The next few chapters are made up of short vignettes taking place over the better part of a year, as Deacon and Maddie develop their relationship and Deacon and Rayna work through their issues in counseling.

Maddie was coming over today. When Rayna had called last night, he had hesitated to answer the phone, but then he remembered their agreement, that she would only call when it was about Maddie. And so he had. He wondered what had happened to cause Rayna to believe that Maddie needed him now. Or had Maddie asked? It didn't matter, really. He did feel like he should have been the bigger person and reached out first, but he hadn't really known exactly how to do that. How to say how much he wanted to know his daughter. He'd been afraid. He was still afraid. Being a father seemed like something he wouldn't be good at, so he was afraid to take the risk.

Scarlett had laughed at him as he'd rushed around that morning trying to get ready for Maddie. "Deacon, she isn't going to care if the house is clean or not," she'd said. "She's coming over to spend time with you."

Deacon had looked at her in exasperation. "This is the first time she's going to be here, Scar. She's never been to my house, so I don't want her to never want to come back."

Scarlett had laughed again, shaking her head. "Just stop worrying. It's going to be fine. I promise."

He hoped she was right.

When Maddie got there, Rayna was with her. Of course. He didn't know why hadn't realized Rayna would bring her and walk her to the door. She'd asked what time she should pick Maddie up and he'd told her. He wanted her to leave and he could sense that Maddie did too. He found himself wondering if he could tell her not to come to the door anymore. He supposed that was impossible, but every time he saw her, the hurt and anger rose up again. He wasn't sure he could get past it, if he kept having to see her.

Deacon shut the door on Rayna and stood for a moment, breathing in and out slowly. The tension started to leave him as he turned to see Maddie standing there watching him, holding on to her guitar case. She seemed to be sizing him up, which made him slightly uncomfortable. "Does it still make you mad?" she asked.

He raised his eyebrows. He'd forgotten how direct she could be sometimes. "What?" he asked.

Maddie gave him a ghost of a smile. "Mom. She still makes you mad, doesn't she?" When he didn't respond right away, she shrugged. "It's okay. She still makes me mad sometimes too."

Deacon breathed out and rubbed his hands over his face. "Yeah, I guess," he said. Then he realized they were both still standing in the middle of the living room. "Hey, why don't you sit down? Do you want something to drink?"

Maddie smiled a real smile. "Do you have root beer?" she asked.

Deacon smiled back at her. "You know I do," he said, as he turned and went to the kitchen. That was something that Rayna had always made sure was stocked on the tour bus, especially when the girls went on tour with her. He and Maddie always shared a love of root beer. Realizing that made him wonder if that was something she'd inherited from him, but he decided that it probably was just coincidence. He got two root beers out of the fridge and brought them back.

Maddie was sitting on the couch and he put one down in front of her. "Thanks," she said, with a smile.

Deacon felt awkward and he suspected Maddie did too. She sipped her drink, as did he. Then he cleared his throat. "Uh, Maddie, I wish I'd had more of a chance to be part of your life," he said. As soon as he said it, he felt like he hadn't said the right thing at all. But he didn't really know how to start being her dad.

Maddie looked at him curiously. "But you were," she said. "I remember hanging out with you the whole time I was growing up. You never talked to me like I was a kid. And you let me play with your guitars. And I realize now that probably freaked you out." She smiled. "But you were always there, Deacon."

Deacon worked his lip. He felt like he had a vise around his chest. "Well, I would like to have been more of a dad," he said.

Maddie shrugged. "You can now. Plus now that I'm older you won't have to punish me or tell me no." She smiled slyly.

Deacon smiled back. "So you're telling me you never get in trouble or do the wrong thing?"

Maddie laughed. "Well…." Then she looked serious. "I guess snooping in Mom's closet was kind of a wrong thing."

Deacon took a deep breath. "I guess snooping isn't the right thing to do, but if you hadn't we wouldn't know I'm your father."

