NB: Thanks be to each of you who have reviewed, left kind words, followed and stood by this story...The scene at the hotel after dinner is one I had in my head way back before I'd begun writing BRAVE FACE, I just had no idea where it would fit so I am so so happy that it found a place in this story..The song in this chapter is 'Something In The Water - Brooke Fraser' - I own nothing, all copyright to the artist...PLEASE KEEP your LOVES/HATES/COMMENTS/HOPES/FAVOURITES/FOLLOWS/PMS/ THOUGHTS AND WHATEVER ELSE COMING...I REALLY APPRECIATE IT and I'm so grateful that you're reading this at all...With that being said, enjoy chapter twenty one...
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Three days later…
Wandering around the kitchen in the penthouse, Deacon swore when he couldn't find where the cups were kept. He took a step backwards so he could get a look into the master bedroom. Rayna was still asleep, intertwined with blankets and sheets. Deacon had woken up shivering, but he didn't mind. He'd waited fourteen years for this day, for these moments where he'd freely give anything for her just because that's what you do when you love someone, when your in a relationship with someone. Is this what this was? A relationship? He guessed it was even though they hadn't really said too much about it. The feeling was bittersweet. They had missed out on so many years and so many memories, Deacon swallowed hard as his mind got stuck thinking about it. But looking at her now, hair falling in every which direction as she slept, he smiled. He'd rather be with her now then not at all because if he was honest, she was the only one he'd ever really loved. Rayna had been the only one he'd ever really wanted. Deacon poured a coffee and walked over to the glass window, marvelling at the sunlight that had begun to dance across the city as it said good morning. He welcomed the arms that wrapped themselves around his waist as he smiled.
"I didn't mean to wake you." He whispered.
"You didn't." Rayna assured him, unwrapping her arms from his body before she tiptoed to stand in front of him. "But I was wonderin' where you'd gotten to…I woke up and thought that..."
"Thought what?"
She took his coffee out of his hands and took a sip as she looked up at him. "I thought that maybe this was all some crazy dream that I'd made up in my head…It wouldn't be the first time somethin' like that has happened."
He leant down and kissed her slow and certain, his fingers skirting along the bottom of the button up shirt she was wearing.
"Ok, maybe not a dream." Rayna whispered breathily, turning around to look out at the skyline as she leant into Deacon.
"No, not a dream."
"You know what's funny?"
"What?"
"You and I are real bad at this whole takin' it slow thing." She laughed.
"Well, if we're lookin' at it from my perspective…you and I have 'taken it slow' for fourteen years…that's a fair effort if you ask me." Deacon mused, resting his chin on her head as they looked out at the glowing horizon together. "And it hardly helps that we're spendin' our days apart again...Makes me kinda thankful for moments like this...where there are no interruptions, no nieces, no Liam or Juliette... just hotel rooms, you, me and lot's of not takin' it so slow…"
"Poor Scarlett and Gunnar."
"Poor Scarlett and Gunnar?...Pretty sure they're more than ok with sleepin' in hotel rooms Rayna."
Rayna squirmed as he pulled her hard against himself, kissing her neck as she giggled. She tried swatting his hands away as they found their way to her buttons, it didn't work. He began unbuttoning her shirt, humming lowly in her ear as his fingers moved under the fabric. Rayna shuddered, she knew where this was going and she needed to get a few more words in before they made their way back to the bedroom. "Babe, I hate to be a mood killer."
Deacon groaned, clearly frustrated that she was stopping his less than subtle advances. Reluctantly, he removed his hands from her body and rested them on his head.
"Whoa…" She exclaimed, patting his chest as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Settle…I just need you and me to be serious for a second, just a second….You think you can handle that?"
"Can you handle that?" He joked.
"Babe." She sighed.
"Sorry, I'm listenin' I am…." He refocused, investing as much enthusiasm as he could muster into his tone as he tore his eyes away from her bare legs.
"I'm flyin' the girls out today." She said uncertainly, gauging how he was with idea by the look on his face.
"Really?" He smiled, pulling her into his arms. "That's great."
