Chapter 2
The next few days flew by so fast. Between Rayna and Luke's single topping the charts, writing a song with Deacon and going public with her relationship with Luke, things were non-stop. The girls had thankfully accepted Luke as their mother's boyfriend, although Maddie was a little more reluctant. Rayna could see just a hint of disappointment in her eyes when she told them. Daphne of course had been won over by his sweet gestures and horses, but Maddie not so much. She wasn't rude, just not as outgoing as she knew Maddie could be.
Della had also been very nice to Luke even with him asking her question after question about anything and everything under the sun. What was Rayna like when she was a kid? What part of Boston did she live in? Where did she go to school? Rayna would have gotten more annoyed than Della let on.
Rayna was so happy that the girls had really taken a liking to Della. They asked her most of the same questions as Luke but Della was more than happy to share the details of her life with her little cousins. They soaked everything in from stories about touring with their mother when she was little to her boarding schools and everything in between. Rayna noticed that Della spoke around the fact that she had spent so much time away from their family. When the girls asked her about it, she simply said that it didn't matter because she was there now. It clearly did matter but Rayna knew better than to push her on her feelings on a subject she didn't want to talk about right then and was also not appropriate for her young daughters. Rayna knew the reasons better than anyone and didn't want the girls to know until they were older, if at all.
Tandy was still out of town and Rayna was sure not to let her know that Della was there any time she spoke with her on the phone. She would be home the following day and she couldn't wait to see the look on her sister's face when she finds out that her daughter was finally home. Rayna was also curious to see her sister's reaction to their father coming home tomorrow. They had always been so close until he was arrested. Then Tandy couldn't seem to separate herself far enough away from him.
Her wandering mind was interrupted by the sound of her piano. It was a beautiful song that she didn't recognize. The chords were deep and flowing and Rayna was taken aback by the striking tone of the voice coming from the other room. Before the singing began, she had known that it couldn't possibly be the girls because they didn't know how to play the piano but she was still shocked by the beautiful voice that came from her niece. She made her way to her music room and listened at the doorway.
It was only just a feeling
That we thought would fade away
It's the kind that sends you spinning
When you're waiting on a plane
It takes over the garden
It takes over the house
And before you even know it
It's become what you're about
I could watch you in the evening
I could watch you in the dark
Just the thought of your surrender
Makes a whisper so strong
It takes over my body
It takes over my brain
And before I even know it
I'm crying on a plane
I'm crying on a plane
How could I ever explain?
Why I would ever lose control
Why I would ever let you go
It was only just a feeling
That we thought would fade away
It's the kind that sends you spinning
When you're waiting on a plane
Rayna watched as she played this incredibly beautiful and obviously personal song. Della's emotions were written all over her face and spilled out through the song. It was the way any songwriter should be when they're telling their story. Whether it's a song that's written about a personal experience or simply telling a story of someone else, if there's no feeling or emotion there, the song isn't worth a damn.
"That's a pretty song," Rayna said, deciding to make her presence known. She watched as Della's head whipped up to look at her then look back down at the keys as if she had been caught doing something that she shouldn't have. "Is that how you ended up here?"
When her niece didn't answer right away, Rayna knew she had hit the nail on the head. So she had come here to get away from a boy. Or man, rather. She still had to remind herself that Della was a grown woman now and not a little girl. She obviously had a relationship that had gone bad and it was coming out so clearly in her song.
She made her way over to the piano bench and sat down next to her niece. Della's face was still turned down towards the keys and Rayna bumped her shoulder slightly just to get her to look up. When she did she let out a sigh.
"Sort of," she started, and then stopped quickly. "I mean, there were a lot of reasons that I wanted to come home. Yeah, I guess some things were bigger reasons than others."
"It's okay. If you need to talk to anyone about it, I'm always here for you," Rayna assured her. When Della nodded her head, Rayna continued. "I mean, clearly, I'm not very good at relationships. But I've had a couple that I can maybe help you out." At least she got a smile out of the young woman.
"Maybe later."
"Okay… Hey! I didn't know that you were still doing music. You're amazing, by the way," Rayna said as she gushed about how incredible her songwriting was if only on the one song.
"I kept up with it. Father kept trying to make me give it up but I couldn't. I love music so much I couldn't imagine my life without it," Della spoke freely. "I guess it's the same for everyone that loves music. I would go crazy if I couldn't write or play or sing."
"I know exactly what you mean. Your grandfather kicked me out of the house when I was sixteen because I wouldn't give up my music!"
"And look where you are now," she pointed out.
That made Rayna think again about where, exactly, she was now. It could be worse. She has her label, her new album coming out and a boyfriend that cared about her a great deal. Maybe a little more than she cared for him but she was hoping that with time she might get there.
Della saw the look on her face and decided to take this as her out. She didn't really feel like talking about her inspiration for the song right now.
"I'm going to head into town. Maybe do a little shopping, mosey around. I'll see you later," she said as she kissed Rayna on the cheek and jumped up to leave before Rayna had a chance to protest. She made it as far as the front door before she ran into a large, hard body.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down there," the man said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked at her closely and it took a minute for him to realize who she was. "Della?"
