Rayna watched as Deacon got in his truck and drove away. It had not gone the way she'd thought it would. She turned back and looked out over the river, then reached into her pocket and pulled out his ring. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She had intended to give it back to him. To tell him that she had chosen the safe, uncomplicated route. But she knew, as she'd sat next to him, as she'd listened to his voice, that she wasn't ready to close the door, although she wasn't quite sure why.
She slid the ring on her left ring finger and looked at it. All the tiny diamonds glittered in the sunlight. She had no idea how much it had cost Deacon back when he had bought it, but she knew it paled in comparison with the flashy 7-carat diamond ring Luke had given her. That ring was certainly beautiful, but it felt unnecessary. This simple band with its quiet embellishment had been so perfect when Deacon had first put it on her finger fifteen years ago. When she looked at it today, it simply said commitment, while that other ring said "look at me". Rayna felt conflicted and she didn't want to feel conflicted.
She found herself thinking back to the night Deacon had first given her this ring. She had broken up with him and was dating Teddy then, but she hadn't stopped loving him and she had been so sure that night that he had turned the corner. And so she'd said yes to his proposal. They had made love that night and it had felt so perfect, so complete, so right. He had curled up against her in bed later and she had fallen asleep smiling contentedly. But the bubble of happiness had been burst the next morning when she'd found him passed out on the couch in the living room, with a nearly empty bottle of whiskey beside him. She looked back down at the ring and the pain of that morning washed over her again and brought tears back to her eyes.
She had taken him back, eventually, if not romantically, at least as her friend. She'd kept him close, always wondering if, one day, things might change. But time had marched on and, even though he'd finally gotten sober, she had gotten farther and farther away from the ability to come clean with him. The attraction and the connection had never really faded though and she had finally given herself back to him, not thinking about any consequences. And when the truth about Maddie had surfaced, as she realized now it would inevitably have, he had fallen back into the cycle and she had told herself, never again.
So why now was she having so much trouble telling him no? Why wasn't she putting him out of his misery of waiting for her answer? Why was she letting him open that door again? She couldn't count all the times, when she was by herself, that she had slid off the rings that Teddy gave her and slid this one on. She had tortured herself for a year doing that, until she finally had made herself stop. She had buried the little velvet bag deep in her drawer where she wouldn't see it every time she opened it. But even then, there were days when she'd felt stifled in her marriage or tired of pretending a depth of love she didn't feel, and she'd pull it out and hold it in her hand. She had not put it back on until this moment. She had forgotten how it felt, like it was just an extension of her finger, with hardly any feeling of weight at all. Like it belonged. Unlike that huge, heavy ring Luke had given her the other night. The one that she couldn't help but notice, that she could never not feel on her hand.
She sighed and slid the ring back off, putting it back in her pocket. Then she got up off the bench and headed up to her car.
Rayna felt a lump in her throat as she thought about Deacon. She could only imagine how it had been for him, watching her – again – trying to make things work with someone else and not him. When she was married to Teddy, she had known he still had feelings for her. That he was still waiting for her to realize that Teddy was not who she wanted after all. She wondered what it was that had made her so unable to acknowledge her feelings back then, or at least to act on them. There was certainly a part of her that wanted, badly, to feel safe and secure, for things to be easy and comfortable. Living with, and loving, Deacon had always been like roller coaster. The highs were amazing and intoxicating, the lows were devastating and heartrending. When he had finally gotten sober, though, she had seen a different Deacon. There was still intensity and passion – and for that short time they'd been back together, it had been amazing – but without the soul-crushing despair.
She was certainly seeing that same Deacon in his second shot at sobriety. But this time it was different. There was a maturity, even beyond what she'd seen before, a focus and a purpose. She had been certain he would crumble under the weight of his new-found fatherhood, that he would not be able to deal with all that meant. She had almost been grateful, at first, that Maddie didn't seem interested in connecting with him. But once she was, it was like a freight train running through all their lives. And, to her amazement, Deacon stepped up. It had rocked her a little to realize that being a father was what made this being sober thing real for him.