Maddie nodded, looking thoughtful. "I always wondered why I was so interested in playing the guitar. Because Mom is not very good at it and Dad is not musical at all. So I guess I got it from you."

Deacon smiled at her. "Maybe. You always did like to play. And you're very good."

Maddie blushed. "For someone my age."

Deacon shook his head. "For anyone. I meant what I said when I told you that you were better than a lot of the session musicians I know." He smiled. "It makes me proud of you."

Maddie beamed at him. "Thanks. But I know I still can learn a lot." She nodded towards her guitar. "So you'll give me lessons?"

"Absolutely."

That love for music turned out to be the glue that bound them together and was the path they took to navigate their new relationship.

"Deacon, how do you write songs? I've been writing in my journal, but now I want to try to write a song, and I don't really know how." Maddie knew that Deacon was working on a few new songs as he hoped to get signed to a record deal. She'd tried playing around with song lyrics but had felt discouraged.

Deacon raised his eyebrows. "Well, the basic format is verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. It doesn't have to be that way, but that's what I would recommend to start. Especially when you're first starting out."

"Do you start with the words or the music?"

"I usually start with the words. But sometimes a melody will come in my head and I'll play it out and then write it down. Sometimes I can come up with the words at the same time, but usually not. But I'll always find something that the music will work with at some point."

Maddie looked at him curiously. "Do you always write by yourself?"

"I do a lot. But I'll write with other songwriters. Those are usually songs for other people though." He smiled. "What I sing, I write myself."

Maddie nodded and smiled. "You used to write with Mom."

Deacon tried not to react to that. He and Dr. Harris had talked about the fact that, regardless of how he felt personally about Rayna, he needed to remember she was Maddie's mother and he needed to be respectful. "Yes, that's right," he said, his voice a little tight. "A long time ago, though."

Maddie nodded. "What are you working on now?"

"A song called 'Believing'. But I'm having some trouble with one of the verses. I've got one line, but I can't figure out what comes next. Nothing I've tried really seems to work." He looked at her and smiled. "And that will happen sometimes too. When I'm writing with someone else, that person might come up with the rest of the verse. But when you write by yourself, sometimes you just have to wait it out."

"Will you play what you have so far?"

Deacon smiled. "Sure." Maddie scooted up on the couch so she could watch Deacon's fingers on the guitar strings. She listened as he played, following along with the words he'd written down in his notebook. When he was done, he looked at her, waiting for her thoughts.

"That was really nice," she said, rolling it around in her head. He watched her as she processed it, occasionally looking back at the words he'd written. She was a natural at this, he could tell. Her guitar work was flawless, even though she felt like she wasn't good enough yet. Her singing voice was like listening to an angel. She had a light, airy tone to her voice, not like Rayna's voice. Rayna had a strong singing voice, built for arenas and big venues. He suspected Maddie would be one of those artists who sang in places like the Bluebird and other smaller, cozier venues.

She tilted her head and looked up at him. "It makes me think about when everything seems lost, there's someone there to pick you up, put you back together again." She gave him a little smile. "You know when I found out that you were my dad, it really made me feel like I'd lost control. I didn't know where I belonged. But you really helped put me back together again."

Deacon felt like he'd been hit by a lightning bolt. "That's it!" he said. "That's what I was looking for. 'When I'm broken, you put me back together again.' I think that's it." He grinned at Maddie. "See? You can do this."

Maddie wrote down the words in Deacon's notebook. "My fears are safe here, held in your hands. When I'm broken, you put me back together again," she read. She looked up at him. "That's exactly how I felt."

He took a deep breath. He'd never felt so proud of someone in his life. He sometimes couldn't believe she was his daughter, but listening to her turn of a phrase made him realize that they were kindred spirits and his heart nearly burst from it. "Maddie, that's amazing," he said softly. "Would you let me use it?"

Maddie looked incredulous. "Really?" she asked. When Deacon nodded, she beamed. "Oh my God! This is awesome!"