"You're ok with it? Because if you're not I can hold off on bringin' them out…It's just that they've been bustin' to come and Tandy's got a little free time in that schedule of hers and I thought if she brings them out now that then it'd work because we could all fly home together for the CMA's and that break before the next lot of shows." Rayna blurted out quickly, ignoring him as he kissed her over and over on her cheeks as she spoke.
"I don't see why you're askin' me if I'm ok with this."
"Well, I thought that it's the right thing to do…you know, considerin' that we're together now."
"We're together?" Deacon grinned.
"Unless we're not." Rayna panicked, realising that she'd spoken without thinking. "We don't have to call it that…I was speakin' without thinkin'. I do that a hell of a lot-"
"-I like that. We're together." He repeated lowly, kissing her slowly before she burst out laughing.
"You know, I'm a Momma now…I've got kids, and you know all the mundane things that aren't really the stuff that romance is made of…I don't want you to think you-"
"-Ray, I love your kids." He interjected, smiling warmly as she stopped to listen. "All that mundane stuff…That's pretty much just what I've been waiting for."
She paused briefly, grinning as she looked up at him. "So you're fine with this?"
"More than fine."
"Ok, but…" She tried deliberately, chuckling as he grimaced. "That means with the girls here, we can't be doin' this…wanderin' round hotels, half dressed and whatever you wanna call it. You've gotta stay in your own room. I've gotta stay in mine…I don't wanna freak them out."
"I wouldn't have expected to be stayin' here Ray…and I don't see how it's any different to what we've been doin' anyway…It's not exactly like the world knows that you and I are, you know…" He shrugged.
"Together." She laughed.
"Rayna it's fine."
"I just wanna get the girls used to the idea of having you around professionally and privately before we let the world in on it too."
"How long are they here for?" He asked.
"Four days." Rayna replied matter-of-factly.
"Four days."
"Mmhmm, I've gotta get goin' soon. They're gettin' an early flight out."
"Well then, if that's the case." Deacon murmured playfully, putting his cup down on the coffee table. "And I don't get to be sleepin' in your bed for a few nights..."
Rayna looked at him curiously, stepping from one foot to the other as she watched him and tried to figure out what was going through his head.
Deacon walked towards her quickly, unexpectedly picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. "We'd better make this count."
"Deacon! Put me down!" She squealed, swearing between giggles as he ignored her. "You know I can walk fine right?"
"Only place I'm puttin' you down is on that bed."
- NASHVILLE -
"Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy!" Daphne shrieked, twirling as they walked.
"What on earth did you give her?" Rayna asked Tandy, wide-eyed as they all walked into the hotel.
"Nothin'." Tandy muttered. "Don't you be whingin'…she's been like this since 5am."
"Nothing? Aunt Tandy gave her red cordial on the flight because she wouldn't shut up." Maddie offered, sidestepping Tandy as she shot her a look.
"You need to watch your language." Tandy exclaimed.
"Really?" Rayna smiled, raising an eyebrow. Tandy had the worst mouth on her and here she was chastising Maddie.
"Nice one." Tandy shot, looking at Maddie. "I thought there was like some Aunt/Niece code where you don't throw each other under the bus?"
They all laughed and Maddie ran after Daphne, yelling at her to slow down as they reached the elevator.
"What's on the agenda today?" Tandy asked.
"Well, we don't have a show for another two days and I've mostly been able to clear my schedule so I guess we'll all be just spendin' a lot of time orderin' room service and hangin' out."
Tandy nodded, crossing her arms as they continued walking. "How are you? The last phone call beside the one I got askin' if I'd bring the girls out was…definitely unusual."
Rayna laughed, recalling the drunken phone call to Tandy a few weeks back. "Oh that…was definitely not pretty…I don't even remember half of what I said."
"I do."
"Shut up." Rayna muttered, taking a breath before she continued. "You know, things are definitely lookin' better Tand…They're a lot better."
"So…" Tandy drawled, looking up at the girls fighting over pressing the elevator button. "You and Deacon have sorted things out, you've finally talked…?"
