A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. The songs used in this chapter are Martin and Me by Zac Brown Band and Chances Are by Garrett Hedlund.
Chapter 37
A look of annoyance flashed across Deacon's face when he heard a knock on his office door followed by the click clack of heels on the floor. "What can I do for you, Juliette?" He asked without looking up.
"How'd you know it was me? You didn't even bother to look up." Juliette sat down in the chair across from him.
"It was either you or one of my daughters or Casey, but I happen to know that all three of them are busy with each other today. That only left you. So again I ask, what can I do for you?" Deacon took his glasses off and set them aside.
"First, you can tell me why the writers' room looks like a daycare center on a Friday mornin'. I also wanna know who I've gotta talk to about maybe gettin' a new single out. I only have three songs left to record on this new album. I think it's time to have that discussion." Juliette replied.
"Ray is out of town and I gave the kids the option of stayin' home and learnin' a trade with me. They of course picked me over school. Though they should be doin' their school work right now to keep caught up. The last thing I want is to have to deal with a pissed off wife when she gets home because I kept 'em outta school and didn't get their homework. You know that I'm not the person to have that discussion with. That is not my area of expertise. I wouldn't even know where to begin. You're gonna have to talk to Rayna and Bucky when they get back." Deacon ran his hand through his hair.
"Alright, that's fair enough. They were doin' homework when I popped my head in there. I can't believe that they both ran off and left you to mind the store on your first day back from medical leave." Juliette told him.
"I ain't really back. I'm just in here today to take care of a few phone calls." Deacon told her.
"How are you feelin'?" Juliette reached over and put her hand on top of his.
"I'm feelin' better than ever. It's amazin' how good you feel when you can actually breathe." Deacon smiled at her.
"It's good to have you back even if you aren't officially back yet." Juliette smiled back at him.
"It's good to be gettin' back to my life." Deacon replied.
Bucky stuck his head in the door. "Deacon, I can take her off your hands and deal with whatever it is she needs if you want me to."
"That would be great. She's in the middle of one of her diva fits. You're gonna need to talk to her before she starts throwin' together rooftop concerts." Deacon laughed a little.
"Deacon, don't even joke about that. That is not something I want to have to call Rayna with." Bucky sighed. "Juliette, you know where my office is. Follow me."
"How is it this damn hot before noon?" Tandy stood in the open doorway of the balcony that was off their hotel room. She was trying to catch a little bit of the breeze that was coming in.
"The ungodly amount that you drank last night might have a little somethin' to do with it." Rayna pointed out to her.
"That may be true too, but it is really, really hot. It's so damn hot I can barely breathe. I hate to see how hot it gets in the summer." Tandy looked over her shoulder at her sister.
"It gets so damn hot down here in the summer that you sincerely consider goin' 'round without any underwear on. It doesn't help though. Then you have mosquitos the size of small birds. And sometimes you let two drunks talk you into takin' an airboat trip into the swamp and you come out lookin' like you got chicken pox." Rayna informed her.
"I thank God that I didn't know what you were up to with those two alcoholics. I would have worried about you more than I already did." Tandy wiped the sweat off of her forehead.
"There was really nothing to worry about. Come on. Get dressed. Let's get out of here and go paint the town. Let's see if I can still drink all day and be able to function at night." Rayna grabbed a mini bottle of whiskey out of the mini bar.
Tandy just arched her eyebrow at her.
"Don't give me that look. I told you that I drank more than my fair share of whiskey in the old days too. The difference was I didn't do it every day and I really paid for it the morning after." Rayna threw back the shot like she was drinking water.
"You like your whiskey I like my wine. Who am I to judge you? It took me eight bottles of wine to make it through the week when I worked for daddy now it only takes me four to six. You should be proud of yourself. Working with you is less stressful than working for daddy." Tandy started to get changed.
"I'll call a cab while you finish getting dressed." Rayna pulled her phone out.
"You might as well hand me one of those airplane shots. You're one up on me and I can't have that." Tandy held her hand out.
"That's the spirit." Rayna handed her a shot
"Never mind that this particular spirit has the tendency to make me as mean as daddy sometimes. I'm willing to risk it if you are though." Tandy screwed the cap off the bottle and downed it. "Ugh, that is still as terrible as I remember it."
