Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Rhett and Scarlett went to the store that afternoon. After looking over the books, Scarlett said to Hugh, "Would you like to buy the store?"

"I cannot afford to buy the store."

"I will let you pay for it over time."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Five hundred dollars. You can pay me forty-two dollars a month and within a year it will be paid off."

"Yes! Of course. This is a wonderful opportunity."

"Yes, it is. As soon as the store is legally mine, I will have my attorney, Mr. Powe, draw up the papers. I will let you know when you need to go to his office and sign the papers."

"Thank you. Thank you."

"Mr. Elsing, there is one other thing."

"Yes, Mrs. Butler?"

"You have to make sure your mother and sister stopped talking about me behind my back."

"I will try."

"No, Mr. Elsing, you must succeed. It will be in the contract, thus if you fail you will have voided the contract, and I will repossess the store."

Hugh stood up tall and said, "If either one speaks ugly about you again, I will stop supporting that person."

"Very good, Mr. Elsing. I will be in touch."

Rhett bought a box of chocolates for his mother and sister. As he and Scarlett were walking out of the store, he said, "They only need one box of chocolates."

Scarlett just smiled up at her husband.

Rhett and Scarlett went to Mr. Powe's office. She told him what she wanted to do with the store. He also told her that all Frank's property was now in her name. Mr. Powe had taken it to the judge while they were in New Orleans.

Scarlett said, "Isn't it wonderful, Rhett."

"Yes. It is wonderful."

Joe said, "Suzanne wanted me to tell you that she certainly misses our monthly suppers."

"We do too. Don't we Rhett?"

"Yes, Dear."

"We will have to go out to eat before Rhett and I leave town."

Joe said, "Sounds delightful."

Rhett said, "You have to pay for your own meals, though."

Everyone laughed.

Joe said with a smile, "Of course. Of course."

Rhett and Scarlett went to the bookstore. Thirty minutes and twenty dollars later they were leaving the store. Rhett said, "I love the fact you are a reader now, but I'm also afraid it is just one more thing for you to spend my money on."

Scarlett laughed.

The next morning, Scarlett was awake before Rhett. She woke him up the same way he woke her up. They had an enjoyable time. When they were finished, she said, "A very nice way to start the day."

"Indeed. I guess you are excited about going to Tara this morning."

Scarlett had been lying on top of Rhett. She raised herself up and said, "I can hardly wait to get there."

"Then get off me and let's get dressed."

"There is always a price for everything."

Rhett rolled Scarlett over and said, "Yes, there is."

Rhett kissed Scarlett then got out of the bed. He pulled her with him. Soon they were dressed and in the hotel dining room.

Scarlett said, "Do you like grits?"

"No."

"Good. I can't stand them."

"I will be sure to serve them at your funeral reception, along with yams."

"Luckily you will not out live me."

"I certainly wouldn't want to live without you."

"Rhett, I don't want to live without you either. I am so glad you quit smoking and drinking. If you were dying in eighty-four that would not be enough time for you to take care of our children."

"True, but they will have a great mother to take care of them if something happens to me."

"Thank you, Rhett. That is quite the compliment considering all the hateful things you said about my mothering skills in the last timeline."

Rhett captured Scarlett's chin. He looked straight at her and said, "Most everything I said was a lie. Its only purpose was to hurt you in the moment. Please, remember that when one of those hateful comments pops into your head. It was a lie."

Scarlett put her hand over Rhett's hand that was on her chin and said, "Thank you. Now let go of my chin so I can finish eating."

"Certainly, my love."

Soon the couple was finished with their breakfast. The day before Rhett had sent Will a telegram informing him that they would be on the nine o'clock train from Atlanta. Rhett and Scarlett took a cab to the station and soon they were on the train. They had not brought any luggage because they were not going to spend the night. After they were seated, Scarlett said, "Are you excited about our visit to Tara?"

"I am excited to be going with you and enjoying your excitement."

Scarlett frowned at Rhett then she smiled. She said, "Best I'm going to get, huh?"

Rhett grinned and said, "Yes."

Scarlett and Rhett talked about New Orleans, Boston, New York, and Europe. It was a happy conversation. Scarlett was happy and Rhett didn't want to talk about their past anymore. From now on he would let Scarlett bring the subject of their past up.

Will was at the train station in Jonesboro to pick up the happy couple. Will and Scarlett talked all the way out to Tara with Scarlett interrupting herself to point out landmarks to Rhett. Rhett knew she loved this land. Yet not like she did when she was almost twenty-one, but then again Tara represented so much more to her then. She had left Tara behind for her children's sake last time, and he guessed she was leaving it behind for the same reason.

When the buggy got to the clearing Wade and Ella raced towards it. Cassie came too, but that was because everyone else was running toward the buggy. There were hugs all around. Scarlett hugged the children, she hugged Mammy, she hugged Careen, she even hugged her aunts.

Scarlett couldn't help but notice that every time she saw her aunts, they looked older than they had the time before.

Wade and Ella gave Rhett hugs and Careen hugged him, but Mammy did not.

After Careen had come out on the porch to greet Rhett and Scarlett, she noticed that Careen's hair was looking good. It was to Careen's shoulders. She had a scarf tied around her head to keep her hair back. Scarlett thought, 'My sister is quite pretty. She would have given me a run for my money when she became old enough to receive callers. I would have annihilated her just as I did Suellen.