She got up from the chair she was sitting in and walked back to the edge of the balcony, staring out towards the ocean and thinking about how far he'd come, about what she'd been willing to throw away. She thought about how she had avoided giving him an answer and how he'd just held his ground, waiting.
Rayna was in the kitchen when the door opened and Maddie came storming in, her face screwed up in a scowl. "Hey, Maddie, how was your weekend…." Her voice trailed off as Maddie passed her, looking over once to give her mother a look of sheer disgust, before heading up the stairs. Rayna watched her go, stunned into silence. At the sound of the door closing, she turned back to face Deacon. She sighed. "What was that about?" she asked, with a touch of annoyance.
"She didn't really want to come home," Deacon said, his voice controlled. "She's been out of sorts all weekend."
Rayna rolled her eyes and waved her hand in irritation. "Yeah, I'm not really her favorite person right now. Oh, and she wants to live with you."
Deacon shrugged and looked away for a moment. "Yeah, she did say something like that."
"And what did you tell her?"
He shook his head. "I told her she didn't need to run away from her problems. That she needed to figure out how to make all this work." He saw the anxious question in Rayna's eyes. "I didn't say anything."
Rayna looked at him sadly. "Well, thanks for that. I think we're all struggling a little bit. Daphne's sad all the time, which is so not like her. And Maddie, well, you know how Maddie is. She's acting out all the time. She's borderline rude to me and she's outright rude to Luke."
Deacon chewed on his lip for a moment, then said, "How are you?"
Rayna shrugged. "Okay, I guess." She looked away for a moment as tears threatened, willing herself to get her emotions under control. "I don't really know what to do. With her." She turned back to him and smiled sadly. "I know I need to give you an answer…."
Deacon shook his head with a wry smile. "I'm not trying to rush you."
"I know. It's just, I don't know, it's all so confusing."
"Don't let him push you to do something you don't want, Ray." The thought crossed her mind that Deacon wouldn't have pushed her to do anything she didn't want. She really wasn't sure why she hadn't just told him she was going to marry Luke and that he needed to move on with his life, without her. But she couldn't form the words, couldn't even imagine herself saying them out loud.
Just then the door opened and Luke walked in. Deacon turned to face him and Luke frowned. "Deacon. Didn't expect to see you here," he said.
Rayna could see Deacon stiffen as he put his hands in his pockets. "I was dropping Maddie off," he said, his voice tight and a little defiant.
"I see."
Deacon turned back to Rayna, who was watching the two of them nervously. "If you need anything, Ray, let me know," he said. Rayna nodded slowly. Then he turned and walked out, not even glancing at Luke.
Luke watched Deacon walk out the door, then turned back to Rayna with a scowl on his face. "Why was he here?" he asked, his voice slightly accusing.
Rayna looked down and shrugged. "He was dropping off Maddie. She had talked to him about everything and he just wanted to let me know."
Luke walked over to her. "Look, I get that he's her dad, but I don't want him interfering in our lives."
Rayna looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "We're Maddie's parents. He's going to be in our lives. He's family."
Luke frowned. "He's not our family." He paused, waiting to see if Rayna would respond, but she stayed quiet, just looking back at him without expression. He took a deep breath and then put on a more pleasant face. "Enough of that. Let's talk wedding dates and venues."
Rayna shook her head. "Luke…."
He reached for her hand. "Look, baby, I just want to get this done. It's been three weeks already. I want us to be Mr. and Mrs. Luke Wheeler, the sooner the better. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can move forward with our new life." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her.
Rayna let him take her in his arms, but she was bothered by his comments about Deacon. And she was beginning to wonder if the pleasant, stable life she had imagined she would have with him was real or just wishful thinking.
