"I have some bad news."
Rayna sat up in bed, looked over at the empty spot next to her and sighed. She'd had the dream every single night since Deacon's surgery. She heard the faucet run in the bathroom and then the light switched off.
"Babe, you okay?" she asked.
There was silence, then Deacon appeared at the door from their master bath. "I'm okay, just movin' a little slow," he said as he shuffled over to the bed and eased himself down. He let out a sigh and then gingerly crawled back into the bed. "I guess I kind of feel like someone sawed me in half and pulled out my insides."
Rayna moved closer to him, her hand on his shoulder, then down his arm. "Babe, I don't ever want another night when you aren't here next to me. I couldn't handle it. When Caleb came...when he said something bad had happened...and I hate that I feel this way because I'm so sorry about what's happened with Beverly, but Deacon...if I lost you…" She began to cry.
"It's okay, babe," Deacon said, soothing her. "It's okay."
She had done so good during the light of day, but at night, when the dreams came, she always ended up at that moment when her heart dropped.
Caleb Rand was standing in front of her, his face filled with pain. "I have some bad news."
And every single time, she feared the worst.
Much more to come soon...