Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

TLWtlw – After your review I could not resist.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

After Scarlett came out of her office and saw Rhett, she didn't say a word. She simply turned around to walk back into her office.

Rhett quickly said, "We need to talk."

Scarlett scowled at him and said, "No."

"Yes, give me five minutes in your office."

Scarlett would talk to Rhett because she might need him to give her some grace on her loan. She might also be able to use him in the future. She said, "Not in my office. Let's go outside."

"Alright."

Once Rhett and Scarlett were outside, he said, "I'm sorry for how badly I treated you during our marriage."

"Saying you are sorry doesn't fix anything."

Rhett smiled. That was what he had said to her when she had tried to say she was sorry the night Miss Melly died. That night she had been willing to accept all the blame for the failure of their marriage and he had been more than happy to blame her for the demise of their marriage when in truth the disaster that was their marriage was probably more his fault than hers. Not that she didn't have some responsibility for the ruin of their marriage.

Rhett said, "True, but I have to say it nonetheless."

"It is too little, too late."

"I have heard that before also. It isn't. I am willing to atone for my actions."

"Go on."

"I'm not exactly sure how I can do that but the first thing I can do which is the easiest for me is that I can give you money."

"I don't need money."

"Maybe not right now but if you do, I will give it to you, no questions asked. In fact, I think that you need to not try to pay me back the five hundred for at least a year."

Scarlett didn't realize how much she had relaxed with Rhett's statement. He wasn't going to hound her for the money. It was a no interest loan, so she might as well take him up on his offer. She smiled at Rhett. The first genuine smile he had seen since their return. Definitely, the first genuine smile he had seen since he had betrayed her by having relations with Belle.

Rhett also visibly saw her relax. He had not known how much tension she had been under until she had relaxed. He decided that she was a great actress, indeed.

Scarlett said, "Thank you.

Scarlett and Rhett stood on the porch with neither person speaking. The silence was awkward but in Rhett's opinion he was happy there was no hostility oozing off of Scarlett.

To break the silence, Scarlett said, "By the way, I hired one of those men you sent my way."

"Who?"

"George Bailey."

"Good poker player."

"He is older than I thought a man would be who was willing to give everything up to start anew."

"He and his wife lost both their sons in the war, and they wanted to get away from the memories."

"I find that even stranger. If their sons died in the war, how can they move down here. I would think they would hate all of us."

"Surprisingly no."

"I hope he works out. He will start Monday and Hugh will start working at the store again."

"Great."

"Now if I can figure a solution for Tara."

"What is the problem?"

"There is no one to run Tara. I have to stay here to take care of the sawmills and the store."

"Why can't your brother-in-law run it?"

"He isn't an O'Hara."

"Get your sister to run it."

"She ran off with that worthless sack of shit Frank Kennedy."

Rhett smiled broadly at Scarlett's words and said, "I meant your other sister."

"She is a nun."

"She is a novice. Furthermore, if Tara goes under and you lose it then she doesn't have a dowery."

"Thank you, Rhett."

The smile Scarlett gave Rhett made him feel good all the way down to his toes. It made him hope he could win her heart again. He cautioned himself to not get ahead of himself. It was just one smile. It was far from a done deal.

Scarlett said, "Thank you. About the loan and about Careen. I have to figure out what I am going to say to her."

"You are going to Charleston?"

"No, she is in a convent here in Atlanta this time. It will be good to talk to her no matter what. She hasn't written since she entered the convent, which is unusual for her. She is normally a good correspondent. I miss her. Goodbye."

Before Rhett could answer, Scarlett was back in the building. He decided it was a great place for them to end their conversation. While she was happy and pleased with him for his solution.

Rhett managed to stay away from Scarlett's home and her store for another week. Clarence was assuring him that he needed to give her some space while she got her life together. He went to her store and asked to see Mrs. Kennedy.

When Scarlett came out of the back and saw him, she smiled at him. Not her smile to entrap a man, but the smile she used to give him when he met her at the bend in the road. She had been so happy when he drove her back from her sawmills. Rhett had not truly realized but that was one of the few times in his acquaintanceship that he had known her to be happy.

Rhett said, "Shall we step outside?"

"Yes."

"How did it go?"

"With what?"

"You talking to your sister? What is her name? I don't remember you talking about her that much when ….."

"I guess I didn't. She wasn't really in my life after she went into the convent. Her name is Caroline Irene, but everyone called her Careen. I think she is going by Sister Mary Joseph now."

"Well?"

"I haven't talked to her yet."

"Why not?"

"I have been busy."

"It is alright to be a little nervous."

"I'm not nervous."

