Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Thirty-Three

Soon supper was over, and Rhett joined Scarlett and Pittypat in the parlor. PittyPat would have liked to tell Scarlett that Captain Butler wasn't welcome in the parlor for so many reasons but because she was scared of Scarlett, she didn't say a word. PittyPat also knew Scarlett was paying all her living expenses. PittyPat was afraid Scarlett would kick her out if she became a nuisance. With their move to the parlor the group talked about other things. PittyPat told them all the latest gossip except the gossip about Scarlett and Rhett. Of course, Rhett knew all the gossip about him and Scarlett courtesy of Belle. He would not tell Scarlett any of it. It was just more garbage about how she wasn't behaving properly.

It always amazed Rhett how everyone else was excused their improper behavior because of the financial hardship everyone was facing but Scarlett. She was not given any quarter. Hypocrites.

As Scarlett walked Rhett to the door she said, "Thank you for believing me."

"That is one of the mistakes I made in our first timeline. Doubting everything you said. Never just trusting you."

"Of course, the fact that I was lying to you half the time may have colored your thinking."

"True. This time I am going to believe you unless I have a true reason to doubt you."

"I have no reason to lie to you. You already know the way I truly am."

"And I love that woman."

Scarlett smiled and said, "Good. She needs that love. Good night, Rhett"

Rhett left the house. As he got on his horse, he thought, 'Not the response I wanted but better than an out and out denial that she would ever love me again.'

As Scarlett was getting ready for bed she thought about Rhett. He had been a real hero today. He did something wonderful. Hopefully, he wouldn't run away. She loved the Rhett she had been with today. Heroic, funny, resourceful, and handsome. He had been her best friend once again.

Scarlett just didn't know if she could ever trust him enough to marry him again. The other Rhett was so hurtful and cruel she could never go back to that. She would think about it tomorrow.

Will was happy. Suellen was gone and he certainly didn't want her to come back. If there had ever been a mean tempered woman, it was Suellen. She had looked at him most of the time like he was beneath her. She had endured having relations with him. She had acted like he was stupid because he couldn't read. Nobody had ever been willing to teach him.

Hurrah! She was gone and Will had his baby girl and Tara. Now he heard that Careen had left the convent and was going to be living at Tara for a while. He hoped she lived there forever. He certainly would try to make it happen. He had also heard that she was going to teach him how to read. Life had certainly taken a turn for the better. He did wonder what had happened to Careen to cause her to leave the convent, but he would not ask. If some day she wanted to tell him, he would listen.

Rhett had gone to The Painted Lady and played some cards. Capt. Jaffery had come in and the men had talked about the day. Jaffery finally said, "The really sad thing is those women will move their show down the road. They won't be connected with the Catholic Church anymore. They will be some religion where God talked to them."

"The saddest part, Tom, is they think they are doing good works in all this physical abuse."

"Yeah. Let's not talk about it anymore. I don't want everyone knowing about it."

"Fine. I'm just worried about those women harming my….. friend and her family."

"Not to worry. Those women are long gone."

"I am going to have Scarlett be cautious for a while."

"Good idea."

The men continued talking and Rhett won some money. He took himself upstairs. He was going to have relations with whores until he could get Scarlett to agree to marry him again.

Rhett walked home and found Clarence waiting in his hotel room. Clarence had actually been with Rhett the entire time, but he had been dematerialized. He also had his back turned. It was bad enough that he had to listen to it, but he didn't want to have to see it also.

Rhett told Clarence about his day and how happy he was that Scarlett had reached out to him and he had been able to help her. How he had kissed her. It had been a special kiss.

Clarence said, "What did you learn?"

Rhett stared at the angel and said, "What did I learn?"

"Yes, what did you learn?"

"I don't know. I met her needs, and she thanked me."

"Do you think it cost her any part of her pride to ask you for your help?"

"I don't think so. She knew I would help her."

"Exactly. Why do you think she loved Patrick Green?"

"I don't know."

"He wasn't handsome, he wasn't rich, and he wasn't especially smart. In fact, he was kind of an average guy."

"I don't know."

"Ask her. By the way, did you ask her about her mother or her conversation with Mrs. Merriwether before she married you."

"I haven't had a chance. We have been busy. You know saving the girls and all."

"What you did there was a good thing. Remember part of my job is to keep you on track."

"Alright but I'm going to sleep and dream of Scarlett."

That night Scarlett dreamed of her and Rhett on their honeymoon and how much fun they had. As things do in dreams suddenly Bonnie was with them, and they were a family. When they got on the train to go back to Atlanta, she was very muchly with child. She had been laughing at something Rhett said. She turned to him and said, "You can always make me laugh."

