Growing Up Is Hard to Do

by IngenueForever

One possible scenario for Deacon and Rayna reuniting after Luke's proposal in the Season 2 Finale. It's a long road- but the result is worth the wait.

4. Growing Up is Hard to Do Chapter 4

Growing Up is Hard to Do Chapter 4.

Rayna just got off the phone with Sheriff Tom Ramsey about the threatening letters that had been coming in with the fan mail over the past few months. There were always a few strange letters in the mix and always a few nasty ones, but this time there was a threat letter coming in almost weekly, and ostensibly from the same person. The Sheriff suggested they hold a meeting with Rayna, Teddy and Deacon asap to discuss a plan of action. Rayna got off the phone and immediately called Teddy.

'Hi, Teddy. Listen, I just got off the phone with Sheriff Tom to talk about those nasty letters we keep getting in the mail. He wants us to take extra precautions. Actually he wants to meet with us and Deacon as soon as possible to discuss. Any chance you can come over today? Tom can actually be here for lunch, at 12noon.'

'Actually, I can. My 12 O'clock just cancelled. I'll be there.'

'Okay, I'll call Deacon and see if he can make it, but let's plan on meeting here at noon, regardless.'

Rayna immediately called Deacon.

'Hey Ray.'

' Hey, is there any chance you're free to come over here for lunch today at noon to meet with me, Teddy and Sheriff Tom Ramsey about these nasty threats we've been getting in the mail? He wants to discuss a plan of action."

'Wow, I guess that means he doesn't think they're just pranks anymore. I'll move around a few things and be there at noon. This is too important for me to miss. I'll be there... Deacon hesitated, because he could hear the fear in Rayna's voice. 'And hey, you holdin up okay? '

'I'm tryin not to be scared for the girls' sakes, but honestly, this is starting make me very nervous.'

'All right, well, hang in there and let's talk to the Sheriff and see what he wants us to do.' Of course, Deacon wanted to run over there and give Rayna a big hug, let her know he would be there for them. He could tell immediately she was worried. Heck, what he really wanted to do was stay over there until this died down. Rayna was still living there alone with the girls, Luke was on a short tour till the weekend, and he was starting to get concerned himself. Trying to figure out this line between being co-parents of Maddie but not being overly involved with each other was a tough one to figure out. It was almost as if there was no getting around it.

'Hey, on a happier note, I meant to tell you how glad I am about all that's going on with you and your album. It's doing even better than you'd expected!'

'Yeah, thanks.'

'And that Kelly Sayler sure does good work, doesn't she? Is she as good as I hear she is?'

'Interesting question, Ray." Deacon could tell Rayna was digging for a reaction. He decided not to take the bait. 'She is.' Deacon realized Rayna must have seen them holding hands at the table. Good grief.

"Oh, also I talked to Maddie and it didn't seem like you had anything special planned this weekend, so I was hoping maybe we could switch? Do you mind if Maddie stays with me this week and you take her next? Then when I leave for tour she'll be with Teddy. Luke's got a family get together this weekend and we're hoping all of the kids can hang a little. They need to get to know each other more.'

'I think that's fine. Wow, from what Maddie's told me so far, that sounds like quite the undertaking. Good luck with that. ' Deacon replied flippantly.

'Yeah, thanks. See you in a little while.' Ouch, Touche. Rayna chuckled and shook her head. She didn't miss the sarcasm in Deacon's voice either.

Deacon tried to arrive as late as he could to the meeting. He wanted to spend as little time with Teddy as possible. There was still quite a bit of tension between them over the whole Megan situation. Deacon got over Megan faster than he thought he would. Not drowning himself in booze probably helped. He also realized there were a lot of problems in their relationship to begin with. It was never going to work, long term. Yet her betrayal by sleeping with Teddy just burned. That man was always taking what he pleased, it seemed, tearing Deacon's heart open wider, just for the fun of it. He wasn't sure what he could ever do to get Teddy off his back, other than be grateful for all he'd done to raise Maddie as well as he did. When Deacon arrived, Teddy, Rayna and the Sheriff had just started talking.

Rayna put out a nice platter of sandwiches and everyone took a seat in the family area near the kitchen. Sheriff Tom reviewed the details about the letters and his concerns about why this might be more than just a prank. He suggested the services of a local private investigator and said the Sheriff's department would continue to monitor and add extra surveillance, within their means. The gated community paid for its own security staff, and the Sheriff suggested Rayna look into getting them to provide additional service, as well. The Sheriff had already updated the security company with its findings.