Deacon's heart turned over as he watched the joy on her face. He knew right then that he would do anything to make sure that she had that look on her face as often as possible. He felt like they had truly connected, on a much deeper level than they had before, that day. They had found what tied them together and he began to feel more like a father.

Maddie and Deacon were having a root beer in the kitchen, before her lesson, when someone started knocking angrily on the front door. Deacon raised his eyebrows at Maddie. "Wonder what that's about?" he said, getting up and walking to the door.

When he opened it, Teddy came storming through, looking furious. "Maddie!" he called out angrily. He headed for the kitchen, Deacon on his heels. He scowled at Maddie. "Let's go," he said tersely. "Daphne's waiting in the car."

Maddie frowned in return. "Dad…." she said.

"What's going on here?" Deacon asked, a scowl on his face.

"Maddie, go out and get in the car," Teddy said, pointing at the door. He turned to look at Deacon. "She's grounded. Did she not tell you that?"

"No, she didn't," Deacon said as he watched Maddie gather up her things and head for the door. "Is that true?" he asked her, but she just walked out without a word. He looked at Teddy. "I wasn't in the loop on that."

Teddy looked at him. "Maybe you and Rayna need to figure out how to communicate better so that you are in the loop," he said, and walked out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Deacon stood looking at the door, fuming, not sure who to be mad at. He went and picked up his phone and called Rayna.

"Hey," she said, as she answered.

"So how come I didn't know Maddie was grounded?" he asked, angrily.

"What?"

"Maddie was here and Teddy came storming over here and made her leave. Told me she was grounded."

"Oh, yeah. She is. She was disrespectful and he grounded her. Wait, was today a guitar lesson? And how did she get there?"

"I assumed Teddy brought her, but I guess that wasn't the case. And yes, it was a guitar lesson." Deacon scowled. "So if she's grounded, I can't see her? That's not right, Rayna."

"No, it's not. I agree. I also agree with no guitar lessons though."

"Why didn't you tell me this?"

Rayna was silent for a moment. "Maybe because you won't talk to me, Deacon," she responded, her voice brittle. "Since you don't want me bringing her over or picking her up, I don't have an opportunity to share those things with you. And you know Teddy won't."

"You could still let me know."

"Yes, you're right, I suppose I could. But calling you still seems to be a problem, so what do you want me to do?"

Deacon worked his lip. He was beginning to realize that they were going to have to interact some, even if they were still miles apart in being able to interact normally. If he was going to make this father thing work, he was going to have to rely on her. "I guess we'll go back to you bringing her over," he said tersely.

"Fine," Rayna said. "I'll let Teddy and Maddie know we're going back to the original schedule. But, there's no guitar lessons for a month. You need to honor that."

"I will," he said. After a moment, he went on, "Thanks, Rayna."

"I'm glad we worked it out. I'll bring Maddie over next week."

"Okay." He paused. "Bye, Rayna."

"Bye, Deacon." He could have sworn there was a quiver in her voice as he hung up.

Maddie understood. She still got mad too. So she understood why it was hard on Deacon. She wasn't mad all the time though, but that was probably because she was around her mom so much and she really was trying. In the beginning, Maddie had hated her a little and she thought that's probably how Deacon still felt. It had all been so confusing, especially in the beginning. She felt like nothing in her life made sense. She felt like a fake. But now that she was getting to know Deacon as her father, a lot of things made more sense. Like where her talent came from. And her moodiness. And her sensitivity. Because she saw them in her father. Her real father. Finally the pieces of the puzzle were coming together and she felt happier than she'd been in a while. She just wished Deacon felt that way too.

They were sitting on the porch one afternoon because it was finally getting warmer. Rayna would be coming by to pick up Maddie in less than an hour, so it made sense to sit and wait outside. Maddie had been thinking a lot about her mom and Deacon and wondering more about their lives together. She also had seen how sad her mom was now and she wondered if there was anything she could say that would help.

"Would you tell me about meeting my mom?" she asked Deacon.

