.
"Yes. The farm is safe. Thanks to you." He let out another short laugh. "If you don't think saving all of those men of this farm makes you good, look at me." And he did, with a confused look. "Remy, what you've done to meh, Ah can't even begin to explain. You've freed meh. It hurt at first, that first day we met. Muh whole body started hurting. The only thing that numbed the pain was the same thing that caused it. You."
"Ro, I'm so sorry. I never meant..." She stopped him again.
"To hurt meh? What hurt meh was knowin'...thinkin' that Ah'd never see you again, and Ah never told ya how Ah felt. That's what killed meh." She took his hands in his. They sat silent for a few minutes. "Come here." She led him, hand in hand, from the living room up to her room. He stopped just inside the door as she walked to the night stand. "What does this mean?" She held up the paper and he stepped closer to see it. "What do you have to be sorry about?"
"No, chere. It's a question. To you."
"Am Ah sorry? For what?" She was confused now.
"You da master thief, chere. You've stolen my heart and soul."
"Oh," she breathed, then sat down on the bed. "Forgive me?" she asked uncertain.
"Only if you never give it back," he said kneeling before her. Then he looked at the night stand. The tin-type of himself and his back-up picks were there. That's when he realized she was in one of his shirts. The one from the day they had met. He laid his head in her hands folded in her lap and breathed in her scent. "Forgive me, chere."
"For what?"
"For not telling you when I had da chance."
"Tell me what," she whispered. Her heart skipped a beat or two.
"That I love you. From da moment I saw your beautiful eyes, I knew I had to be with you. I tried not to get close, but someone else had other plans." He looked to the ceiling and beyond. She laughed and kissed one of his hands. "What did you mean by 'two' earlier, chere/"
"Two that Ah loved." She breathed deep, to the very depth of her soul. "Ah love you, Remy LeBeau. With everything that's in me. I truly love you." He stood and pulled her with him. Again a deep kiss, deeper than the first if that were possible. He didn't hold back and felt her do the same. She wanted him, needed him. Loved him. In that moment he promised himself he would never let this woman go. Never. And to prove this promise to God, he dropped to one knee, her hand still in his. He stared up at her and slipped something from a pocket in his uniform.
"I love you. I never want to let go. Never want to leave. As long as you'll have me?" He slipped the ring onto her hand. "Will you marry me, Ro? I ain't much, but I'm all yours."
Those were the sweetest words she had ever heard. The tears were piling up. She looked to the man before her. Her stranger, her captain. The man she loved. "As long as you'll have meh" she said softly at first. "Yes."
He stood and she could she the tears and fear fall from his eyes. He hugged her, burying his head in her neck, his hands in her long hair. He never wanted to let go, and neither did she.
"Thank you," he breathed next to her skin.
"For what?" her pitch matched his.
"For loving me."
"Ah love everything about you." She pulled back, breaking his hold. "Everything." He kissed her again. "There's something we need to do while there's still light."
"I'll do anything for you, chere. Walk to the moon and back."
"Come then," she urged. He buttoned his shirt, leaving the uniform jacket open as they walked out to the barn. He retrieved his mount as she tacked Ace. Together they rode off.
Several minutes later they stopped on a hill a short distance from a fenced in area. They dismounted and walked over hand in hand. She took a long necklace he hadn't seen before and unlocked the gate. They entered, him following. She stood in front of the large decorated tombstone.
"Ah know Ah said Ah wouldn't be back. Guess Ah lied." At first Remy was confused, then caught on. "Joseph, Ah'd like you to meet Remy LeBeau. Remy, this is Joseph Valentine." He nodded. "You remember Ah mentioned, Joseph, that Ah'd met someone. Well," she paused and swallowed hard. "Here he is. Ah jus' wanted you two to meet. Show you Ah'm doing fine." She wiped her eyes. "Guess we'll be going now." She walked away, out of the fence. "Coming?"
"Give me a minute, chere?" She nodded and walked to the horses. He bent down, next to the headstone. "I've never done this. Talk t'the dead before. Put plenty in the ground, but never talked t'one. I'm sorry for your loss. She's a great lady." He looked over his shoulder to her. "You were a lucky man then. I'm one now. I promised God I'd take care of her. An' I promise you da same." He stood and walked out. She came back, locked the gate back, and hung the key on the three foot door. They mounted up and rode home.
The silver moon was rising, leaving a golden land in shadows. On a small hill there sat a woman, watching as the moon cast its glow on all she owned. All these things hadn't made her happy. Not until he came. Something had been missing. Sitting up here with her husband she knew what it was. Her heart. And he had brought it back to life.
The End
Hoped you liked it, I love it. See ya next time.
What would everyone say to a sequal?
