“Absolutely.” I take his hand in mine and lead him outside, toward the slave quarters first. “We renovated these along with the house when I decided to move forward with the inn,” I inform him and he smiles indulgently. “What?”
“Your tour guide voice just came on.”
“Well, I am guiding.”
“It’s sexy.” He’s smiling in that way he does that’s reserved just for me, and there go the lightning bugs in my belly again.
“I’m glad you approve. As I was saying, I wanted the guests to see what the slaves lived in, and how they lived, here at the plantation back in the day.” The doors and windows of the small buildings are Plexiglas, so you can see in, and the elements don’t disturb the displays inside. “These are original slave homes that I had moved closer to the house. There is writing on the walls inside. See?”
“I didn’t think slaves were allowed to know how to read or write.” He’s not just humoring me now, he’s really interested, and it makes me proud to share this with him. “It looks like dates and names.”
“Most weren’t allowed to learn. It depended on the owner. As far as we know, my ancestors allowed the slaves to have an education, and some came here already knowing how to read and write.”
“Interesting.” He backs away and leads me to the next cabin. “What made you decide to do all of this?”
“Well, because although this isn’t a piece of our history that we’re proud of, it is a part of the plantation, and I want the guests to learn about it all. And the rest is a long story.”
“I happen to have you all to myself today,” he reminds me as he rests his hand on my neck, rubbing gently. “So, talk away, beautiful.”
“I had Sam very young. You know that.” He nods, patiently listening. “When I told my daddy that I was pregnant, well…I was so scared.” I swallow hard, thinking back on that day. “He found me over in the gardens, crying, the day I told Sam’s biological father that I was pregnant, and he told me to get rid of it.
“Dad scooped me up, sat me in his lap the way he did when I was little, and asked me what was wrong. I couldn’t make the words come. I was scared and ashamed. So ashamed.”
“Why were you ashamed? You didn’t do it alone.” Rhys takes my hand in his, links our fingers, and leads me to the gardens.
“No, but I was old enough to know better. But, I told him that I was pregnant, and that the boy wanted me to abort it. And he said, ‘What do you want, baby-doll?’”
Rhys kisses the back of my hand. “What did you want?”
“I wanted to keep the baby.” I sigh and sit on the bench next to Rhys. “I didn’t want to get rid of it. So, Daddy said what he always did when times got rough. You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails. So we’re just going to adjust our sails and get on with it.” I smile sadly, wishing for the hundredth time since Dad passed that I could hear his voice say those words to me again.
“And you did.”
I nod. “We did. My family rallied around me. Sam is loved fiercely and we were very well taken care of, of course. I didn’t go to college. I’m lucky, Rhys. I come from a very influential family. A wealthy family. I’d told Dad on a few occasions that I wanted to turn the plantation into an inn. He liked the idea, and was helping me with plans. He was funding the renovations and the startup costs.
“And then he died.” The tears come the way they always do when I think about this part. “So, he didn’t get to see it when it was finished.”
“He sees it,” Rhys murmurs as he lifts me into his lap and holds me close, stroking my back and kissing my forehead. “And I’m sure he’s very proud.”
“I hope so. Everything I did to this place, I did with him in the front of my mind. I constantly asked myself, ‘Would this make him happy? What would he think about this?’ I had Beau and Eli here a lot. Beau ended up staying, living in the old caretaker’s house that we remodeled as well, as you know. They were amazing, never balking at the cost of things, because we all wanted it to be top of the line, and restored perfectly. Daddy wouldn’t have spared any expense. This place has been in our family for six generations.”
“That’s amazing,” Rhys says softly.
“Not many people can say that,” I reply. “And I’m proud of it. I always have been. This has always been where I’m happiest. So working on it, watching guests enjoy it, is such a pleasure and a privilege.”
“I’m glad that you do something that makes you so happy.” His arms tighten around me in a firm hug. “You deserve happiness, Gabrielle.”
“So do you,” I reply. “Are you happy?” He doesn’t answer me for a long minute. I finally lean back and look up into his deep green eyes. “Are you?”
“I will be, when I get your sexy ass into the house where I can spend the rest of the twenty hours we have left to ourselves lost in you.” He stands, easily carrying me toward the house. “I’m going to make you scream, baby.”
“I’m not a screamer.” And it didn’t escape me that he didn’t answer my question.
“You’re about to be.”
I press my face into his neck, smiling like a loon, clinging to him as he walks to the house. He’s not even breathing hard. I’ve always said that strength is sexy, and I just wasn’t referring to physical strength. But holy shit, that’s sexy too.