Deacon took a deep breath. He and Maddie had not really talked about Rayna at all. He was a little surprised she'd brought her up, but he was reminded of what Dr. Harris had said to him about the fact that he couldn't put his issues with Rayna on Maddie. That he needed to figure out a way to manage his anger so that his daughter didn't feel like she was in the middle. "Well, I met her at the Bluebird," he said finally. "She was doing an open mic and Watty wanted me to meet her. Actually he wanted me to play guitar for her."

Maddie smiled. "Because she wasn't any good?"

Deacon smiled back. "No, she wasn't. She tried and she really wanted to be good, but she just wasn't."

"So what did you think of her, other than that she wasn't a good guitar player?"

Deacon sat back a little and thought back to that day. He could still see Rayna up on the stage with her short jean skirt, showing off her incredibly long legs. She had on a little sleeveless top that she'd tied at her waist. Her hair was short then, and curled around her face. And she had on those red boots that always turned him on. He breathed in, thinking that this was a different Rayna. Not the one that lied to him, and he concentrated on that. "I thought she was pretty," he said. "And she had a beautiful voice. And her smile lit up her face. She was so excited to be up there on stage, you could tell."

Maddie smiled. "Did you fall in love with her right away?"

Deacon rubbed his hands over his face. "I guess," he said quietly.

Maddie bit her lip. She could tell she'd gone too far. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice small. They both sat there, not saying anything for several minutes. "This is all my fault," she said.

Deacon turned to face her and frowned. "No, Maddie, it's not. Don't ever think that. It's…." He stopped, thinking that this was his opportunity to be the bigger man, to put aside his own hurt and help his daughter. He reached out and put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "It's not your fault. It happened and now we just have to deal with it and figure out how to move forward. You know, I'm glad I found out I'm your father. I'm proud of you and proud you're my daughter."

"Really?" Maddie beamed.

He smiled at her. "Really."

"Thanks…Dad."

Deacon caught his breath. "Wow. You know, I can't say I ever expected to be called that." He smiled. "But I like it."

Maddie leaned her head on his shoulder. "Me too."

Maddie was excited as she walked up to Deacon's door. He was taking her to the Bluebird while he recorded some songs for his album. When he'd told her that he had signed a recording contract as a solo artist, she'd felt ridiculously proud of him. As they'd spent more time together and worked together on their music, she had felt herself growing closer to him. He was different than her other dad. Maybe it was because they'd found out about each other when she was older, but he was less strict, less dad-like.

Things had been a little awkward in the beginning. Even though she'd known him all her life – and had loved him – this was different. Good, but different. It had felt like they had to relearn everything. But now things were more comfortable. And so was she.

Things were still not good between Deacon and her mom. Deacon still got tense and irritable when her mom was around. Maddie felt bad for her mom, because it was clear she wanted to make things right, but Deacon wasn't ready.

When Deacon opened the door, he smiled. "You ready?" he asked. Maddie nodded. "Let's go!" As they headed to the Bluebird, he talked to her about what he would be doing that night. "I've got three songs that I'm going to do. Avery Barkley, I don't know if you know him, he's producing for me. I decided we're going to call it 'Live at the Bluebird', so everything is being recorded live, not recorded and then produced later."

Maddie smiled. "That's exciting," she said. "One day I'd like to play at the Bluebird."

He smiled back. "I bet you will one day. But you're a little young right now."

She sighed. "That's all I ever hear. 'You're too young.' When will I be old enough?"

Deacon laughed. "That's a good question. I don't know. I guess you'll wake up one day and be old enough. How's that?"

Maddie smirked. "Not a good answer, Deacon." But she let it go. She was in a good mood and was looking forward to seeing him play.

Deacon hoped Maddie couldn't tell how nervous he was about today. He was continually amazed at how smart and insightful she was. It often made him feel like he was a complete open book, as good as she was at reading him. It had been a big decision to try for a solo career. Most solo artists his age were past their peak, so for him to just be getting started really stacked the odds against him.