"The first one is always a little rough. The rest of them go down easier after that. Get to four or five and you don't even notice the burn anymore." Rayna opened two more shots for them.
"You are gonna get us in so much trouble this weekend." Tandy groaned, but she accepted the bottle from her.
"I'm gonna teach you how to have fun my way. It's an experience and one you seem to have forgotten that you had a time or two. Or was I not supposed to know about you and Vince?" Rayna smirked.
"I was scratching an itch with him. I don't mind telling you that he was very good at it for a man of his station." Tandy shrugged her shoulders.
"You wanted to try to be like me and see if you could have as much fun as I did back then. Except you couldn't go whole hog. I was actually slumming it with Deacon. Vince whether he ever acted the part or not was from your and daddy's world. He was so smart he could have been an engineer if he coulda put the whiskey glass down and kept his zipper pulled up. He came by it naturally though. Big Jack is a functional alcoholic. I don't think I've ever seen him sober." Rayna teased her.
"I didn't care about all of that. I just cared that he knew how to give a tune up if you know what I mean. How do you feel knowing that's what your daughter is marrying into?" Tandy gave back as good as she got.
"I am not gonna think about that right now. Right now I'm gonna get really, really drunk and forget about everything that everyone else needs me to be. Then we are gonna go listen to some music and maybe find a new act or two to sign to the label." Rayna lifted her shot in salute.
"Now that, I'll drink to." Tandy tapped her bottle against her sister's.
"He was born in the woods torn from his home. Well, he was naked and destined to be out on his own. And he waited in darkness hopin' someone might see. From somethin' so rough what a treasure he'd be." Deacon had snuck off to the studio once Bucky had come in to deal with everything at the label.
"Stronger than steel and wood. Seen me through the bad and good. And when I'm hangin' by a string every little thing is understood between Martin and me." The rest of the band sang with him on the chorus.
"Well, he's hollow in the middle from the shape that he's in. He's either filled up with music or locked in his shell again. And it takes some fine tunin' to make him come around, but he's a huge piece of me and I'll never put him down." This was one of those deep songs that was about more than met the eye.
"He is a good friend and he has his own voice. And you get what you give. Sometimes it's just noise." Deacon and the band sang together again.
"But if you treat him well he will last your life long. And if you're honest and open he will write you a song." Deacon took over again.
"Write you a song." Max actually had a very good voice when he got to show it off.
"Write you a song." Deacon wailed.
"Stronger than steel and wood. Seen me through the bad and good. And when I'm hangin' by a string every little thing is understood. And when I'm hangin' by a string every little thing is understood between Martin and me." Deacon played a few soft chords on his guitar to end the song.
"I think we can call that one good. That turned out better than I thought it would." Deacon waved to Watty. "Send those little monkeys in here."
"That was so good, daddy." Charlie threw her arms around her dad's waist.
"Thank you, Pistol." Deacon bent over and kissed the top of her head.
"You're welcome." Charlie smiled up at him.
"So, ya'll I was thinkin'. You've been in and out of those big fancy recordin' studios your whole life. I thought that today ya'll could see what it's like to record how they did it in the old days. We're talkin' Johnny, Waylon, Elvis, Hank those guys. This is what recordin' used to be back before the digital age took over. What you guys say? You wanna have at it?" Deacon spread his arms wide open giving his kids free reign of the studio.
"We are in." Deac jumped at the chance to get to play around in the studio.
"Why don't ya'll give me your best version of A Life That's Good?" Deacon clapped his hands together.
"We can do that." Jayme agreed with him.
"Yeah," Jack chimed in.
"You boys heard my kids. They are gonna need a little accompaniment I say we gotta give 'em our best shot on this one." Deacon took his guitar strap off and handed it to his namesake.
"You heard the man let's show these young'uns how we do it in the wolf pack." Dean was Deacon's drummer. He was probably younger than everyone else in the band by fifteen years.
"If they wanna play like Rebel Moon they gotta howl like Rebel Moon." Max could always be counted on to be a clown.
"Uh oh, ya'll heard Uncle Max. Can ya howl?" Deacon played along.
The four children nodded their heads.
"We are gonna go off my count. Then we start recordin'." Max told them.
Deacon took a harmonica out of the pocket of his jean jacket. "Get on with it, Max."
"Let's howl at the moon." Max winked at him. "Three, two, one." He counted them off.