That night Careen dreamed the most peaceful dreams she had dreamed in a very long time. Since she had woken up with the other nun in her room watching her sleep, Careen had truly not gotten a good night's sleep. She had dreamed some dreams that made no sense.

Careen had dreamed about Brent and the one-time he had come to visit her during the war. It was the Christmas before Gettysburg. Brent had been cheerful and upbeat. Whenever Pa would try to get him to talk about the war Brent refused. Brent had told her that he loved her, and she had told him that she loved him during his leave. The dream morphed away from the memory of that time. She and Brent were sitting on the porch on the slider which they certainly couldn't do in December. Brent turned to Careen and said, "You have to go on. I am happy here in heaven. You have a lot to do on earth. Not the least to turn Tara into a profitable plantation again. Will and you will have a good life. Give the Cracker a chance."

Careen woke up with a start. She lit her lamp. Nobody was there. Nonetheless, she left the lamp lit as she thought about her dream. She didn't know about her and Will, but she was going to live in the outside world. If her older sister could manage a sawmill and a store, she with Will's help could manage a plantation. After all, it was Mother that ran Tara not Pa. She eventually went back to sleep, but she never blew out the lamp.

When Scarlett woke up the next morning, she was smiling. It had been such a happy dream but that was all it was a dream because Rhett could not be trusted. Or could he. She wished he could be. Maybe she would give him a little trust and see what he did with it. As she got out of the bed, she thought, 'He certainly came through for me yesterday. He gave of himself and his contacts not his money.'

Careen got up and faced the day. She was going to start living in the real world. If the war hadn't come, she and Brent could have had a life together, but the war did come. Brent was killed. Mother was dead. Pa was now dead also. She was not dead, and she was not going to hide herself away in a convent.

Careen agreed with Scarlett what happened to her was not the fault of the church but of some overly zealous women. If she went to another convent, everything would probably be perfect. Yet…. She could never trust strangers again. Maybe she and Will would end up together but first she had to learn how to run Tara and second Will would have to get himself divorced from Suellen. They could not be together until Will was divorced. She would ask Scarlett how long Suellen had to be gone before Will could divorce her.

Careen's thoughts were interrupted by the doorknob rattling. She went and unlocked the door. Mammy didn't ask why the door was locked. She knew why. The child was scared, and she had good reason to be scared. Mammy just made Careen undress then rubbed the salve on her back. Mammy thought the child wouldn't be scarred too badly. When Mammy was finished, she said, "Get some of Scarlett's clothes out of her chest of drawers. She never wears them anymore. They are too small for her, but she will never admit it."

Mammy and Careen shared a laugh. Careen thought, 'It is good to laugh. I haven't done that in so very long."

Rhett came by the store that afternoon. Scarlett came out from the back. When she saw him, she smiled a big smile. He said, "When do you want to go out to your mills?"

"Tomorrow would be good."

"I will meet you here around one. Will that be enough time for you to have had your dinner?"

"I go home for dinner so come have dinner with me tomorrow. We eat at noon."

"Certainly."

Scarlett was smiling as Rhett walked out of the store. She was thinking, 'He didn't run away.'

The entire purpose of Rhett dropping by the store was to let Scarlett know he hadn't run away. Clarence had pointed out that it was something he often did. Do something wonderful then run away. The angel had also told Rhett he needed to figure out why he did that. Once Clarence had pointed out his habit, he had not needed to wonder why he did that. He was afraid the other person would see him as weak for having done something nice or worse not appreciate his efforts. Rhett knew Scarlett had appreciated his efforts.

On the way out to the mills, Scarlett had thanked Rhett again for all his help. She was not a woman who frequently thanked people at all for their efforts, but Patrick had taught her to be more appreciative of people's efforts. He had said, "It takes so little to thank a person for their efforts and it means so much to them."

At first, Scarlett had to force herself to say thank you to Patrick, her children, the help, even strangers on the street but after a while she had acknowledged the truth of Patrick's statement. Thanking people still wasn't easy for her but it was a lot easier than it had been in her first timeline.

After Scarlett had thanked Rhett again, even she could see how much the thank you meant to him. She thought, 'Maybe he isn't as hard and cold as he wants people to think he is.'

The rest of the trip to and from the sawmills, they talked like the old friends they were. It was a pleasant afternoon. When Rhett was dropping Scarlett off, he said, "Driving you back from the mills is one of my favorite memories from our first timeline together."

"Me too."

A week later Scarlett was missing her children. It had been the right thing to do to send them to Tara for their safety. However, she was passed ready for them to come home. She and Rhett were going out for supper that night but the next day, she was going to Tara to get her children. No matter what Rhett said. Afterall, he wasn't the boss of her, and he never would be again. No matter what she was going to return to Patrick.