Lean Into It

First of all, my apologies on the delay on this story! This chapter took way to long and I'm still not thrilled with it, but it gets the point across and moves the story to where I am trying to get it.

I still own nothing, and I still love to read your feed back, so reviews are welcome!

"I want to keep the baby."

Juliette's sudden words caught Avery off guard. The sun was just beginning to rise over the Tennessee hills outside. He had thought she had been asleep, still wrapped in his arms, exhausted from the past 48 hours since the Grammys. He looked over into her eyes and saw nothing but determination. "Okay."

She smiled at his response. He hadn't questioned her decision or tried to change her mind. He just accepted it. "I know that the easiest thing to do would be to get rid of it and just forget it ever happened, but ... Avery, I can't. Even though I'm not convinced I'll be a good mother, I have to try. I have to try to be better than Jolene ever was to me." She rolled closer to him and continued. "I was watching Rayna with Maddie last night. And I realized that I want what they have. It's not a perfect relationship, but the way they look at each other... Mama and me ... we never had that. And I want it."

He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "It's scary, but as long as I've known you, you've never walked away from anything because it was a challenge." He paused, phrasing his next question carefully. "What about the press?"

She grimaced, knowing that the media outlets would be calculating when she conceived as soon as word got out. It wouldn't take them long to connect the dots back to Charlie. And she did not want to have to deal with that ... ever. Maybe it was wrong, but she wanted to keep this child as far away from the Wentworth name as possible. Another media frenzy would make that impossible. "I haven't completely figured that part out yet. I can probably make it through the rest of the tour, before it's too obvious. Then I'm thinking about disappearing for the rest of the year. Jeff will be pissed, but it's too bad. I've been working for Edgehill for five years with no break. I've earned it. Plus I'll tell him I'm creatively burnt out. He'll have no choice."

Avery nodded. "So where are you planning to hide out?"

She reached over and grabbed her phone. Opening the photo gallery she began showing him her plan. "There is this beautiful old farmhouse out on the property I have near Franklin. It was built in the 1850s. The previous owner had it restored, so it's completely livable. I think it would be a good place to hide away."

Avery looked at the pictures of the rustic old home. Not huge, the white wood siding house sat in the middle of a field, surrounded by a few oak trees. Just looking at the pictures, he could envision them sitting on the large wrap around porch, writing songs. "It's beautiful. Sounds like a solid plan."

She paused and then looked up at him. "I know it's a lot of trouble. But I don't want to be out there alone. I ..."

He put his index finger up to her lips, halting her words. "Don't say another word. Do you really think I'd be okay with you living out there all by yourself for so long? Of course I'm going with you. Plus somebody will have to keep you - and the baby - fed, right. A trip to the grocery store might blow your cover," he said, with a smirk.

"Right." She paused and turned to look him in the eye. She knew that he was a bad liar and she could tell if he was just placating her. She had to ask him one more time. "Avery ... are you really okay with this? You're taking this on like it's your baby. It's a lot for me to ask of you."

The eye contact never wavered and when he gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand, she knew that the words were true. "I never heard you ask me for help. I want to be here for you. And right now, being here for you means being here for this baby too. He or she is a part of you and I love you. And I have no doubt that I will love this baby too. Do I wish it was mine? Absolutely. Is the timing not great? No, but life is unpredictable like that. That's the beauty of it. I told you last night that I am not going anywhere, and I mean it."

A look of bliss crossed her face, as she leaned in, kissing him soundly, letting him know that she needed him.

"Hey, Juliette." The blonde turned to the dressing room door, to see Rayna peeking in. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure. Come on in."

Rayna did, securely closing the door behind her. "How are you doing?" she said as she sat down on the other end of the sofa.

Juliette looked over at her and smiled. "I'm good. Thanks for coming out on these last few dates. The fans are eating it up."

"I'm glad I could. It's been fun." She hesitated, and Juliette watched her carefully. Finally the redhead looked up and the two pairs of eyes met. "When are you due?"

Juliette looked down in her lap. She had been afraid that Rayna really knew more than she let on ever since the Grammys two months earlier. Moving to avoid eye contact, she pulled at a stray thread of the fraying jeans that she had struggled to button after the show. The question hung in the air until she looked back up. "I ... um ... I'm about thirteen weeks along. I found out the day before the Grammys."

Rayna nodded.

Juliette sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "You knew, didn't you? When I got sick?"

"I suspected," she responded with a kind look on her face. "Having been out here with you the last few days just confirmed it. I see how exhausted you've been acting. How protective Avery's been. I remember that feeling all too well. I was about your age with Maddie. I wasn't quite headlining at that point, but even as the number two act, it was terrible. I toured until I was seven months along ... I don't recommend that."