"Hi, Deacon," she replied very softly.
"Oh my goodness! Darlin', I'm sorry. Come 'ere," he said before wrapping his arms around her. Deacon noticed that she seemed to hesitate a bit so he let her go. "What are you doing here? It's been what? Thirteen years? Longer?"
"About that," Della said, not looking up at him. "I'm moving home. And I have to go. It was nice to see you. Bye Aunt Ray!" she called out to her aunt who had just come down the hall into the kitchen. She was out the door before either could say anything.
"Wow!" Deacon said as he looked to the door that she had just walked out of. "She's all grown up. And she's so beautiful. Tandy is going to have her hands full."
"That's what you always told her," Rayna said as she leaned against the counter.
She motioned for him to come further into the house. Deacon followed her and took a seat at the island. A comfortable silence filled the air and both tried their hardest not to look at the other. When they finally met each other's stare, Rayna smiled and made a face as if asking him what was going on.
"She flew out of here kinda fast. Maybe it was just me," Deacon said offhandedly.
"I don't think so. I just asked her about a song and I think she was a bit upset about it," Rayna clarified.
"A song? She's writin' songs?" he asked. When Rayna nodded her head, he continued, "I always said she took more after you than her mama."
"Oh, she takes after Tandy plenty, don't you worry."
"I'll take your word on that," Deacon replied with a soft laugh. "God, I remember when she was a baby. She had everyone wrapped around her little fingers, especially her mama."
"Yeah… She was one of the only good things about Tandy's life at that time," Rayna trailed off.
Deacon didn't really know much about Tandy's marriage other than the fact that she didn't mind not spending time with her husband. When he and Rayna had met, Tandy was single and went out with them sometimes. He had fun with her and he could see why Rayna loved her sister so much even if they were as different as night and day. Then she was suddenly married and shortly thereafter, pregnant with Della. He could tell that she wasn't happy in her marriage but there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for that little girl.
Deacon could tell that Rayna didn't really want to talk further on the topic so he decided to get to the point of why he was there. When he was thinking of recording a duet album, one person that his label wanted him to record with more than anyone was Rayna. Of course. He hadn't asked her, thankfully, because he knew she would have said yes and working together again so soon was probably not the best idea. He was happy about the idea that he came up with.
"Anyway, I came over to let you know that I'm doing a recording at the Bluebird tomorrow night and wanted to know if you wanted to bring Maddie."
"You know what, I can't. Daddy is getting released tomorrow and the girls wanted to have dinner with him. And Tandy is coming home tomorrow. I know she'll want to spend time with the girls and Della and Daddy. I'm really sorry, Deacon," she explained. It would be really nice for Maddie to go and listen to her father play but the girls were really excited to see their grandfather.
"Nah, it's okay. Some other time."
With that, Deacon stood up and began to walk towards the door before Rayna stopped him. She thanked him for inviting Maddie and told him that she would bring her the next time he played. She watched him walk out the door and felt that all too familiar heaviness in her heart. It was always there when she saw Deacon. Or thought about him. Or listened to a song that sparked a memory of him.
"Ugh!" she cried and threw her hands up in the air in defeat.
The next day was a bundle of activity. Rayna was filming her music video for 'This Time' and had a pleasant surprise when her sister showed up.
"Hi!" Rayna said enthusiastically as she threw her arms around her sister. "I didn't know you were coming back this early. I have missed you so much."
"I've missed you, too, babe," Tandy told her sister as they walked through the set with their arms still wrapped around each other. "Hey, there's something that I need to talk to you about later. What time are you going to be home?"
"Well, Daddy is being released today so we're going to go over there for dinner. The girls want to throw him a welcome home party. You'll be there, right?" she asked.
"I don't know. I don't think I can. I have so much to do with the label and meetings," Tandy said, trying to come up with any excuse to get out of seeing her father. "I'll try. But I do need to talk to you."
"No. Tandy, I don't know what happened between you two but you have to just let it go. At least for tonight. We need to be a family. Please?" Rayna pleaded with her sister.
"Rayna, there's so much that needs to be done. I'll try. That's the best I can give you right now."
"Okay," Rayna said somewhat reluctantly. "There's something that I have to talk to you about as well. I'll be home in a little bit."
Rayna kissed her sister on the cheek and then was off to shoot the next scene for her video. Tandy watched her younger sister walk away. What she had to tell her was going to break her heart and change the way that she looked at a lot of things in life, including their relationship. But Tandy had made up her mind; she had to be completely honest with her sister. The lies had been eating away at her for months and it was time that they were all out in the open.
Tandy made her way back to her own house and it felt so empty. She had been staying with Rayna for the last few months but knew that when she told her sister the truth, she was more than likely going to need to give her some space. She didn't want to do that, she wanted to keep her sister as close to her as possible feeling like she was one of the only things in her life that really mattered at the moment, but would ultimately go along with whatever Rayna wanted.