Before leaving the Sheriff added, 'I think you should all consider adding a high-tech security system to your homes, too. Ms. James, yours could use some upgrading, Mayor Conrad's should be fine. Mr. Claybourne, you should consider adding one to your home, too, just to be on the safe side.'

Deacon raised his eyebrows and took a deep breath. All of this information was pretty intense. In fact everyone was on edge, Deacon, Rayna, and Teddy.

'Okay, if you really think that's necessary, then i'll put one in. You recommend a particular company?'

'I've left that info with the other pamphlets on the counter. '

'We can pay for that if that would be helpful, Deacon.' Teddy couldn't resist the power play.

'That's very thoughtful of you, Teddy, but it's really not a problem,' Deacon replied, with a sneer, a little annoyed by the obvious insult. He wasn't the "king" of country music, but he did quite well for himself, as Teddy was well aware.

'Well, you've got enough to wrap your heads around, so i'm gonna leave you with that information. Here's my card and my number. Don't hesitate to call me anytime with any questions or if you see anything suspicious. If I don't answer the calls roll to one of my deputies. Someone is always available, so really, don't hesitate. We can be here in a few minutes flat. You might give those numbers to your daughters, as well. Again, this very likely could be nothing. We haven't heard any reports of any strange activity in the neighborhood here, or near any of your locations, Mayor Conrad and Mr. Claybourne. But when these things pop up, as they do from time to time with celebrities like yourselves, well, it's best to be proactive. You just never know. '

'Thank you, Sheriff. ' Rayna led the Sheriff to the door and walked back to look at the materials.

' Well, if that wasn't one of the most frightening and intense conversations of my life right there,' Rayna added. Both Teddy and Deacon nodded in agreement.

Deacon looked at both Rayna and Teddy. 'So how do we tell the girls.'

'Rayna and I can handle that. Rayna, I can come back around 5pm and we can have a family discussion. Does that work?' Deacon was a little frustrated by being left out. He yearned for a time when it might be him and Rayna leading the 'family' discussions, but that wasn't in the cards at the moment and this was a very serious matter, so he left it alone. Having them all there might seem overly alarming to the girls, so perhaps this was best anyway. He would talk to Maddie sometime on his own.

Rayna could see Deacon was agitated and she was about to chime in, when Deacon replied: 'All right then. That sounds like a good plan. Oh, and uh, good luck this weekend, Ray.' Deacon added, with a big smile.

'Ha, ha!' Rayna chuckled.

'What's this weekend?' Teddy asked.

'Oh, Luke's ex-wife is hosting a big birthday party for Luke's daughter and we're all heading over there on Saturday.'

'Ahh, yes. Maddie's told me about Luke's daughter. Sounds almost scarier than these letters we've been getting.' Teddy looked at Deacon and they both laughed.

'Gee, thanks for all the support, guys. Now get! I gotta about a million calls to make before the girls get home.' Rayna walked them to the door and settled back down at her counter. She quickly perused the pamplets left by Sheriff Tom and then went back to her work. I can't think about all that stuff right now or I'll never get any work done. Later.

On Saturday morning, Luke came driving up early, all ready for the trip out to the country for his daughter's party.

Hey, anybody home? Luke shouted as he entered the house.

Daphne ran up, 'Hi, Luke!' and gave him a hug.

'Well that sure is a nice greeting! Where's your momma and sister?'

'They're up getting ready. It takes them forever!'

'I bet, huh?' Luke smiled. ' Go tell them we have to leave in about five minutes. I'm all ready.'

Okay, Luke.' and Daphne ran upstairs.

'Mom, Lukes here.'

Oh, darn, Rayna thought. I don't think I'll ever be ready for this one. She put another clip in her hair and said to herself well, this will have to do. 'Coming! Maddie, you ready?'

'If I must be.'

'Yep, common now. Listen, I promise I'll get you tickets to that concert next week if you show some good manners and try to enjoy yourself today. Deal?'

'Deal. 'Maddie smiled. 'Let's make the best of it.

'Good girl! Rayna smiled, relieved that Maddie wasn't gone put up a battle .

'Hey there!

'Hi, Gorgeous!' Rayna walked over and gave Luke a hug and quick kiss on the lips.

'Oooh, lookin forward to more of that later'

'Aha. I guess we gotta go. Let's go girls.'

They finally arrived at the party. Luke's wife hosted the party on her 30-acre farm house. It was gorgeous. Full outdoor entertainment center, beautiful stables. They had a live band and there must've been over 100 people there. All for a 16-year old girl, Rayna thought. My goodness, what will they do when she turns 21?

The girls jumped out of the car. 'Can we go see the horses mom?' Daphne asked. 'Sure, girls, Just don't go far. ' She turned to Luke L'et's find Courtney and Colt and say hello.