That thought made Scarlett feel shame. She thought of Suellen to get her mind off her disgusting behavior. In a moment of compassion often lacking in Scarlett, she felt sorry for Suellen. She had the misfortune to be born second to a much more charismatic woman who didn't care about anyone else, but herself. Scarlett thought, 'I hope she is living a good life now, wherever she is.'

Scarlett knew Suellen was not dead. She knew Suellen had sent the telegram. She knew her sister. She didn't know what Rhett had done, just that he had solved their problem quite nicely.

Scarlett shook off all thoughts of Suellen and joined Careen on the porch. The sister started talking quite cheerfully. When Will joined them on the porch, Scarlett could tell there were intimate feelings between Careen and Will. She gave Rhett a questioning look and he said, "Yes."

The foursome stayed on the porch for a while talking and watching the children. Scarlett passed out the gifts. When she gave Will the books she said, "They are at your reading level. I hope you enjoy them despite them being written for children."

"I'm sure I will."

"We got Cassie toys and fabric. You a hairbrush, Careen, and some pretty hair pins."

"Thank you, Scarlett and Rhett."

Rhett said, "You are welcome. It was a lot of work on my part."

Scarlett said, "What? Taking out your wallet?"

Rhett just smiled and said, "Exactly."

Ella and Cassie were fed their dinners in the nursery while Wade got to eat with the adults. Wade may have preferred to eat in the nursery because everything the adults talked about was over his head. At the dining room table, Scarlett gave her aunts their box of chocolates. They very politely thanked her.

Careen, Will, and Scarlett talked about Tara. It was more Will and Careen told her what they were doing as opposed to Will and Careen asking her permission. She smiled at Rhett. For once in this new timeline, he knew exactly what she was thinking. He whispered, "It was to be expected. They love Tara as much as you do."

"True. Suellen never did and Will wasn't the owner of Tara last time."

"Yes, now hush before someone hears you."

After Scarlett turned back to face Will and Careen, the young woman said, "Will and I need Big Sam to stay here at Tara. He used to be a foreman for the slaves. He knows Tara very well. His wife is living here, also."

Scarlett looked at Careen and Will. They both looked uncomfortable. Nothing they had said would have made them uncomfortable. She turned to Rhett, "Is it just me or do you see it too?"

"I see it." Rhett turned to Careen and Will and said, "After Wade and I are finished, I will take the boy for a walk. You can then tell Scarlett everything." Rhett turned to the aunts and said, "That will be your cue to leave also."

Wade said, "I want to stay with Mama."

"Not right now, Son. Go with Daddy."

An obviously unhappy Wade nodded his head and said, "All right."

The conversation after that was stifled. Soon Rhett and Wade had left the table. The aunts dutifully followed behind. As soon as everyone was out of the room, Careen said, "We don't believe it for a minute."

Scarlett held up her hand. She got up from the table and quickly opened the door to the hallway that hadn't been completely closed. The aunts who had been crouching by the door fell on their bottoms because Scarlett had startled them. Scarlett said, "Get out of here you nosy biddies."

Careen and Will were sure Scarlett had said biddies, but it sure did sound like she had said bitches.

Scarlett closed the door and returned to her chair. Once she was seated, she said, "Tell me."

Will took a deep breath, and said, "Big Sam has been accused of murder by the Yankees. We don't believe it is true, but he is safer here at Tara than in Atlanta."

"How did you find out?"

"Big Sam told Liberty and Liberty told Mammy. All of our people know we have a special relationship with Mammy. Mammy told Careen."

Careen said with a smile, "Mammy told me I had to let Big Sam stay at Tara."

Scarlett smiled back. She said, "She will never stop bossing us around like small children. Of course, it isn't true. Yes, he can stay here. I don't need him in Atlanta anymore. I have sold my sawmills."

"Really?! I thought you said they were a real money maker."

"They are, but Rhett and I are moving to Boston by the end of the summer. Big Sam can stay here if he wants to. I will not turn my part of Tara over to you for free, but eventually I will let one of you buy me out."

Careen said, "No! I don't want to lose another sister."

"Unfortunately, Rhett and I can't live in the South. He can't because of his reputation. I can't because of the matrons. I tried extremely hard to behave properly and explain myself to the matrons to prevent them from gossiping about me. Nonetheless, the matrons of Atlanta blamed me completely for Frank running away. Not that he was a sorry man who deserted his wife and family."

Careen said, "That is awful. You didn't run him off."

Will said, "As far as I know no one blamed me."

"That is because you are a man and well-liked in the county."

"Maybe. I am a Cracker though."

"Careen is going to teach you how to talk and act like a gentleman, now that she has taught you to read and write." Scarlett turned to Careen and said, "If mother could teach Pa how to behave and talk like a gentleman, Will should be easy to train."

Careen smiled and said, "He is already halfway there. He has a gentleman's heart."

"Yes, he does. If, and I'm not saying he did, but if Big Sam did kill a man, he had a good reason for doing it."

"We agree."

Scarlett stood up from the table. She said, "Let me go find my son. As you saw he is not happy he has been separated from me once again."

"Let's walk out on the porch."