The original plan, all those months ago now, had been for him to go back to Rayna's band and that night at the CMA's was supposed to be his big return. But that, of course, was over. Juliette had offered to let him come back to her band, but he'd never felt really comfortable with that before and declined. He knew he could continue writing songs – he had a long-standing publishing deal that had been very successful for him – and he could be a session musician, or do any number of other things, but he loved playing in front of an audience and decided to take the chance.

He'd talked to a number of labels in town, but most weren't interested in him, at least as a solo artist. He finally was able to sign a deal with Belcourt Records, an imprint label for Big Machine, for a lot less money than he remembered solo artists getting in the past, but at least with some freedom to do what he wanted. So he decided to do the recorded live album, after Avery had suggested it. It would be an EP, with fewer songs, and he was releasing it on vinyl, as well as digital downloads.

"Did you decide what songs you're doing?" Maddie asked.

Deacon smiled at her. "I did. Today I'm gonna do 'You're the Kind of Trouble', 'Like New', and that song you helped me with."

Maddie's eyes grew wide and she beamed. "Really? 'Believing'? That's awesome!"

"It's a great song."

"What else is going on it?"

"Three other songs – 'Keep Coming Back', 'Playin' Tricks', and 'Back Home'. I actually laid down those tracks last week."

"Are they all new songs?"

Deacon shook his head. "No. A couple are songs I wrote a long time ago."

Maddie sat back in her seat and looked pensive. "Are they songs you wrote when you were with Mom?"

"Not really," he said quietly. It was true, mostly. He had actually started writing "Back Home" when he and Rayna were still together, but hadn't finished it until much later. And "Keep Coming Back" was about her, but he told himself now it was just a song.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. But after the recording session was over, Maddie was energized again and she chattered about everything and nothing as Deacon drove her to Teddy's. It had turned into a really good evening and he had enjoyed sharing this part of his life with his daughter.

Deacon drove to Maddie's school to pick her up. Rayna was taking Daphne to a friend's birthday party, so he had agreed to do it. He got to the school early and waited. He knew Harpeth Hall was one of the more exclusive private schools in Nashville and it was all girls. That pleased him, knowing she didn't have to deal with all the boy issues at her age.

He remembered that Rayna had gone to school here and hated it. She'd told him she didn't think it was normal to just be with girls, especially since they could be so cruel. He hoped Maddie didn't have to deal with that.

As the students started to exit, he watched carefully. When he saw her, he put his hand out the window to signal her. He could see her smile and then hurry over. She got in the truck and put on her seat belt. Then she turned to him and smiled. "Hey," she said. "Thanks for picking me up."

"Happy to." He turned out of the school driveway and started heading for Rayna's house so Maddie could pick up her guitar.

Deacon noticed Maddie was a little fidgety. She finally folded her hands in her lap and then she looked over at Deacon. "I wrote a song," she said. "And I want to play it for you today."

Deacon grinned. "I'm looking forward to it." He reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly. "It's a big day."

He was blown away when he heard her song. She'd had to start over a couple times in her nervousness, but once she got going, he'd watched her carefully. He loved to watch her fingers fly over the guitar strings, picking out the surprisingly upbeat melody. The words she'd chosen were so grown up and he felt his heart catch a time or two with the wisdom she showed in the turn of a phrase or the picture she painted with her words. He was deeply impressed with her skill at the tender age of fourteen. She'd been a good student. He couldn't help but feel that somehow, some way, she'd gotten this from him. He was proud of her, in a way he thought maybe he didn't have the right to be, but he was anyway.

When she finished the song, she looked up with a tentative smile. "What did you think?" she asked.

He shook his head in amazement. "Maddie, that was amazing," he said. "I've heard professional songwriters that couldn't write a song as well as you just did."

Maddie smiled and blushed. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "That means a lot, coming from you."

"What's the name of the song?"

"It's called 'I Can't Sleep Tonight'. 'Cause sometimes I can't, with everything that's happened."

