Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

Chapter Nine

These days the boys would be on the lookout for Rhett. They ran over to Scarlett and Rhett when they saw him. She gave the boys their sandwiches. They thanked him, but they never looked at him. They also always ran off.

Scarlett always had to call her Pa over. She hoped that was because he never remembered Rhett being in the park. She was not worried about Pa saying something and exposing her meetings with Rhett. She could make everyone believe that Pa's statements where the ramblings of an old man.

She ate her sandwich while Rhett fed the baby. As she watched him feeding Melanie, she thought back on how stupid she had been when Bonnie had been born. She smiled. How jealous she had been. She had taken Rhett's devotion for granted until it wasn't there. Instead of analyzing her feelings she had just lashed out at Rhett and refused even to herself to acknowledge how important he and his attentions were to her. She had also been pretty obtuse not to realize despite his denial to the contrary that Rhett was insanely jealous of Ashley.

Scarlett had found a way to sneak the honey into the oatmeal that she, Mammy, and the boys were eating. She had put it in their bowls then just put the oatmeal on top of it. She told the boys, "Stir your oatmeal. It is hot."

The boys had done so. After the first bite was in their mouth, their heads had shot up. There was a questioning look on both their faces. Scarlett had smiled and put her finger to her lips. The boys had nodded then wolfed the cereal down. Scarlett had kept smiling the entire meal. No words were spoken.

When Mammy brought her bowl back in and put it in the sink she whispered, "Thank you, child." She had not waited on a response but had walked off to the nursery.

A week after they had been meeting Rhett in the park, disaster befell Scarlett. Or would have if Wade hadn't been a very smart nine-year-old. Over supper, Beau had been talking about their day at the park. He was talking about a lot of things. He said, "There's this man that brings us…."

Wade turned his milk over. It went everywhere. There was no more conversation. Scarlett and India jumped up to get some towels. Ashley lectured Wade on being more careful. Soon the mess was cleaned up and the conversation had moved on.

The next day as they walked to the park Scarlett said, "Beau, we can't tell anyone about the man that meets us in the park. He is a friend of Mama's but for reasons you won't understand Father would be unhappy if he knew that a man was giving you sandwiches every day."

"I don't understand but Wade said that if Father found out about the man bringing us sandwiches Father would make us not accept the sandwiches anymore."

"That is true and, Darling, that is all you need to know right now. She looked at her eldest son and said, "Thank you, Wade. You are such a good boy."

Scarlett smiled as the boys ran ahead. Both boys had inherited that Hamilton insight. Charlie was the only person Wade could have gotten it from. She looked at her father to see if there was any awareness in his face. There wasn't. For the sake of her rendezvous with Rhett that was a good thing. For the sake of Pa's life that was an incredibly sad thing. For the first time ever, she wondered if the way Pa had died in the original timeline hadn't been better. He had gone out in a blaze of glory. He had been doing what he loved to do, jumping his horse.

When Sunday came, Scarlett was sick again. Although Ashley gave her a questioning look, he had not challenged her on her claim of being sick. She had ignored Ashley and the look. She returned to her room to wait for the other members of the household to leave. After they left, she ate her toast and honey. She had felt as decadent as she had the first time.

Scarlett had done more thinking since she had been given her gift of perception than she had ever done before. She truly had become a more observant person. What she knew now was that she had something special. She had a je na sais quoi that would make most men want her no matter what. That had been what all her beaus had been attracted to including Rhett and Ashley. She smiled. It certainly hadn't been her kind-heart and gentle-soul. She laughed.

Ashley had been smart enough to know that Melanie was the better choice to be his wife. Whether he married Melanie because he knew he loved her or because she was the better choice or because of family pressures wasn't really important. What was important was that during that meeting in the library when she told him she loved him he had been a coward. He had not had the strength of character to tell her the truth. The truth that he loved Melanie. He could dress it up in pretty clothes to make himself feel better that he hadn't told her the truth to spare her feelings. Yet, the reality of the situation was that he had been too much of a coward to tell her the truth. The man that wanted to live in a world removed from everyone else didn't have the courage to tell her the truth. He thought she would never challenge him on his behavior. That she would behave like a lady and just go away and then he wouldn't have to deal with the problem. If the war hadn't come, she probably would have found someone else and forgotten about Ashley. After the war he was not coping in their world they were living in. In his selfishness he had not let her drift away. In his selfishness he had needed her admiration and for her to carry him. For a man who claimed to be so honorable, he had treated both her and Melly dishonorably. Her by leading her on and Melly by being unfaithful to her. Not just in his mind but with his body. After all, each time she had kissed him he had kissed her back.