The moment she stepped into her house, Tandy felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and told herself that she wasn't going to fall apart. At least not yet. She also had to think of a way to get out of going to their father's. She'd just have to make something up. She couldn't stand to be in the same room as him let alone celebrate the fact that she was too scared to testify and keep him in jail where he belonged.
She was so overwhelmed with emotions that even deep breaths and pep talks weren't working. The tears started to fall and Tandy wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and block out the rest of the world. There was one person, though, that she wanted with her at that moment so she reached for her phone and called him. Within fifteen minutes, Bucky was on her front step waiting to be let in.
"I'm so glad to see you," Tandy said as she wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face in his neck the moment he walked through the door.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as his hands ran up and down her back in a soothing manner. He could feel her body tremble slightly and it worried him. "Tandy…"
"I'm fine, I'm just really happy to see you," she mumbled against his neck, still not letting him go.
Bucky waited for a moment and then began to loosen his hold on her. He kissed her head and pulled back to look at her. There was something troubling he saw pass over her face and just as quickly as he saw it, it was gone. When his hand came up to cup her cheek, Bucky noticed that her skin was a bit clammy, as if she had been crying. By now he knew Tandy well enough to know that she didn't cry easily but also if there was something bothering her that she wanted you to know, she would tell you, so he chose not to push her.
"Okay," he said, reluctantly letting her off the hook for now. "I'm really happy to see you, too."
He really was happy to see her. The past few days he had been a little worried about her. It wasn't like Tandy to just take off without telling anyone, especially him or Rayna. The day after the festival Rayna had called him to ask where she was and he didn't have a clue. He thought that she was with Rayna. It had completely surprised him when Rayna told him that Tandy had gone to a spa because for one thing, they had a lot of business to take care of with the label and for another, he didn't think that she liked places like that.
"So, what have I missed while I was gone?" Tandy asked him.
So Bucky spent the next half hour giving Tandy the run-down of goings on as they moved into her living room. They were sitting next to each other on the smaller of two couches with Tandy pressed up against his side, head on his shoulder. He thought about it again. He was really happy that she was home. He had missed her more than he thought he would.
"You seem quiet," Bucky said as he turned his head to press his lips against her forehead. He felt her shrug and looked down at their intertwined hands. She had such small hands.
"My sister wants me to go welcome Daddy home with her and the girls tonight."
"And you don't want to?" he enquired. There had been a distance between Tandy and her father before his arrest but since then, she would change the subject any time someone would bring it up. Granted, the topic wasn't high on the list of things for people to talk about, but she would still avoid it at all cost.
"I just don't know how I feel about everything right now. I feel like he should be punished for the things that he's done but then…" she trailed off.
"What should he be punished for? Tandy, everything that's gone on in that company for the last fifteen years is tied to you as well. Now, I don't know anything about your father's company other than what you told me, but I have a feeling that if something can put him in jail then someone can make a case that you knew about it, too," Bucky said cautiously. When she was silent for a moment, he took the chance to pull back a bit to look at her. "Tand?"
"I don't want to talk about my father anymore," she said and stood up. She turned to him to take his hand and pulled him onto his feet. "There are other things that I would like to be doing."
Tandy moved a little bit closer to Bucky and placed her hand on his cheek before kissing him. When she pulled back, they both smiled and she began to lead him upstairs.
Della walked along 5th Ave in downtown Nashville and just took it all in. This was her hometown and it just felt right to be back here after so many years. She stopped and stood in front of the Ryman Auditorium. The mother church of country music. The first time she could remember her aunt taking her on stage there was when she was just six years old. Sure, she has pictures of them together on stage when she was really young but this was the first time Della could remember it.
It was the night Rayna was inducted into the Opry. It was 1995 and none other than Garth Brooks, the hottest act in country music, was inducting Rayna and giving her the honor of becoming the newest member of the Opry family. Her mother had been told ahead of time in order to ensure that she would be there for Rayna at such an important moment in her career and they were standing just backstage watching from the sidelines. Della got so excited when Garth Brooks handed her aunt that coveted trophy that she ran out on stage and hugged her. Her mother had then followed her and wrapped her arms around them both. It was the perfect moment and one that they would never forget.
Deacon had been on stage with her that night, like every other night, and she remembers him coming up behind them and kissing Rayna on the cheek. It was such a sweet gesture. Everyone knew that they were together but they always tried to keep things low-key so the small kiss was as much as the crowd got. Thinking about Deacon brought up some old memories, some good and some not so good. She was just hoping that after so many years there would be more good times than bad that they would all have in the future.
As always... I don't own them. Thanks for reading. Hope people are enjoying this... If not, I'm sorry to bore you. The song I used in this chapter is called 'Crying on a Plane' by Sarah Siskind. If you haven't heard it, you should. It's amazing. And Sarah is incredible both in her singing and her songwriting. I believe she's actually written a few songs they've used on the show already. Anyway... I would love to know what people think! Thanks again :)