The elevator doors creaked open and Rayna gasped. Deacon looked up and smiled as the girls flew into the elevator, jumping all over him when they realised who it was.
"Speak of the devil." Tandy smirked, watching Rayna's expression change.
"What?" Rayna asked half-heartedly, clearly dazed by the surprise of seeing Deacon.
"Never mind."
- NASHVILLE -
One day later
"Maddie! Hurry up, I swear I'm not gonna ask you again." Rayna warned, quickly running a brush through Daphne's hair. "We've gotta get goin'."
"She's not listenin' to you." Daphne piped up, playing with her fingers.
"I'm aware of that." Rayna muttered, looking in the mirror briefly to check that she was also happy with the way she looked. "Maddie!"
"Mom!" Maddie whinged, suddenly appearing at the bathroom door. "I'm not goin'."
"What are you talkin' about? Of course you're comin' you're the one who begged Uncle Bucky to set this up."
"But I have nothin' to wear and everyone who's anyone is gonna be there."
"You mean Juliette." Daphne giggled.
"I have nothin' to wear."
"You have heaps of clothes." Daphne grinned.
"Nothin' Juliette's gonna like." Maddie shot. "Mom, I need to look grown up…not like some sixth grader."
"You are a sixth grader." Daphne teased.
"Shut up."
"Hey! Cut it out." Rayna breathed, shaking her head as Maddie stomped her foot. "Honey, you look real pretty…You need to stop freakin' out…You don't need to look like anyone but yourself…I'm sure the last thing Juliette is gonna care about is what you're wearin'-"
"-So you're tellin' me not to bother?" She screeched, causing Daphne to slam her hands against her ears. "Juliette Barnes is only the biggest thing to happen to music, since like ever."
Rayna did a double take, keeping her eyes fixed on Maddie for a brief moment as Tandy appeared. She hated it whenever Maddie did that, made references about hers and Juliette's music, and Maddie knew it too.
"Why don't we go and see if there's somethin' that you do like, ok?" Tandy soothed, directing Maddie away from the bathroom door. Rayna mouthed thank you and turned her attention back to Daphne.
"You're not gonna turn against me when you hit sixth grade are you?" Rayna joked, smiling into the mirror as she looked at her youngest child.
"Mom, you need to chill out."
- NASHVILLE -
In the private room at the back of the restaurant in the hotel, everyone seemed to have circled around the buffet, filling their plates as they chatted and carried on. Dinner had gone well and everyone had gotten along. Bucky and Tandy had taken to talking in a corner, Scarlett and Gunnar were running around the table after Daphne who had stolen his hat and Maddie was fumbling over words as she spoke to Juliette and Liam. Deacon and Rayna revelled at the chaos, losing themselves in the middle of it all.
"Hi there." Deacon whispered, intentionally bumping into her as they casually followed each other around the buffet. Rayna exhaled, smiling gladly at the brief moment they were sharing. "What's wrong?"
"Maddie will be the death of me I swear." Rayna muttered, speaking without thinking.
"Why's that?"
"You know what? Never mind." She shook her head, turning her attention to him as she smiled. "You don't need to hear about that. How are you?"
"I'm good. I have to say though, I'm better now that I've seen you." He grinned. Rayna blushed, stealing a look around to make sure that they were going unnoticed.
"I've missed you." She whispered achingly.
"Darlin', I know exactly what you mean." He replied, looking her up and down.
"I don't think that you do."
"Mom!" Daphne exclaimed, jumping in between the pair as she looked up at Deacon. "Excuse me Deacon I kinda need to talk to my Mom."
"Don't let me stop you." He laughed. "You're the boss."
"I was wondering if I can stay with Scarlett tonight?" She spoke boldly, swaying as she looked over at Scarlett and Gunnar. "She say's it's fine."
"Is that right?" Rayna chuckled.
"Yep."
"Hon, that's not gonna happen tonight."
"But Mom!" She whinged, flipping her hair over her shoulder before crossing her arms. "I wanna sing songs with her…she's a singer you know."
"I do know that, yes." Rayna smiled, catching Deacon's gaze as he watched her reason with Daphne.