The day Rhett had brought cooked green beans was a memory Scarlett hoped she never forgot. Rhett had been feeding Melanie the green beans. They soon discovered that Melanie did not like the green beans when she spewed them out of her mouth onto Rhett's face. Scarlett had tried so hard to not laugh because she certainly didn't want Rhett to get mad and go away. Rhett took out his handkerchief and cleaned his face. In an amused voice he said, "I don't think she likes green beans."

She had burst out laughing and to her relief he had joined her in that laughter. She took the handkerchief from him and cleaned up the spots he had missed. While she was doing it, Rhett grabbed her hand. She whispered, "Please, don't. I can't."

Rhett let go of her hand and whispered, "Of course, my dear."

Scarlett changed the subject to break up the awkward silence. She said, "Ashley said something last night that I didn't understand."

"What did he say?"

"He said something about a dog and a manger. I don't remember exactly."

"It is from Aesop's fables. I will buy you a copy of the book and you can read it in its entirety."

"Can you tell me about it now?"

"Yes, although I'm still buying you the book. They are truly short stories. I think you will like the book."

"Alright."

"Basically, a dog won't let the cattle into the barn to get to their manger…."

"What is a manger?"

"A food trough. The dog won't let them in the barn. He can't eat the hay, but he isn't allowing the cattle to eat their food. Moral of the story is: Don't begrudge others what you yourself cannot enjoy."

Scarlett looked at Rhett for a long time without speaking. Yes, Rhett had stupidly thought the only reason she had not wanted to have any more children and therefore not sleep with him was something Ashley had said to get her to kick him out of her bed. In that moment she wondered if her husband ever listened to her when she talked. She knew that Frank had often not listened when she was talking about something. She had told Rhett when he proposed that she didn't want to have any more children. She had wanted to get rid of Bonnie because she didn't want to have any more children. She had been miserable her entire confinement. Yes, her husband was an idiot as far as she was concerned. Scarlett worked at controlling her features. Finally, Rhett said, "What is it, Honey? You look distressed."

That made Scarlett smile. Only Rhett could so carelessly use that term of endearment without any feeling behind it. That thought made Scarlett smile bigger. Maybe he wasn't using that term of endearment carelessly. Maybe he was pretending to use it carelessly so she wouldn't know how much he cared.

"No, I am not distressed. I will enjoy reading the stories. Can you buy me a book on Greek mythology? We have one at the house, but I have finished reading it."

"Of course, I'll buy you anything you want."

"Thank you. What is your relationship with Belle Watling?"

"How do you know I have a relationship with Belle?"

Scarlett told him about the handkerchief incident. Rhett smiled a bemused smile and said, "We have a business relationship. I am a half owner of The Painted Lady."

"Do you live there?"

Rhett laughed and said, "My, my. Mrs. Wilkes you are certainly being bold in your questions."

"Well?"

"No, I do not live there. I would never live there. That would be too seedy even for me."

Scarlett blushed but she made herself ask, "Is she your mistress?"

"Mistress implies exclusiveness, and she is not exclusive to me. No more talking about Belle. I will answer the question you really want to know. Her only importance to me is as someone to run the saloon and brothel. If she fails to make a profit, I will replace her."

Rhett changed the subject by telling her of his travels.

As Scarlett had returned to her house, she now knew that Rhett had thought the only reason she had stated she didn't want to have any more children was because of Ashley's influence. That Ashley had somehow urged her to kick Rhett out of her bed. She was not going to lie to herself and claim Ashley had not influenced her, but this was another occasion that Rhett's people skills had failed him. Or maybe it was another occasion when Rhett had been so focused on her relationship with Ashley, he completely forgot how many times she had told him she didn't want to have any more children or how miserable she had been during her pregnancy. Yes, her husband was an idiot sometimes. That made her smile.

Scarlett now knew also that Belle's value to Rhett in the other timeline was as a weapon against her and as a woman to make Rhett feel loved and wanted. The truth was that Rhett hadn't even seen Belle as enough of a person for him to ever consider her feelings. He probably never had. Yes, her husband was a selfish idiot.

The next day, Rhett gave Scarlett three books. They were titled, Aesop's Fables, Greek Mythology Legends, and The Odyssey. After she had looked at them, Rhett said, "The Odyssey is one of my favorite books."

"Thank you, Rhett. Don't buy me anymore until I read these. I will have to find some place to hide them. Luckily, I have my own room. Ashley and I don't want to have any more children."

Scarlett had told Rhett the last part to make him happy and she saw that it did. It wasn't that he was smiling or anything like that. She could just tell he was pleased.