She breathed in the salty air. Back in Nashville it was starting to get muggy, but here it was pleasant. Warm but not humid, pleasant breezes. She felt like she could stay here forever, even though that wasn't practical. But Tandy's suggestion to take some time away from everything that had been going on was a good one.
Being away from the day-to-day made her realize how much she had boxed herself in. After the accident, she had consciously created a different life for herself. She had told her father that she was going to look forward from that point on and she had tried hard to do that. She had told Deacon that it was done between the two of them and had hardly given him the time of day after that. As he and Maddie grew closer, they were drawn back into each other's worlds, but she'd been careful to put him back up on the shelf after every interaction. She'd been rude to him at times, trying to solidify that separation.
She felt tears in her eyes as she realized how sharp-edged she had become where he was concerned. He had tried over and over to break down those walls with words and actions. He had spent a lot of time, obviously, thinking about everything that had happened back when she had made the decision to keep Maddie from him and he had released her from all the accountability for that. She felt some sense of regret for that, because she did realize that she wasn't blameless.
When she thought about him coming to see her that night after Luke had asked her to marry him, she wondered about the courage it had taken him to say those words, even after he had watched her accept that ring. She had been overwhelmed by how confident he was, by how sure he was that they belonged together. He had taken her breath away that night. When she had kissed him – and yes, she had most certainly kissed him back, and wanted more – she had finally opened herself up to the possibility that this change in him was real.
And yet she had still wavered. Old habits die hard and the old habit of waiting for the other shoe to drop was powerful. She could no longer count the number of times that he'd disappointed her over the years, including the night of the accident, and that always seemed to pull her back from the edge of the cliff. She pondered that, how scared she had been. And she had truly been terrified.
Rayna had been looking forward to having an evening at home with just the girls. But Maddie was still being difficult and Daphne seemed confused, unsure whether to align with her sister or her mom. The evening had ended with Maddie upstairs in her room, sulking, and Daphne and Rayna watching "Princess Bride". When the movie was over, Rayna walked Daphne upstairs to her room. She watched as her youngest daughter gazed sadly at her older sister's closed door and then sighed dramatically.
Rayna tucked Daphne in and sat on the bed with her. Daphne looked up at her forlornly. "I wish things could go back to the way they used to be," she said.
"What do you mean?" Rayna asked.
Daphne exhaled loudly. "When everybody was happy. When Maddie didn't stay cooped up in her room or mad all the time." She pouted. "I don't like Luke's kids. This isn't going to be any fun at all."
Rayna looked at her daughter sadly. "Oh, baby, I don't want you to feel that way. They're just older than you and I know that's hard."
Daphne shook her head. "Maddie's older than me and she doesn't treat me like a baby. At least, most of the time." She turned puppy dog eyes on her mom. "I don't want them to come over here anymore," she whined.
Rayna didn't know what to say. She was at a loss as to how to make this better and although it pained her that both her daughters were unhappy, somehow Daphne's sadness was worse. Daphne had always been her sunny child, who always found the rainbow in every cloudy day. She wasn't snapping out of this down mood she was in and even Teddy was remarking on it. Rayna leaned in and hugged her daughter. "We'll work it all out, baby, I promise," she said soothingly.
Daphne pulled away and then rolled over on her side facing away from Rayna. "Good night, Mom," she said, her voice small.
Rayna ran her hand over Daphne's head and down her side. "Good night, baby girl. Sleep tight." She got up and pulled the covers up over Daphne and then walked to the door. She switched off the light and stood there for a moment, looking at the quiet form of her youngest daughter. She sighed and softly closed the door.
She headed down the hall and stood outside Maddie's closed door. She hesitated, then knocked lightly. "Maddie?" she called out softly.
After a few seconds went by she heard Maddie's quiet voice. "It's not locked."
Rayna opened the door. Maddie was sitting on her bed with her journal in her lap, the guitar that Deacon had given her leaning against the side of the bed. "Can I come in and talk to you?" she asked.
Maddie looked up at her, her face carefully neutral. Rayna was so struck in that moment by how much she looked like Deacon and it made her heart hurt. Maddie nodded. "I guess," she said.