"I sing, so I think you should let me go." Daphne shrugged. Rayna inhaled sharply, scratching her head as he daughter refused to back down. Deacon saw the frustration on Rayna's face and took it upon himself to intervene.
Deacon got down to the little girl's eye level and she smiled. "How about this…Why don't you go and tell Gunnar that I said to go grab us a few guitars and we'll have our own sing a long in here. That way you get to sing with Scarlett and you get to sleep in your own bed in your Momma's hotel room? Sound fun?"
Daphne's eyes lit up and she bolted in Scarlett and Gunnar's direction as she yelled. "Gunnar Gunnar Gunnar! You have to get me some guitars right now, we're gonna sing."
Daphne dragged the young songwriters out of the room and everyone laughed.
Deacon turned around and joked. "If the little lady say's we're havin' a sing a long…I guess you've gotta do what you're told."
- NASHVILLE -
After pushing plates and cups into the middle of the table, people pulled seats out from around the table and got comfortable. Some sat, some stood; all focused on quickly tuning instruments as they listened to the little girl giggle. Deacon saw Maddie sitting awkwardly as she watched people sitting with instruments. He picked up the spare guitar that was sitting behind Gunnar and walked over to Maddie.
"Here you go." He smiled, holding out the guitar.
Maddie shook her head incessantly, holding her hands up in front of her as she looked from Juliette to Deacon. "Oh I don't think so. I'm really not that great."
"Are you kiddin'? You're amazin'." Deacon exclaimed.
"He's right you know," Juliette offered, leaning towards Maddie. "I've heard y'all before and you are definitely a lot better than some of the musician's I've worked with in writin' sessions."
"You mean that?" Maddie beamed.
"Sure do." Juliette grinned. "You're Uncle Deacon doesn't lie when he say's you can play good."
Maddie took the guitar off Deacon and smiled. Rayna had been watching from afar and caught Juliette's eye and smiled gratefully. Juliette nodded in acknowledgment.
"Just follow us, it won't be too hard to pick up." Deacon said cheerfully, turning on his heel to look at Daphne and Scarlett. "Alright y'all, what are we singin'?"
"I dunno." Scarlett squeaked, looking over at Daphne. "What'd you wanna sing?"
"Um…" Daphne hummed. "One of your songs."
"Daphne, you don't know any of her songs." Maddie interrupted as she rolled her eyes.
"So?"
"So, maybe not."
Rayna exhaled, the last thing she wanted to be doing was breaking up a fight, especially when all attention was now on her two children. Deacon appeared next to her and smiled. She laughed and ran a hand through her hair, quickly forgetting the girls arguing.
"It's ok. Why don't we sing a song that I'm sure y'all know…." Scarlett shrugged, leaning over to Gunnar who smiled when he heard what song she was thinking of. He counted her in and she straightened in her seat.
"Do do dododo dododo do do." She sang freely.
Gunnar started to play a steady melody, dynamic and lively. Within a few moments, all the other musicians joined the song, quickly picking up what he was playing. Gunnar turned to Scarlett and nodded.
"I wear a demeanour made of bright pretty things. What she wears, what she wears, what she wears." Scarlett sang, each word punchy and cheerful. Smiling and frivolity feel across the room as they recognised the song. "Birds singin' on my shoulder in harmony it seems. How they sing, how they sing, how they sing."
"Give me night's of solitude. Red wine just a glass or two. Reclined in a hammock on a balmy evenin'." Juliette sang, bringing attention to herself as everyone8 turned to her.
"I'll pretend that it's no thing. This skip in my heart when I think." Rayna sang, holding her hands behind her as she looked at Deacon. He smiled widely, his eyes never leaving hers as she swayed. "Are they thinkin' of me? Babe, I'm crazy over you."
Quickly, Scarlett turned to Daphne and pointed at her, sending the little girl into giggles before she fell into singing the chorus. "Aaah Aaah Aaah. There's something in the water, something in the water."
