June 2, 1994
To a friend who'd once asked Rayna what it was like to shoot a music video, she'd answered, "Waiting, then waiting, then more waiting." Deacon knows she was joking, but judging from his one previous experience, it wasn't that far from the truth.
He thinks about this when he stops his truck on the side of the road and steps out. They are only back in Nashville for a few days, and Rayna is going to spend those days shooting the video for Roots & Wings. Today's location is on a beautiful acreage outside of town. Before she left early this morning, he'd promised her he would drop by to say hello sometime in the afternoon. A promise that Rayna had negotiated by sliding her arms around his waist, biting his earlobe, whispering in his ear all the things she had in mind for them tonight if, by luck, he would decide to come keep her company on set. This was a negotiation that had crowned them both winners.
There's a security guy who seems to recognize him because he only nods and doesn't move when Deacon walks past him. The crew is setting up the scene they're about to film next and Deacon spots Rayna a little away from the frenzy, leaned back against a fence. There's a little red-haired girl standing in front of her.
"Hey, babe." She smiles at him.
"How's everything going?"
"I'll say surprisingly good so far."
She gives him a quick kiss before she turns towards the girl. "Lucinda, meet Deacon. Deacon, meet 8-year-old Rayna. She's playing a young me in the video," she explains. "Lucinda here is going to be a big country star." Rayna winks at the little girl and gets the biggest smile in return. "I'm teaching her to harmonize on Anywhere From Here."
"Want to hear us?" the girl asks.
"Of course. I will say I knew you when."
He watches Rayna as she and Lucinda start to sing, the girl looking up at Rayna with a mix of awe and self-pride.
In the six years they've been together, neither of them really brought up the subject of children. It came up when Scarlett was born, but they didn't talk about it more seriously than a vague, "One day, that would be nice." Their childhoods couldn't have been more different but neither of them had what would be called a conventional one. There was, in fact, a time when Deacon was certain he would never want kids. That was before Rayna.
Before Rayna.
This could be said about so many things.
Before Rayna, he never thought he would be playing guitar in front of thousands of people. Before Rayna, he never thought he would be writing hit songs with the woman he loved. Before Rayna, the lousy cards the universe had dealt him for 19 years had kept his expectations of life considerably low.
The song ends and Deacon claps, making fake crowd-cheering noises, "The crowd goes wiiild!", prompting Lucinda to break into giggles.
They hear someone behind them yell, "Everyone, we're back at it."
"I have to go, babe, you're waiting and watching for a little while?"
"I just got here."
As Rayna walks away from him with that little red-haired girl, he thinks how, one day, that would definitely be nice.