Rayna walked over to the bed and moved the guitar to lean against a nearby chair. She sat on the edge of the bed and then lifted her legs up so that she could sit next to her daughter. She put her arm around Maddie's shoulders and pulled her in closer. "I wish you weren't so unhappy," she said.
Maddie leaned her head against Rayna's shoulder. "Me too," she said sadly. "I wish…" Then she sighed.
Rayna looked down at her. "You wish what?"
Maddie wrestled with her thoughts. She looked like she wanted to cry, but she took a deep breath and said, "It's my fault."
Rayna frowned. "What's your fault?"
She looked up at her mother and Rayna was surprised at the heartache she saw on Maddie's face. "If it weren't for me, you'd still be with Deacon."
Rayna's eyes widened and she swallowed hard. "We don't know that," she said, carefully.
Tears filled Maddie's eyes. "You were in love with him. You were happy. And I messed it all up," she cried.
Rayna wrapped her arms around her daughter and laid her cheek against Maddie's head. "Oh, sweet girl, don't ever think that. And we can never truly know the future."
Maddie pulled back and looked up into Rayna's eyes. "I wish you would be with him," she said softly. "When we were all on the stage together, singing 'A Life That's Good', that felt so good. It felt like a family, Mom."
Rayna sighed. It had felt like a family. For the briefest of moments, she had felt like that's what she and Deacon could have been. If only he'd been sober. If only she had told him the truth. She wasn't really sure what to say to Maddie now. She was glad that Maddie didn't know about Deacon's proposal and that she actually hadn't officially closed the door on that. Finally, she said, "I'm sorry," and then just held her daughter for a very long time.
As the days wore on, Rayna found herself unable to move forward. In many ways, it felt like it had back when she had found out she was pregnant with Maddie and didn't know what to do. Initially she had felt burdened with the idea that she would have to make a life with Deacon, whom she loved, but whose spiral into addiction had destroyed their lives so many times. She was tired then. Tired of holding him up, tired of watching him slowly kill himself, wondering how she could possibly trust him to be a father to their baby. Teddy had seemed like such a calming choice. He had been disappointed to learn that he probably wasn't the father of her baby, but he had been a steady presence in her life when everything else was out of control. He had helped her pick up the pieces and craft a new life, not the one that she'd thought she'd have, but one that kept her safe and where she knew she and her daughter were loved and protected.
It had felt the same when she'd started seeing Luke. After she got out of the hospital, her life had been full of upheaval. There was finalizing the divorce from Teddy, the struggle to get her voice back, the turmoil with Maddie, and her stubborn insistence on keeping Deacon out of her life and as far from Maddie as she could manage. When Maddie had started to reach out to Deacon, Rayna had had to figure out a new safe place, and that safe place had been Luke.
It was one thing when he was a boyfriend or significant other or lover or whatever you called the man you were seeing when you were a forty-something woman with two children. But the proposal had come out of nowhere, she now realized. She had only just told Luke that she loved him and suddenly he had put the relationship into high gear. Her girls were miserable and she felt devastated as she'd realized how blindsided they had been. They weren't ready for that. When she thought about that, she blamed Luke and his somewhat off-putting jealousy of Deacon and his need to "win" her.
She felt a little guilty when she thought about that, because she certainly hadn't really reassured Luke that it was over with Deacon. Because she wasn't so sure herself that it truly was. Yes, she'd told him that it had been the most painful and tumultuous period of her life, and that was all true, but it had also been passionate and all-consuming. She had loved Deacon, truly, deeply loved him. With every fiber of her being. It was a love she had never had again. Never. What she felt for Luke didn't feel like that. It felt more like what she'd felt for Teddy, when she was honest with herself.