Luke turned and saw his ex-wife talking with some close friends, 'There's Jenny. Hi, Jenny.!"

'Why, this must be the infamous Rayna James! Well, you look as good in person as you do in all those papers! So great to meet you! Come, have a drink. I'll introduce you to some friends. Luke's told me all about the big wedding plans- sounds like it's going to be a huge event ! We can't wait... Where are the kids?"

'They'll be here in a minute. They went to pet the ponies.'

'Oh, good. Courtney, honey, come say hello!'

'Hi, Rayna.'

'Hi, Courtney. ' Rayna gave Courtney a little kiss on the cheek. Rayna had never seen a girl so dolled up for 16. She'd been in several beauty pageants and it showed. Her hair was bleached, her nails too long, she had too much makeup on and too much jewelry. She couldn't have been more different than Maddie. No wonder they didn't get along. Luke's eye's sure lit up around her though.

'Aint she just a beauty, Rayna? How are you, darlin, you enjoying your sweet 16?'

'Yes, daddy, I sure am. '

'Great, now show us around, beautiful. I want to introduce my bride to be.'

Rayna was introduced to Jenny's husband, several cousins, several neighbors and friends from their club. These were the type of people her daddy used to socialize with- and it never was her cup of tea. Luke was eating it up, though. He liked being the center of attention. He liked both of them being at the center of attention, in fact.

The girls finally found them. They ended up spending most of the afternoon with Colt, listening to music and playing with the keyboards. They finally came down later to dance to the band. At least the music was good. Courtney showed Maddie her room, her riding trophies and talked all about her pageant ribbons. Maddie showed her some videos of her and Daphne singing. Courtney thought they were just 'adorable' but quickly moved on to other subjects. After thirty minutes, Maddie couldn't wait to go back home.

On the ride home the girls fell fast asleep. Rayna wanted to talk to Luke. 'That sure is a beautiful home, Luke. Did you all live there together?

'We moved there just a few years before the divorce. Loved that place, though. Beautiful spot, great people.'

'Yeah. Now what is this I hear about 'big wedding' plans from Jenny? I thought we'd decided on just a small gathering of close friends and family? '

'I used to think that way, but come 'on, I think we should make this a big celebration. Gary 'll bring the boys, Bryan will come sing, we'll make it a big ho-down. We could even have it at the farm.'

'What, you're serious?'

'Yes, of course I am!' Luke responded, a little surprised.

'I don't know, I've got to think about that. '

'Sugar, it wouldn't be bad for Highway 65 either.'

'Or Edgehill for that matter,' Rayna added.

'Or Edgehill, sure.'

'All right, I'll think about it. But no promises. 'Luke held the steering will with his left hand and put his right hand on Rayna's lap and rubbed her leg. She leaned her head over onto his shoulder and closed her eyes, but her head was spinning.

The next morning, Rayna woke up before everyone else and went downstairs to make coffee. There was a message on her cell from Tandy. 'Call me when you can. I'm dying to hear about the party yesterday.'

'Hey, Tandy.'

'Hi, so how was it?!

'Oh, gosh, it's hard to even explain. The farm is just gorgeous. It's huge, of course, just a beautiful piece of property. Jenny seemed nice. She reminded me of Marylynn.'

'Oh, you mean a little tacky? '

'I don't know, just a little over the top. The kids did okay. Maddie actually spent time with Courtney. I'm sure she loved hearing all about the beauty pageants.'

'Oh, my gosh! Poor Maddie. ' Tandy laughed.

'Yeah, but the worst thing was when I found out Luke actually wants a huge wedding. He totally pulled a 180 on me. He wants the Rascal Flats to sing and bring Luke Bryan along. And he wants to invite everyone under the sun. Just the opposite of what I was looking forward to.'

'You gettin wedding jitters already, Rayna?'

'I wish. Unfortunately, i think it's more than that. I think I really don't know Luke that well at all.'

'Not sure what you expected, I mean when you got engaged you'd known each other for less than a year and much of that time you were both on the road. ' Rayna knew Tandy was right. She was feeling overwhelmed and confused. 'What do you want to do?'

'I don't know, but I don't think we're ready to get married.'

'Oh my. Well, I have to go, i'm late for church. Call me later...anytime if you want to talk this over.'

'All right. Thanks.' Rayna put the phone down and sighed. She was going to have to figure out how to start this conversation with Luke. He wasn't going to like it. They weren't going to get any time alone today, and Luke had to leave before dinner, so they might not get more time alone for a few more weeks and by then Rayna would be back on tour, too. Rayna decided they should just all enjoy the day and she would buy herself some time to figure this out.