Present Day
Teddy Conrad never intended to spend his life in Nashville. Yes, it was his hometown, with lots of memories, but it also came with a lot of baggage. Then again, Teddy Conrad never intended to fall in love with Rayna Jaymes. She also came with some good memories, but calling what she came with "baggage" was an understatement. But, things don't always turn out the way you intended. Which had brought him here. To this moment. To this place.
Montgomery, Alabama. Federal Prison. They called it a camp, but there was a fence and he had on a uniform. Oh, and there was the judge approving his plea bargain. Ten years. A huge fine. Freedom lost. It all came at a huge price. Seeing the looks on his daughters' faces as they stood in front of him in the prison waiting room, begging him to say that he was innocent.
And in some ways, he had been innocent. Once upon a time. They all had been.
New Years Eve 1998
Teddy pulled up to the valet stand in front of the Belle Meade Country Club and looked over at his cousin, Sarah.
"Why is this a good idea?" he asked as the valet opened his door.
"Because you've barely gone out since you broke up with Peggy," she replied. "It's New Years. You can't stay home and read the Economist."
Teddy sighed and get out of the car, handing his keys to the valet.
He knew she was right. He'd come back to Nashville that fall after finishing his MBA at Georgetown. It had always been easier to be in Washington with his grandparents after his mom and dad divorced. After...well, after it wasn't such an honor to be a Conrad in Nashville any longer. The break-up with Peggy, well, it had been unexpected and part of him was relieved, but another part of him just didn't want to have to start all over with dating and certainly not here, at the country club where he heard the whispers about his dad every single time his grandparents brought him here.
They walked under the white columns into the building. As they stepped through the doors, Teddy felt a wave of nostalgia. He'd come here a lot when he was young. To swim, to play tennis, to golf with his dad and grandfather. It felt like a lifetime ago.
"Teddy Conrad?"
He looked up to see a dark haired woman standing in front of him. He smiled and looked at her. "Tandy?"
She nodded and laughed. "My goodness, how long has it been?" she asked.
He swallowed. "Gosh, maybe ten years, fifteen?"
"Where did you move?" she asked, as she reached for a glass of champagne from a waiter nearby.
"Washington," he replied. "With my grandparents. They...they wanted me to go to St. Alban's, so I lived with them, there." He felt like he was tripping over his words. "I was back, at Vanderbilt for my undergrad, but then went back..."
Tandy took a long drag from the champagne glass. "Well, it's good to see you again. You know who else is here tonight after a long time away?"
Teddy shrugged. He really had no idea about the goings on of the country club set in Nashville any longer.
"My sister. The great Rayna Jaymes. You remember her, don't you?"
"Yes, of course," Teddy replied, nodding.
"Well, after celebrating the new year in every honky tonk in the South that past ten years, she's here tonight," Tandy explained. "Let me see if I can see her…"
Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room.
"Hey, Tandy, it's great to see you," Teddy said as she walked away toward the bar.
"You look about as thrilled to be here as I am."
Teddy turned around to find Rayna Jaymes standing in front of him. "That obvious?" he asked.
She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I think you and I might be the only ones in this room who didn't get our boobs done for Christmas."
Teddy found himself chuckling. "Can I get you a drink, Ms. Jaymes?"
Rayna looked at him, smiled and nodded. "Meet me on the veranda. I don't think I can take the sideways glances of all these girls for another minute."
A few minutes later, Teddy walked out onto the verandah to find Rayna over near the short wall overlooking the golf course.
"I forgot to ask what you wanted, so I hope a Manhattan is okay," he said as he handed her the glass.
"You read my mind," she responded as she took a sip. "Very nice choice. Wait, I know you, don't I?"
He smiled and nodded. "We took swimming lessons together. I think we were about ten or so."
"Ah, yes," Rayna answered. "Those summers before my daddy shipped us off to summer camp for eight weeks at a time."
"Before I went to go live with my grandparents," Teddy responded.
Rayna nodded. She couldn't remember the exact details, but she knew something had happened with Teddy's dad. And a girl. Maybe a car accident?
"So, you come here much?" Teddy asked as he took another sip from his glass.
"Me?" Rayna laughed. "No. You?"
Teddy shook his head.
"Why exactly are we here, then?" Rayna asked.
Teddy shrugged and took another sip. "My cousin made me come."
Rayna drank from her glass as well. "My sister did the same to me."
"Clearly, they're very worried about us," Teddy said as he leaned back against the wall.
"You want to get out of here?" Rayna asked as she set her empty glass down on a nearby table.
Teddy shrugged again. "What do you have in mind?"
Rayna looked over at him and smiled. "Anywhere but here."
Unsure of what he was getting himself into, but happy for any excuse to get out of there, Teddy set his glass down as well and followed her to the door. She wasn't anything like any woman he'd met before, but in many ways, he liked that.
"So, what's it like, being out on the road all the time, like that?" Teddy asked as he picked up a piece of toast off his plate and looked across the diner table at Rayna.
"Not nearly as glamourous as you might imagine," she replied. "It's a lot of cities, lots of catered food, lots of time in airports or on the bus. But then…" She shook her head and pushed her fork into the pile of hashbrowns on her plate. "I don't know, there's something when you hear the band playing the first notes of one of your songs, hear the crowd...it's like...it's like magic."
"So, how'd you end up at the country club tonight?" he asked. "I mean, I'd like you'd be at a gig or out with your boyfriend or something."
Rayna's face drew blank and she reached for her mug of coffee, taking a long drink. "I'm off the road for a bit now. And as for the boyfriend...well, that's complicated."
"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to," Teddy responded. "I didn't mean to pry."
Rayna shrugged. "No, it's okay. My boyfriend is my band leader. And he's in rehab. Again. So, we're off the road for now and I don't know...I'm thinking that maybe he and I are off too. What about you?"
Teddy let out a little laugh and shook his head. "Uh, I was there tonight because my cousin thinks my life has gotten really sad."
"Sad how?" Rayna asked.
Teddy picked up a slice of bacon off his plate, took a bite and chewed slowly. "I guess I've been laying low since I caught my fiancee in bed with my best friend."
"Ouch," Rayna said.
Teddy nodded. "Not my best moment." He took a sip of coffee and set the cup back down on the table. "So, it isn't midnight yet, should we go somewhere? Ring in the New Year?"
Rayna smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. But somewhere new, right? Not back to the country club?"
"Definitely not," Teddy replied. He put money down on the table for the late night breakfast and waited as Rayna slipped from the booth.
He pointed the car downtown. "Any suggestions?" he asked.
Rayna nodded. "Let's drop the car at the Hilton and head down to Broadway. It'll just be a big party at this point."
He followed her suggestions and before they knew it, they were caught up in the swell of the crowds moving from one honky tonk to another.
"You want something to drink?" he asked. "Champagne?"
She pointed to the waitress with a bucket of beers. "How about one of those High Lifes. They're the champagne of beer, right?"
Teddy quickly bought two beers and headed back to Rayna.
"You're just in time," she said as she popped the cap off her beer."
"In time for what?" he asked as the crowd started counting down from ten. As the shouts of "Happy New Year!" echoed across the street, he watched as she leaned into him and kissed him, her lips tasting of the beer.
"Happy New Year, Teddy Conrad," she said as she pulled back.
He didn't bet that this was going to turn out to be a love that lasted a lifetime, but maybe someday it would make a good story for his kids-the New Year's Eve kiss he celebrated with a real country western music star.
TBC