Now she felt paralyzed with indecision. Her head told her one thing, but her heart was beginning to tell her something else altogether. She considered how miserable her girls were and she knew, without even discussing it with them, that if it had been Deacon instead of Luke, they would have welcomed him without hesitation. But she couldn't pull the trigger. And Luke kept pressing for a date and she kept deflecting, feeling overwhelmed.
It wasn't just Luke pressuring her to pick a venue and set a date. There were other smaller things that, taken as a whole, started adding up to real concern. Her girls and his kids continued to not get along, which led to an escalation in first Maddie wanting to go live with Deacon and then Daphne talking about living with Teddy. Luke wanted her to cut back on touring or just go out with him and sing a couple songs on his. And then there were all the times he would call her his "little woman" or his "ball and chain". Always with a wink and a smile or an indulgent chuckle, but Rayna began to bristle every time he did it. So when things had started unraveling, it had all happened surprisingly quickly.
The day when it felt like everything came to a breaking point had started off like any other day, with lots of activity around the wrapping up of Juliette's tour, Rayna's media blitz in support of her album, and putting feelers out for new artist demos. Luke had come over while she and Bucky were working on tour dates and venues. She could feel the tension in him as he stood listening to them. He wasn't saying anything, but it felt like he was dissatisfied. Bucky finally turned to him and said, "Is there something you want to contribute to this discussion?"
Luke had looked a little taken aback at first, but then Rayna watched him narrow his eyes oh-so-slightly at Bucky. "I just thought that Rayna and I were going to work out our touring schedule together so that she could be with me," he said, a hint of stubbornness in his voice.
Bucky raised his eyebrows. "No, that's not what we've been working on. Rayna has an album to support and, as you well know, that requires a lot of effort on her part. I don't think your audiences are really quite the same."
Luke had frowned. He looked down at the schedule that Bucky had and pointed to dates about eight weeks out. "Well, she can't tour then because that's when I've got the Belle Meade mansion lined up for the wedding."
Rayna had been completely taken aback. "You did what?" she cried out. "I'm going to be starting up my tour. I can't do that. And I told you that I wanted to wait." She was furious.
Luke grabbed at her hand, which she snatched away, fury sparking in her eyes. "Oh, come on, baby," Luke said, soothingly. "You can postpone your little old tour for a little bit. Besides, once you're Mrs. Luke Wheeler, you won't need to worry about that anyway. I'll take care of you."
Rayna's eyebrows flew up. "My 'little old tour'? Seriously? And I don't need you to take care of me, Luke. That's not the point of getting married. I'm fully capable of taking care of myself."
Luke gave her a look. "You're still on the edge of losing it all, baby. I think you should jump on board with me and sell Highway 65. Considering you're going to be a newlywed and all, I think you shouldn't stretch yourself too thin."
Rayna could see that Bucky was having trouble hiding his smirk and she was ready to explode. She threw her hands up in the air. "I'm not selling Highway 65! I'm not going to be anything other than Rayna Jaymes! And I'm not getting married at Belle Meade Mansion in two months!" Her eyes were flashing with anger as she stared at Luke and she knew she was shouting. "The girls aren't even totally on board with this yet. You know that! I can't do this to them."
Luke seemed completely unfazed by her outburst. "Well, I'm not one to wait around for something. We're not young kids anymore, Rayna. If you're all in, like you said you were, then you need to be all in." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, laughing as she pulled away. "I like you a little hot-blooded, baby. But cool down a tad and you'll see that this is all for the best." He gave Bucky a look that seemed to indicate that he needed to get Rayna under control and then he walked out the door.
Rayna wheeled around to look at Bucky. "I cannot fucking believe he just said that to me!" she raged. "I feel like I haven't known him at all."
Bucky shrugged. "I did a little digging in his background when it seemed like you were getting serious about him. Apparently this same kind of behavior is what led his wife to leave him."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Bucky shrugged. "Would you have listened?"
Rayna put her hands on her back pockets and breathed in deeply. "Probably not," she said finally. She was quiet for a moment, then looked at Bucky sadly. "I don't think this is going to work out," she said quietly.
