Chapter 2

Rayna hustled down the long backstage corridor of the arena at an impressive speed for someone wearing a pair of four inch stiletto heels.

Back in the day, during one of Rayna and Deacon's late night writing sessions, when they were deep in the throes of their love affair and feeling loopy from the excessive amounts of caffeine they consumed to stay up all night churning out music, Deacon had spontaneously penned a silly song about Rayna's two favorite categories of footwear. It was affectionately titled Stilettos and Cowboy Boots, which he eventually recorded a demo of and gave to her as a joke. She still had it somewhere, packed into a huge box and stored up in the attic, (marked "clothing" to ensure Teddy didn't go rifling through it) only big enough to contain a fraction of the countless memories they had made together over the years. Sometimes she wished she could bury her feelings and desires like tangible belongings and shove them into a corner, never to be heard from again, but unfortunately life didn't work like that.

As they rounded the corner towards Juliette's dressing room, Deacon set his rough palm on the top of her exposed shoulder as he moved behind her, the sudden contact startling Rayna for a moment.

It was a simple touch, but one that immediately sent chills up her spine and made her realize how very much she had missed the small moments of physical contact between them. The hand squeezes, the lingering hugs, the way their shoulders would graze as they leaned in to sing harmony together, had become like a second language to them in all the years they spent apart. It wasn't much, but it was some connection to the greatest love both of them had ever known, tragic flaws and all.

When they finally reached their destination, Deacon motioned to the doorway of the dressing room. "You sure about this Ray?" he asked.

"I am. As sure as I know I want to put on a damn good show tonight."

"Alright then, lets go."

The second Juliette noticed Rayna lingering with Deacon standing a few feet behind her, her face soured.

The hair and wardrobe team who were crowded around Juliette working to put the finishing touches on her look for the evening, all eyed each other in surprise. It was rare to see the two headliners interacting during the show with the exception of the closing duet, let alone see them in each others dressing rooms.

"What are you doing in here?" Juliette snapped at Rayna, blotting her over-glossed lips with a tissue.

Rayna sucked in a breath sharply and reminded herself that playing nice was just a means to an end.

"I'm sorry to just barge in here right before you go on," Rayna began apologetically, "but I have a bit of an urgent situation I'm really hoping you'll be able to help me with."

"Let me get this straight," Juliette said, eyebrow raised in disbelief that Rayna Jaymes could possibly need something from her other than a ride on her private jet. "You want my help?"

"I do. I just found out five minutes ago that I'm down a lead guitarist tonight and I need a replacement, someone who's a real pro and can jump in at a moments notice." Rayna smiled tightly and tilted her head in Deacon's direction as he stood, cool as a cucumber next to her, arms crossed over his chest. "And, as we both well know, there's really only one person here who fits that description."

Juliette grinned like a Cheshire cat as her wardrobe stylist wrapped a rhinestone studded chain around her neck. Her eyes darted from Rayna to Deacon.

"So what you're trying to say is, that you want to borrow Deacon from me for the night?"

Rayna laughed nervously and fought the natural urge to take the bait. Over the course of the tour, she had become pretty good at putting the girl in her place when necessary, especially at moments where Juliette was operating at a maturity level that rivaled her thirteen year old daughter's, but she knew that wasn't going to help her here. If it meant getting Deacon out on that stage with her, she would suck it up and let Juliette revel in the fact that she was holding all the power in this situation, even if it went against every instinct she had.

"If it's okay with you," Rayna replied sweetly, "I mean, I wouldn't want to disappoint our fans with a sub par show."

Juliette smirked, fully aware of the game Rayna was playing with her.

"Well," she countered, "since I'm going on first tonight, I'm going to be real generous and let you have my leftovers."

Deacon rolled his eyes. "You do realize I'm standing right here, don't you?" he asked in the irritated tone of voice he reserved for when his young boss was getting a little to cocky for her own good.

Juliette sighed in exasperation. "Oh lighten up Deacon. I'm just jokin'."

She admired her reflection before hopping off the makeup chair and adjusting the top of her skin tight dress so her "girls" were prominently displayed.

"Now come on, we've got a show to do," she chirped, slowly sashaying out of the dressing room leaving Deacon and Rayna to stare at each other with amused but grateful looks on both their faces.

{***}

Rayna fluffed her hair for the twentieth time and paced back and forth on the thick carpet of the dressing room as she watched Juliette launch into the final song in her set from the live feed of the concert set up on the TV attached to the wall.

Why the hell was she so nervous? Rayna had been living her life on the stage for the past two decades and never once had she suffered from an ounce of stage fright. Sure, there were always those jittery butterflies of anticipation she felt the moment before she stepped on stage, but this was different.

While in reality it had only been a couple of months since she and Deacon had last played together, for two people who had been musically attached at the hip for twenty years, it seemed like a lifetime. Between that and all the strange and uncertain circumstances surrounding them lately she was unsure what it would feel like to be out there again with him.

Rayna picked up a magazine and began to flip through it in an attempt to distract herself before tossing it restlessly back down. She sighed loudly and briefly considered asking Bucky to go get her a cigarette to hold. Maybe that would help.

Suddenly she heard that familiar voice boom from behind her before spinning around to see Deacon standing there, slightly sweaty and out of breath.

"Whatcha doin' fidgeting around like that? The great Rayna Jaymes never gets nervous before a show," he said, casually strutting past her.

Deacon removed the towel draped around his neck and collapsed into a chair, blotting haphazardly at the perspiration on his forehead.

"I'm surprised you even work up a sweat playin' for her," Rayna shot back, hand on hip, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. "Although, there is that extremely complex guitar riff in the middle of that song about Target tank tops and Gucci sunglasses. No wonder you're so winded."

She crossed the room and sat down on an ottoman directly across from Deacon, stretching her long legs out.

"I'll have you know that staying out of the way of those aggressive back up dancers is an exercise routine in itself," he quipped.

They both chuckled and then stared at each other for a long moment before Deacon spoke again.

"You know, she's not all bad Ray. Sure, some of those songs are kind of juvenile, and she's a bit of a wild card, but there's a lot more talent to her than you realize. Underneath it all, she's just a scared young woman who needs someone in her corner."

"Well that's what she has you for, isn't it?" Rayna asked, a slightly touchy edge to her voice.

"Creatively maybe, but she sure could use someone who worked hard for their entire career to become the artist they wanted to be. Someone who knows how to navigate this crazy business without losin' themselves. Someone who is an inspiration to her, even though she hates to admit it. You know anyone like that?"

Rayna smiled softly and looked into the piercing green eyes she had sung love songs into for the better part of her career.

Deacon relaxed back against the chair he was sitting on and clasped his hands behind his head. "She actually reminds me a little bit of you when you were just startin' out."

Rayna opened her mouth to protest, but Deacon quickly rebounded. "Minus the sweet as pie demeanor and good manners obviously," he added with a grin, the skin around his eyes crinkling.

Rayna reached out to squeeze his hand. "Thanks for doing this," she whispered.

They locked eyes again, but the moment was interrupted when Bucky stuck his head in the door and announced a ten minute warning.

Rayna looked at Deacon, suddenly feeling relaxed. "You ready to go for round two?" she asked.

They stood up and Deacon winked at Rayna as they headed out towards the stage. "Let's do it," he said.