He thought about the words she wrote. Yeah, I know that / When it's good, it's good / When it works, it works / And when it don't, it hurts. He hated thinking that everything that had happened to them had hurt her. He knew the anger and hurt and betrayal he had felt, and he'd wallowed in it and hung on to it and felt righteous in it. But he'd lost sight of the fact that his daughter, his and Rayna's daughter, was hurting too. As he looked at her now, excited about her song and feeling good about what she'd done, he knew he needed to start moving past the hurt so that he could help her more.

Deacon was anxiously waiting for Maddie to arrive. He had big news, as well as a gift, for her, and he couldn't wait. At her knock, he raced for the door.

"Hey!" he said with a smile.

Maddie gave him a curious look. "Hey," she said as she walked in and he shut the door behind her. "Something's going on, I can tell."

"It's kind of an exciting day for me," he said. "First…" He lifted something from the bookcase and showed her his album.

Maddie's eyes widened and she clapped her hands with glee. "Oh, your album! Dad, that's awesome!" She beamed with pride.

Deacon held it out to her, with a smile of his own. "This one's for you," he said.

Maddie grinned. "Will you autograph it?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. He found a pen and when he finished he held it up. To Maddie, You make me smile, Love, Deacon.

Maddie took it and looked at the inscription. Then she held it to her chest. "Thank you. This is so amazing and I'm so glad I was in the audience for part of it."

Deacon pulled her into a hug. "Me too. That was the best part. My best girl was there."

Maddie stepped back, smiling shyly. "Really?"

Deacon made a face. "Of course." He worked his lip, his eyes feeling moist. "I love you, Maddie. To have you be part of something important like this means everything to me."

Maddie smiled. "Thanks. And I love you too. You're a great dad, you know." Her smile turned playful. "So what's second?" she asked.

Deacon looked briefly confused, then remembered the rest of his news. "I'm going out on tour," he said.

"Really? Your own tour?"

"Well, no. I'm going to be opening for Luke Wheeler."

Maddie looked unimpressed, scrunching her nose. "I don't really like his music. Mom had to do some kind of Edgehill show and he was there. Why are you going out with him?"

"It's one of the biggest tours out there right now. It's an arena tour, so it'll be in front of a lot of people."

"That's so awesome, Dad! I know you'll be great! I bet you'll end up replacing old Luke Wheeler before long."

Deacon laughed. "I don't know about that. I am excited though. But it means we won't see each other as much. Just when we have breaks."

Maddie shrugged. "I guess Daphne and I will be staying with our other dad more then. You know Mom and Juliette are back out on tour."

Deacon nodded. Juliette had asked him again to join her and he had again turned her down. "I heard. I guess that's good for her."

Maddie looked wistful. "I wish the two of you could tour together. It would make everything so much easier."

Deacon took a deep breath. "Well, I don't think that's gonna happen. She and Juliette have a good thing going. And I think it's better for me to kind of blaze my own trail now." He couldn't imagine him and Rayna ever going out together again, but he wouldn't say that to Maddie.

When Maddie asked him if Rayna and Daphne could come in this time when they came to pick her up, Deacon hesitated for a moment. Things were a little better between him and Rayna. She still didn't come in the house – he didn't invite her in and she didn't ask – but their conversations about Maddie lasted a little longer these days. He didn't feel the white hot rage he'd felt in the beginning and he even felt less of the hurt these days. "Yeah," he said finally. "Sure, if you want them to."

Maddie had given him one of those big smiles that he treasured. The one that told him he'd said or done something that brought her great joy. He lived for those smiles. "Great! I thought we could play a song for them, so they can see how much better my playing is," she said.

He'd winked at her. "You were already amazing, Maddie. But I'm always happy to be your back up."

Maddie laughed at that and it gave Deacon a warm feeling inside. When Rayna and Daphne arrived, Rayna had looked surprised when Deacon asked them to come in. She smiled hesitantly and nodded shyly at the invitation. "Maddie wants to do a song for the two of you," he said, by way of explanation.