Bucky walked over and rubbed her arm. "I think it's for the best."
Tandy told Bucky she wanted to stay and talk with her sister. "I'm really worried about her," she said quietly.
Bucky glanced at Rayna and then looked back at Tandy, nodding his head. "I wish she could resolve this. It's time to tell Mr. Luke Wheeler that it's 'wheels up' for him." It had been several days since the blow up with Luke and he had not been around. Rayna had left several messages wanting to talk to him, but he seemed to be avoiding her. Bucky and Tandy were worried. They wanted her to be able to end things with Luke so she could move on. The longer it went on, the more distracted she got.
Tandy gave him a small smile and put her hand on his arm. "You're a good friend to her, Buck. And loyal to a fault." Her look turned serious. "But this time, I have to agree with you. I thought Luke was the right guy for her in the beginning, but obviously he's not. Everything seems like it's a mess."
Bucky nodded, then leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you later then," he said.
She gave him a wicked smile. "Oh, yes, you will." He winked at her and left. She walked over to where Rayna was sitting, on the couch in the den reviewing paperwork. She sat down next to her sister and Rayna put the papers down on the coffee table, giving her sister a weary smile. "So. How are things?" Tandy asked.
Rayna sighed. "I can't reach Luke. I really need to talk to him, but he's not returning my calls. I think he knows what I want to talk to him about."
Tandy reached out for Rayna's hand and gave her an encouraging smile. "I'm sure he does. After the things he said, he has to know he crossed the line."
Rayna leaned her head back and took a deep breath, then looked at her sister with pain-filled eyes. "I can't believe I didn't see it. But he seemed like the perfect guy. No baggage. Someone I could count on."
"I think he was trying to be what you needed. He knew what you'd been through and he was trying to be that guy." Tandy sighed. "Except that he isn't that guy."
Tears pricked at Rayna's eyes and she blinked them back. "No, he really isn't. And I feel foolish."
Tandy shook her head. "Don't. After the accident, you had a lot to deal with. It's no wonder that you wanted someone like that. Or at least how he wanted you to see him." Tandy looked closely at her sister, who looked so defeated.
"I guess."
"I remember the night I took you to meet Deacon. After you came home from the hospital. When you got back in the car, you looked broken. It was like someone blew out a candle and all the joy in your life had gone out with it. I had hoped maybe Luke would be the one to make you happy again, but I never saw it. It was like you were going through the motions, forcing yourself to feel something you didn't. She paused. "Did you ever give Deacon an answer? Give him back the ring?"
Rayna sadly shook her head. "No, I never did. I sort of avoided it, I guess. I know it had to have hurt him."
Tandy shrugged. "I don't know, sweetheart. He's waited you out before, for a lot longer than this." She squeezed Rayna's hand. "In your heart, what do you want?"
Rayna shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered.
Tandy took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think you do. And instead of fighting it, I think you should let yourself go for it."
Rayna looked at her sister. "Tandy, if I choose Deacon and he breaks again, it will destroy us for good, destroy Maddie. I've been so afraid to risk it. But I do see such a change in him and I worry that if I don't risk it, I'll regret not trying for what I always wanted."
Tandy squeezed her hand and smiled. "I think you've made up your mind." She reached in and hugged her sister. "I think he's finally ready to give you what you always wanted. It's taken him a long time to get here, but I have to admit that I think getting to be a dad to Maddie has made him realize what's worth fighting for. Let him prove that to you."
Rayna drew in a shaky breath and brushed away the tears. "I really have a lot to think about, you know? It's not really as simple as that."
Almost a week had gone by before Luke showed up at the house. Rayna was surprised that he came in and acted as though the argument had been nothing more than a little hiccup. "I'm sorry I pushed so hard about setting a wedding date, darlin'," he said. "We can wait if you want."
Rayna looked at him with astonishment. "Seriously, Luke? Do you not realize that it's more than just setting a wedding date?"
