New series. I've started a lot of stories but never could quite figure out where it was going. We've had some super inventive and well-written stories by others and these have inspired me. This is kinda just a start point. Hope you enjoy.
Adjustment
Rayna reluctantly throws her suitcase back on the bed. By now, she and Deacon should be an hour into their flight. Instead they're back at home with a teenager yelling and a little girl crying in a locked bathroom.
A few hours ago, Rayna was practically skipping around the house. Now, she feels exhausted and deflated. Slowly, Rayna unpacks: the lingerie goes back in the drawer, the bathing suits are put back into the closet. The sun hats go back on the hangers and her makeup back on the bathroom counter.
Down the hall, Rayna hears Maddie yelling and Deacon's calm response. A door slams and Rayna sighs out loud. She is heartbroken for her girls, not to mention furious at Teddy. But a big part of her is selfishly disappointed for herself and for Deacon.
In the last few days, she gotten waxed, spray tanned, and sat in the damn manicurists chair for an hour so she would look her very best. But it was all ruined now. Damn Teddy.
Rayna's phone buzzes several times but she doesn't bother looking at it. It was probably Tandy checking on the girls or Bucky with the press release. They can wait. Right now, Rayna can't deal with anyone except the people in her own house.
A moment later, Maddie appears in the master suite with a frown on her face and her arms crossed. Rayna gives her eldest a sympathetic glance. Maddie wasn't just upset, she was pissed. Not that Rayna blamed her at all. She was pretty mad herself.
Teddy being arrested for public corruption was terrible, but paying a prostitute made it so much worse. It made Teddy sound sleazy and gross. Even worse, it sounded like the kind of story that would be front page news for weeks. Teddy's picture would be splashed across every tabloid, blog, and entertainment website. There would be other women who would claim that Teddy paid them for sex too. There would be lies about all the kinky parties Teddy threw or the weird things he made the hookers do. No doubt she and the girls would be fodder for conversation too.
Maddie speaks but her voice breaks in a mixture of anger and devastation.
"He ruined your wedding," Maddie sobs before launching herself into her mother's arms. Rayna holds her daughter, stroking her hair and shushing her cries.
"Honey the wedding wasn't ruined. It was wonderful and sweet and real. Deacon and I got married a week ago and Teddy being arrested today doesn't change that."
Rayna pulls her daughter closer as Maddie softly cries. She and Deacon had been married last Monday, a small private ceremony with all of eight guests. But they couldn't leave right away for their honeymoon. Daphne had her last softball game of the season on Wednesday and then Maddie had a teen open-mic night that Thursday night. Then Scarlett and Gunnar had a huge show in Nashville on Saturday night. So the pair chose to delay their Caribbean escape for a week. Teddy may not have ruined Rayna's wedding but he certainly did a bang up job on ruining her honeymoon.
Maddie leans against her mother and asks, "Why did Teddy do this?"
Rayna's stomach twists in knots. Maddie has never called Teddy by his name before. Rayna knows her eldest and Deacon have become incredibly close; but, that doesn't negate everything Teddy has been and is to Maddie. Rayna hugs her daughter and says a silent prayer that somehow in the end her daughter can have a loving relationship with all three of her parents.
Maddie balls up fists in anger and swear she'll never forgive Teddy for what he did. She exits the master suite quickly and slams her bedroom door again. Rayna heads to the medicine cabinet to get something to help her headache.
Another hour passes. Daphne falls asleep on Deacon's shoulder after crying her eyes out. Maddie breaks some piece of jewelry that Teddy recently bought her. She dramatically throws the necklace in the kitchen trashcan vowing she'll never forgive "him" for what he did. Deacon pull it out of the trashcan when nobody is looking and stuffs it in his pocket.
An hour later, Maddie cries again when she talks to Colt. It seems to have a calming influence on her for which Rayna is grateful. Deacon talks to Bucky on the house phone while I spend twenty minutes on the phone with Teddy's lawyer. The lawyer starts talking about bail and the possibility of Teddy coming getting pre-trial release. It's all legal jargon and Rayna finds herself only half paying attention as the lawyer explains arraignment and mitigation of sentences.
Daphne wonders down to the kitchen after sunset. Her little face is red and splotchy from crying. All four of them end up on the couch, snuggling and comforting each other. The girls ask questions, most of which Deacon and Rayna have no clue how to answer. It reminds Deacon of that awful day when he had to tell them about the cancer. Once again, these two children are having to deal with things no child should have to face.
Deacon offers food but nobody is hungry. The idea of escaping to the cabin comes up, but Maddie protests. She wants to see Colt in the morning. So, the cabin idea is scarped for now but both adults send each other a knowing look. Once Maddie sees her boyfriend, they are getting the hell out of town.
The doorbell rings after 9 o'clock. It's Tandy. Both girls hug Tandy before running off to their rooms. Tandy stays long enough to offer her support and drop off Deacon's favorite kind of cake.
Tandy shrugs, "I figured if you can't have all the sex you want with my sister for the next week, you could at least have 4000 calories worth of red velvet."
Deacon throws his sister-in-law an amused smile. Tandy has been a lot of things to him over the years, but friendly hasn't been one of them. Before she leaves, Tandy lets her sister know that Teddy will resign effective 8 am tomorrow from his mayoral duties. It isn't unexpected, but the speed of it all takes Rayna aback.
Soon, Tandy leaves after promising to call Rayna in the morning. Deacon finds himself holding his wife in the kitchen. There are no words exchanged as she buries her head in his chest. They share a chaste kiss before heading back upstairs.
Deacon goes to check on Maddie while Rayna heads to Daphne's room.
Twenty minutes later, both adults end up in the hallway. Deacon asks how "his blonde is."
In the last few months, Deacon started calling "all his girls" by their hair color. Rayna says the blonde is tired and moody. Meanwhile "the brunette" is still crying and asking questions about sentencing and prisons.
Lastly, Deacon asks about his favorite redhead. Rayna gives him an exhausted shrug. The girls don't seem to be getting any calmer; if anything they seem more upset now than they were hours before. Deacon hugs Rayna for a minute, each seeking strength and support from the other. When they pull back from each other, they share another brief kiss. Rayna whispers that she promises to tell Deacon everything Teddy told her this whole sordid mess. Frankly, Deacon doesn't care about the details. All he cares about the three other people in the house.
"Okay time to switch," Deacon says reluctantly as he heads towards Daphne's room. Nearly two hours later, both girls have fallen asleep in the master bedroom. It amuses Deacon to no end that a teen and pre-teen take up far more room in the king sized bed than he and Rayna do.
In silence they both head to the bathroom to brush their teeth. Rayna changes into her pajamas while Deacon strips down to his boxers and undershirt. They head to the guest bedroom where they fall against the pillows.
Rayna apologizes to her husband of one week. They should be falling asleep right now, naked, with the warm ocean breeze over them. Their biggest concern should be whether they were going to stay by the private pool or walk an extra three hundred feet to the ocean.
Deacon agrees and leans in for a goodnight kiss.
"Guess it's true what they say," he laughs against Rayna's lips and then gives a playful smirk.
Rayna raises an eyebrow, questioning what he means.
"Once you get married, your sex life really does go downhill fast."
She laughs, kissing her husband again and apologizes for their lack of honeymooning right now. Deacon yawns and turns off the lamp on the bedside table. He whispers against her ear that he'd rather not be having sex with her than be with anyone else, anywhere else.
"Me too."