Rayna smiled again. "I can't wait to hear it," she said.

He and Maddie sat across from the couch, where Rayna was sitting. Daphne sat next to Maddie. He looked at Maddie. "What do you want to play?"

She looked back at him. "Let's do 'Believing'." She looked over at Rayna. "It's on his new album."

Rayna smiled and nodded. "Great," she said, encouragingly. "I can't wait to hear it."

He was surprised that Maddie hadn't wanted to do the song she'd written, but he nodded, and they started to play. As they worked their way through the song, Daphne chimed in, impromptu, with harmony vocals. At one point, Deacon looked at Rayna and saw a sense of awe on her face. He wasn't sure she'd really realized how talented her girls were and he thought that she was probably particularly surprised at Maddie's skill. She looked at him and he could see that there were tears in her eyes. He nodded at her and then shook his head as if to say "look who we made".

As they sang, he found himself listening to his lyrics in a different way. When he'd written the song, he hadn't considered that it was about Rayna in any way. He'd still been angry at her and wanted to keep pushing her out of his life. But he realized that the words were so much about who she had been to him back in his darkest days, when he couldn't stop drinking, even for her, and yet she'd been there to support him. All that I once was / All I could be / When I've forgotten / Baby, you remind me. He didn't think she'd recognize that in the lyrics – although she knew he'd written songs about her before, before all this had happened – but the realization kind of washed over him in what felt like a catharsis. He realized he was finally getting to a place where he could separate all that had happened before from what had happened in the past year, and that maybe he really was at a place where they could start to put the pieces back together. He wasn't sure what that would mean, just yet, but he felt like the dark cloud was lifting.

Deacon felt a little nervous. Maddie was going to be spending the weekend with him. Rayna was out on tour, so the girls were staying with Teddy. But Maddie had asked about staying with him. Luke's tour was on a three week hiatus, so it would work for him. Rayna had agreed, but it had taken Teddy some time to get on board with it. He and Maddie had fought about her desire to spend more time with Deacon and Rayna had had to get involved. As much as he was looking forward to spending more time with his daughter, it still got under his skin that he owed it to Rayna.

Scarlett had helped him get a room ready for Maddie. Deacon hoped this was the first of many times that Maddie would stay with him and he wanted to make the room feel special for her.

"Do you think she'll want to decorate it herself?" Deacon asked his niece.

Scarlett smiled. "I think she would love that. She's a teenager and I'm sure she'd like to create her own space. Why don't you take her out this weekend and let her pick out some things. It's not like you couldn't toss out that old crap that's in there."

Deacon frowned. "Hey, now, that's good stuff in there. It's been there for…."

"Twenty years?" Scarlett interrupted, with a laugh. "Deacon, I'm pretty sure that's the stuff you and Rayna moved in with."

Deacon frowned more. "Nothing wrong with that stuff," he mumbled.

Scarlett giggled and flipped her hair. "Take her to Rustique. Lots of cute, cute stuff. She would love it."

"What kind of place is that?"

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Nice stuff. Shabby chic stuff. Things girls like. Just take her. It's over on Fatherland. Will you just do it?"

Deacon frowned, yet again. "Yes, I will do it. Are you satisfied now?"

Scarlett grinned at him. "Yes, I am."

He did as Scarlett recommended and Maddie did pick out a few things for her room, to make it suit her more. Deacon felt like he couldn't stop grinning the whole time they were shopping and then as he helped her arrange things in her room. He was enjoying this father stuff, a lot more than he had expected. But Maddie made it pretty easy, at least in his mind. It had now been nine months since that night of the CMA's, when his world had turned upside down. A lot had changed and much had come into sharper focus. Life was certainly better now than it had been.

Deacon had ordered pizza for movie night and Maddie had ordered up one of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies. He remembered Rayna telling him she hated when it was Maddie's night to pick a movie, because she always picked scary movies. And he remembered how much Rayna hated scary movies. It had made him smile a little to think about that, which had surprised him.