Luke looked surprised. "What else is it, baby? You sure seemed happy that night at LP Field when you said yes."
Rayna shook her head and walked into the den. Luke followed her and stood behind her, putting his hands on her arms. She shook him off and turned to face him, her eyes blazing. "Let's start with the fact that we never talked to our kids about this. Not to mention the fact that I had never even met Sage! Did you ever think about the fact that this affects them?"
"Kids are pretty flexible, I've found. They work it out eventually."
Rayna looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Maybe your kids do, but my girls have been through hell this past year. Teddy and I broke up, Teddy got remarried, and then his wife died. Daddy died. And let's not forget that I nearly died. This has been a really hard year for them. Did it not even cross your mind to talk to them?"
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Quite honestly, no. I didn't think it would be a big deal. I thought we all got along pretty well."
Rayna gave him a look that said 'are you kidding me?' Then she shook her head. "Teddy told me that they were devastated, standing there at LP Field, watching you propose to me. They were completely blindsided. And shame on me for not realizing it. You caught me totally off guard and what was I supposed to do standing up there in front of 50,000 people?" She threw her arms up in the air. "And you want me to stop touring, or at least cut back. Sell my label. Basically give up my whole career and everything I've worked for."
Luke looked a little nervous. "I just thought you might want to take a step back. Not have to work so hard. I can certainly take care of you and the girls." He gave her a slick smile. "Come on, baby, we can work this out. Let's sit down and talk and I promise I'll listen and we'll work this out together."
Rayna stood for a moment, just looking at him. Then she pulled off the ring and held it out to him. "No, I don't think so."
Luke's eyes grew wide, then he frowned at her. "Is this because of Deacon? Because of that little family picture? You know, I see the way you look at him."
Rayna screwed up her face and shook her head. "No, this is not about Deacon. And I've really had enough of this competition you seem to have with him. I'm not a prize to be won. Or fought over." She walked towards him and, taking his hand, pressed the ring into his palm. "Look, I'm sorry. But I just don't feel right about this."
Luke glared at her. "You're a fool to give this up, Rayna. We could have been the true power couple of country music. But I should have known better. You can't truly commit to any other man. You had that pretend marriage with Teddy Conrad and I won't be a pretend marriage so you can cover up your feelings for Deacon Claybourne. I would never let you keep him in your back pocket like Teddy did."
Rayna fumed. "Get out!" she yelled. "Get out!" Her chest was heaving as she watched him turn and walk out the door, slamming it behind him. She turned and angrily paced through the den, breathing hard. Finally, she collapsed on the couch and put her head in her hands. There were no tears to be shed, but finally putting an end to things had drained her. Now what? What do I do now?
She got up and started walking through the house, opening the French doors and walking out to the pool. Anywhere but her bedroom. She walked back and stood in the kitchen, drumming her fingers on the granite counter. She sighed. Then she walked over to the stove and put on a kettle of water to heat. She spent time picking out a tea cup and putting the tea bag in. She glanced over at her phone and then looked away. When the water started boiling, she picked up the kettle and poured the water in the cup. As she waited for the tea to steep, she looked back at her phone. She walked over and picked it up. She pressed the on button and up popped the picture of the girls. She tapped her fingers on the counter, then shook her head, and put the phone back down.
Then finally, because she could stand it no longer, she walked back to her bedroom and immediately went to the drawer where the little drawstring bag lay. She hooked her fingers in the drawer pulls and then just stood there, not pulling them. Finally she pulled open the drawer. She breathed in slowly. She dropped her hands and smoothed them down her pants legs, over and over. Then she tentatively reached in and fished under a stack of panties and felt the bag. She slowly pulled it out and held it in her hand for a moment. She took a deep breath and then she opened it and let the ring fall out into her palm. She could scarcely breathe. She stared at it for a long moment, then closed her eyes. When she opened them back up, she put the ring back in the bag, buried it back where she'd found it, and firmly closed the drawer.