"Actually, I'm going to take some time away from things. Disappear for a while." Juliette stood up and began putting her personal items in the travel bag she kept with her.

Rayna wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Why?" she asked as her eyes followed the younger singer around the room. "This isn't twenty years ago. You and Avery love each other and it doesn't seem like he's going anywhere."

Juliette knew she shouldn't do it. The more people who knew, the more likely it was to get out. But this was Rayna. She wouldn't say anything to the press. She turned and looked down at the other woman, still perched on the edge of the sofa. "That's the problem. Avery and I had only been together for a little more than two weeks at the Grammys ... This baby isn't his."

Rayna's eyes widened. "Then who ...?"

"Charlie Wentworth."

An 'O' shape formed on Rayna's lips and a look of realization crossed over her eyes. "And the affair was denied and if this comes out, the media will figure it out, right?"

"Yeah," was all Juliette could say, small tears forming in her eyes. "Avery's been amazing."

Rayna chuckled lightly at the irony, looking distant for a moment. "Deja vu. Except in my case, the sexy guitar player knocked me up and the handsome rich guy married me. You got it backward, kid." She paused as her eyes met those of the younger woman. "Or maybe I did. Look, this won't be easy. But you can do it. I believe in you. I know that you might need someone to talk to ... just know that if you do need someone, someone who's been there, you can call me any time. I know I'm not your mother, but ... "

"That's for sure," Juliette said with a wry smile on her lips. "Thank you, Rayna. Look, you are literally the third person who knows about this. You, me and Avery. Please don't say anything. To anyone. After the show tomorrow night, I'm letting Jeff know that I'm going completely off the radar for the rest of the year. Avery and I are going to be staying in a farmhouse on my property in Franklin. I need that to stay quiet."

Rayna stood and walked over to the petite blonde. "It's not my place to say anything. You've been great about keeping things under wraps about Maddie and Deacon. I owe you the same courtesy. You can trust me." They shared a friendly hug, and as they pulled back, Rayna had a glimmer in her eye. "Jeff's going to be pissed. Can I be there when you tell him?"

For the first time either could remember, the two superstars shared a genuine laugh together. Walking out the door, Rayna's arm around Juliette's shoulders, the giggles continued as they wandered out to the buses.

Two days later, Juliette found herself sitting in the waiting room outside Jeff Fordham's office. The expensive and very structured business suit she wore hid any hint of her baby bump and exuded the kind of power she needed to get her point across. Usually, Glenn was with her at meetings like this, but not this time. She had talked to him the night before, not giving him any more of an idea of why she was taking this break than she would give Jeff, but assuring him that it would be okay and that he could reach her by phone.

"He's ready for you, Miss Barnes," Jeff's assistant said as she indicated the direction of his office, as if Juliette hadn't been there a hundred times. Rolling her eyes she stood up as tall as she could and walked into the large office with the fantastic view.

"Juliette. Come on in," the label head said from behind the large desk. He stood as she moved into the room. "Have a seat."

"Thank you for seeing me, Jeff." The well-practiced smile she had plastered on her face never faltered. She would charm him before she filled him in on her plans.

Jeff nodded. "Not a problem, Juliette. The show last night at Bridgestone was phenomenal! The reviews were fantastic. Have you seen the latest album numbers? 'Inside the Dream' is still top 5, two months later. That's what I like to see."

"Well, Jeff, I'm just glad to help the label out." It was time to pull the trigger. "Now I need you to help me out."

He sat back in his chair, seemingly bracing himself for what she would ask him. "How so?"

"Not so much help me out as just accept what I'm about to tell you as fact and not question me." Jeff's smarmy smile disappeared, knowing he wouldn't like what she said. "I'm taking the rest of the year off. The tour is done. There are no further tour dates, and we already decided that I wouldn't do the summer circuit. Creatively, I need time to take a break. You wouldn't want me burning out, would you?"

He shook his head. "That's unacceptable."

"Radio loves me, Jeff," she said confidently. "They are going to play me no matter what right now and you know it. The songs will sell themselves. Plus, we are already three singles deep into the album. We've got, what? Maybe two left, if that many? Trust me, when I tell you that I will have a whole new album of fantastic material recorded and ready to go after the first of the year."

"Juliette ..."

Knowing he was about to start throwing a Marketing 101 lecture her way, she stood, chin lifted in defiance. "This is how it has to be, Jeff." She turned on her heel and walked toward the door. "It will be fine. You'll see. See you in six months."

As she walked through the waiting room, she could hear the curses he was shouting after her, and a genuine smile found it's place on her lips.

There you go, Chapter 4. Again, I love reviews! Next chapter will pretty much be all Juliette and Avery at the farmhouse. So cuteness is coming!