When the movie was over, Maddie wanted to talk. "So tell me how the tour is going," she said. "Is it like you remember?"

Deacon grinned. "Well, it's a lot different than just being somebody's guitar player. If it doesn't go well, it's on me. But it's good. People seem to like me and that's a good thing."

"How's riding on a bus?"

"I actually like riding on a bus. It gives you a lot of time to hang out with your band and get comfortable with each other. I like the feel of the road underneath me while I sleep."

Maddie looked down for a moment and then back at him. "What was it like when you were touring with my mom?"

Deacon took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows. "Well, you went out with us for a lot of years. You know what it was like."

She shook her head. "No, I mean, before that. When it was just the two of you. When you were together."

Deacon was quiet for a moment. "It was great, Maddie," he said finally. "Back in those days, we lived and breathed the music, and that was just part of it. We rode that bus nearly every week for a lot of years, going from place to place, until your mama hit it big. We'd write songs and try out new stuff. When she started opening for George Strait, she added some band members and we'd practice on the bus."

Maddie fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "Did you ever think about asking her to marry you?"

Deacon worked his lip. She was opening up old wounds, unintentionally, and he wanted to be careful how he answered her. "You ask hard questions, Maddie," he said, stalling for time.

She looked up at him, with a thoughtful look on her face. "I just want to understand. This is still hard sometimes, getting used to having another dad. I just want to understand why it all happened like it did."

So do I, he thought. He cleared his throat. "Well, Maddie, the truth is, I did think about asking her to marry me. A lot of times."

"Then why didn't you? Why did you let her marry somebody else?"

Deacon raised his eyebrows. "I didn't actually let her. But I, well, it's kind of complicated." He didn't know quite what to say and he didn't know if she'd talked to Rayna about this. "What did your mama say?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "She just said it was all too grown-up for me. And she looked kind of sad. But it affects me, so I think I have a right to know something."

Deacon looked away. He wasn't sure exactly how to respond to her. It was pretty grown-up stuff and he didn't know how much to share with her. "Maddie, I had a lot of problems back when your mama and I were together," he started.

Maddie gave him a look. "I know you're an alcoholic. I read it on the internet."

Deacon looked surprised. "You did?"

"Yeah, I did. There's stuff out there. Not a lot, but there is stuff, so I've read stuff and seen pictures. I know y'all were in love and then all of a sudden she married my other dad." She sighed. "So why didn't you marry her?"

Deacon rubbed his face. "I probably wasn't in the best place to be a husband, Maddie. Or a father, back then. I loved your mama a lot, but I think she just needed someone who could be there for her. All the time." He swallowed hard. "And I just couldn't do that then." And at that moment, he suddenly started to realize some of what Rayna had probably gone through back then and why she might have felt she had to make some of the decisions that she had. He thought that maybe there was more that he just hadn't wanted to listen to.

Just then, Scarlett came in and broke the mood. In many ways, Deacon was grateful that she had, because he wasn't ready yet to explore that wound, especially with Maddie. That was something he and Rayna needed to talk about. Finally.

Deacon smiled when he saw Maddie's name and face pop up on his phone. He was in Denver, an hour away from sound check. "Hey, Maddie," he said, with a smile.

"Hey, Dad," she said. "Where are you?"

"Denver. The Mile High City."

"Good luck tonight."

"Thanks."

"So, I signed up for an open mic," she said.

"What? Where?" He was a little concerned about that, and surprised that Rayna would let her do that. They had talked a little about Maddie's desire to perform and he agreed with Rayna that she was too young.

Maddie laughed. "Calm down, it's a kids' open mic. At Two Old Hippies. It's in two weeks on a Sunday afternoon. I know that you have that weekend off and so does Mom, so I was hoping you would come. Dad and Daphne are going to be gone on a school trip, so they won't be there. Will you come?"

Deacon smiled. "I wouldn't miss it. I can't wait to see my girl up on stage."