Everyone cheered before joining her to sing, each taking different harmonies. "Aaah Aaah Aaah. There's somethin' in the water that makes me love you like-"
"-I've got halo's made of summer, rhythms made of spring. What she wears, what she wears, what she wears." Maddie sang sweetly, smiling as Deacon caught her eye and nodded encouragingly at her guitar.
"I got crowns of words a woven each one a song to sing. Oh I sing, oh I sing, oh I sing." Scarlett sang, twirling Daphne around.
"Give me long days in the sun, preludes to the nights to come. Previews of the mornings laying in all lazy." Juliette sung lightly, leaning on the edge of her chair as she jokingly pointed in Deacon and Rayna's direction.
"Give me somethin' fun to do like a life of lovin' you." Rayna giggled, playfully pushing Deacon away when he leant towards her. "Kiss me quick now baby I'm still crazy over you."
"To the chorus!" Gunnar called, sending every voice into a spiralling melody as they all joined together and sang.
Everyone was laughing and carrying on as they tried to follow each other through choruses and bridges, either playing instruments or clapping in time as they went. Bucky and Tandy seemed to be whispering as they took in the scene, Maddie and Juliette were pulling faces as they sang, Scarlett and Gunnar were captivated by Daphne and Deacon was fighting the urge to lean over and kiss Rayna, right there, right now. She cocked her head, putting her hands on her hips as his eyes told her what he wanted to do. They both knew it wasn't going to happen, not here anyway, so they tried their best to shake off the feelings that were starting to bubble inside, settling for playful smiles and back and forth humming. Rayna twirled a loose strand of hair and turned to listen to her youngest sing the last line.
"There's somethin' in the water that makes me love you like I do do dododo dododo do do." Daphne sang, smiling wildly as the room erupted in applause.
"I swear I did not give her any red cordial." Tandy muttered, waving her hands as everyone looked at her and laughed.
- NASHVILLE -
Rayna pushed the button and the elevator doors closed. She smirked as she stole a look at Daphne, sprawled in Deacon's arms fast asleep. After about the fourth song she'd dropped to the floor, exhaustion overtaking her. She'd laid in Scarlett's arms for a while but when she'd started tossing and turning Rayna had decided it was time to call it a night. She had gone to pick Daphne up to take her to the hotel room but before she could do anything, Deacon had the little girl in his arms and he was headed for the door. Tandy had promised to bring Maddie up later, shooing Rayna away as everyone returned to their own conversations. Daphne murmured something against Deacon's chest and he chuckled.
"Thanks for doin' this." Rayna whispered.
"That's alright." He murmured, looking over at her warmly. "Couldn't have you carryin' her up…Never thought someone as little as her would be this heavy."
"Mmhmm, but this little one sure is adorable when she sleeps." Rayna cooed, moving closer to kiss Daphne on the head before she looked up at Deacon.
"Just like her Momma, she sure is adorable." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her slowly, breathing her in as his mouth touched hers.
Rayna sighed before pulling away reluctantly as her head spun. She fanned herself and cleared her throat in an attempt to shake the mood. "Well..."
"I don't agree." He smirked.
"With what?" She asked, lips pursed as she spoke.
"Kissin' a girl quick doesn't drive them crazy..." He murmured, setting his eyes on her as she tried not to smile at his reference to the lyrics of the first song they'd sung. "That songs got it all wrong."
"You'd know wouldn't you."
"I find that waitin' in that moment, watchin' her watch me before I lean in and kiss her slow is what does really does it." He shrugged.
"I guess you'll have to show me one day." She smirked, biting her lip as she swayed.
Deacon chuckled, smiling at Rayna briefly before he faltered. He was losing his grip on Daphne and he changed his position, pulling her tighter into his arms as she grumbled and made noises. They both laughed and Rayna pulled out her cell phone.
"What are you doin'?" Deacon asked curiously.
Rayna opened the camera application on her cell phone and looked up at Deacon. "You know what else is adorable?"
"What? No, don't you be takin' photos Ray-"
"-This." She grinned, quickly snapping a picture of the pair much to Deacon's dismay. He didn't get a chance to argue his point because the elevator doors opened and she quickly ran out.