Rhett smiled. That was the status of their relationship. Don't ever show any weakness. Both of them. Don't ever swallow your pride and offer the olive branch. Hold on to your pride. That is what is important. Your pride! Your conceit!

This was an opportunity to show Scarlett his compassionate side. This was an opportunity for him to let her know that if she showed him her weaker side, he would not take advantage of her for doing so.

Rhett quietly said, "I would be nervous. This is particularly important to you." Scarlett stared at Rhett waiting for the cutting comment. The mocking comment that had been his style during his entire relationship with Scarlett. He continued, "I am serious. If I had to talk to my sibling about something this important knowing he or she would not be receptive to what I was going to tell them, I would be nervous." Scarlett continued to stare at Rhett. He finally said, "You will think of the right words to say. You always do."

"Not with you."

"That is because I am too cynical. I always see the worst in any situation."

That made Scarlett smile. She said, "You never believed anything I said to you."

Rhett decided to risk a joke. He said, "That is because you were always lying to me. You always wanted me and everyone else to see you as better and more noble than you truly were. Most people just went along with it as to not cause waves. I love to cause waves so, of course, I had to call you on it.

With a scowl, Scarlett said, "Of course, you did. You were always poking holes in my stories."

Rhett smiled and said, "True. That is because I enjoy poking holes in people's stories. Even though I am as big a hypocrite as anyone else, I still like pointing out how other people are being hypocrites. Remember when you told me the truth about your actions in regard to marrying Frank?"

"Yes."

"Did I condemn you for that?"

"No."

"In fact, I admired you for obtaining your goal no matter what. I just want you to tell me the truth. Not pretend to be something you aren't."

"I would like you to tell me the truth also."

"Alright. I will tell you my darkest secret."

"What?"

"You certainly are eager."

Scarlett pulled back and said, "No! You are just setting me up to make fun of me."

Rhett smiled. There was so much justifiable mistrust between them that it was going to take a small miracle for them to ever trust one another again. No, that wasn't right. They had never trusted each other.

With all the seriousness he could muster, Rhett said, "Not this time. Here it is. I love you. I have always loved you. I have never stopped loving you. I will never stop loving you."

"How can you say that after everything you did to me? Before, during, and after we were married. You told your lawyer that you wanted nothing more than to be rid of me."

"That was a lie. What I have always wanted since I was kicked out was to have a home."

"A home!?"

"Yes, a home. With a loving wife and lots and lots of children."

"I guess that was why you wanted to be rid of me so you could have that happy home."

"Did you not hear me tell you that I love you and always will? The last thing I wanted was to be divorced from you."

"Then why did you offer me a divorce?"

"I didn't want you to know how much I still cared."

"I had told you I loved you. You could have come home. Despite you having filed for divorce I had still been hoping you would just show back up like you always had before."

"I wish I had."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I couldn't stand the pain of it not being true or of you laughing in my face at my stupidity for having believed you."

Scarlett stared at Rhett in stunned surprise. As she looked at him, he was not the arrogant man she had always known. He was scared. Scared of her rejection despite the number of times he had rejected her. She said, "I have never laughed in your face. Yes, I would have tried to use your love for my advantage but that is what users like us do. We use everything to our advantage. If you loved me, why were you so mean to me?"

"I don't know why I did all the horrible things I did to you. I think a lot of it was my vanity. How could you love Mr. Wilkes over me? It was obvious that I was the better man."

"Rhett…."

"But to you I wasn't. That didn't mean you were obtuse or childish or selfish or self-centered. It just meant that your heart wanted Mr. Wilkes. I have learned that. The heart wants what the heart wants. So how do you feel about me now?"

"It doesn't matter. I will never marry you again. I am too afraid of tying myself to that horrible man that you became again. Not that it really matters. I would have to get rid of Frank before I could marry you."

"Get divorced from Frank whether you want to marry me or not."

"I'm going to. I have to be rid of Frank so that in seventy-four I can go to Boston, meet Patrick, and live happily ever after."

"At least until he gets hit by lightning and dies."

Scarlett turned a shock face to Rhett. She said, "You know about Patrick."

"Of course, I do. I had the Pinkerton Agency find you. I had hoped to have a reconciliation. Unfortunately for me you had already married Mr. Green."

"You knew about Patrick's death. Why didn't you try for a reconciliation after he had died?"

"I knew you didn't love Frank or really even care for him therefore when I called on you so quickly after Frank's death, I knew I was not disturbing your mourning. I did know that you would need time to grieve Mr. Green. I knew that you honestly cared for him."

"I loved Patrick."

Although the words hurt Rhett, they were not unexpected. It had just been confirmed that he had an exceedingly high mountain to climb.