The studio filled with the sound of everyone howling.
Once Deacon caught his breath he started playing his harmonica for all he was worth.
Rayna used the umbrella to stir her drink around absent mindedly. She stared at the young man who was preforming on stage. It really sucked to draw the afternoon slot, but sometimes you just had to take what you could get. She remembered what it was like to be in that position and the fact of the matter was she would trade places with that kid up there in a heartbeat. Things had been so much simpler back when she was first starting out.
Back then she had been free to be who she truly was as an artist. Sure it could have been that the pace of the world had been different back then too, but there was a certain freedom that came with not having to fight to stay at the top. She'd been so young and naïve. Fighting to climb that mountain not realizing once she made it to the top the only place left to go was down.
At this point it wasn't like she had to keep fighting to be the reigning queen of country music anymore. She'd more than proven herself, but then again she didn't want to retire into that good night and rest on her laurels. She wasn't ready to fade into obscurity. The only problem with that was on the road to where she was now she'd forgotten where she'd come from. She had to get back to that girl she used to be.
Tandy snapped her fingers in front of her sister's face. "Earth to, Rayna."
"Sorry, did you say something?" Rayna blinked her eyes rapidly to bring herself back to the present.
"Have you even been listening to a word I've been saying?" Tandy sipped her drink.
"No, I got lost in thought for a minute." Rayna finished off her drink and signaled to the bartender for another round.
"I said that guy up on stage sounds really good. I mean I don't have your ear for good music, but he's different and we can do something with that." Tandy repeated herself. "Jesus, you weren't kidding when you said that you were gonna get really, really drunk."
"No I wasn't kiddin' at all. And I can see what you're sayin'. I think he's pretty damn good too. I was him once. Young, eager, earnest. Another dreamer with stars in my eyes and the world at my fingertips." Rayna smiled politely at the bartender when he brought their drinks over.
"I remember well what you were like when you first started out. Did anyone ever tell you that you can't think and drink at the same time? You can do one or the other, but if you do both at the same time it's only gonna get you in trouble." Tandy advised her.
"I've heard somethin' like that a time or two. Are you my sister or my shrink? I'm just saying that I don't know what this is all 'bout anymore. I want to put out a new album, but nothin' is comin' to me. It used to come no problem, but now I'm so covered in wife, momma, and label head that there's no room for me to be an artist anymore. Don't get me wrong I love my kids and husband, but gettin' a little me time every now and then would be great." Rayna explained to her.
"I'm obviously your sister and your shrink. You're trying too hard to make it come to you. You've just gotta do whatever it is you do to get things flowing again. I don't know anything about being a mother, but I do know what it's like being married to your job and getting lost in being a wife. I spent so long cleaning up after you and daddy when I was younger that the job at Wyatt Industries was all I had. Being with Bucky was the one thing I did for myself and even then I kept that hidden from you for a long time. So, yeah, I guess I do know a thing or two about losing yourself." Tandy gave her a half smile.
"I guess I did have a tendency to be as troublesome for you as daddy was. I don't know if I've ever said it, but thank you for everythin' you've ever done for me. I know that I'm not the easiest person to deal with. It sure takes a lot of you to keep me happy." Rayna smiled a little.
"You're my baby sister I'd do anything for you. A lot of what I did for you back when you were young it wasn't just me it was on daddy's behalf. He loves you a lot more than he will ever let on to you, me, or anyone else. He has a favorite daughter and it's not the one who has done everything he's ever asked of her. He favors the one that's like our momma." Tandy laughed a little.
"I think I'm just daddy's baby girl as in his youngest and that may come through every now and then. You're his favorite though. Do you ever regret it?" Rayna asked her.
"Regret what?" Tandy arched her brow in confusion.
"Bein' my keeper, bein' daddy's right hand, not havin' kids. Do you regret any of it?" Rayna clarified.
"First of all, I'm not your keeper. No one can tame you and they better not even try it. Daddy and I needed each other to lean on in our own ways. I didn't always like the person I was when I was working for him, but I don't exactly regret it either. I would have been a horrible mother. Like I said I was married to my career and I wouldn't have been any good at it. I don't have the capacity to feel the way that you do. I'm very much like daddy that way." Tandy answered her question.
"I think you are a really great mother. You finished raisin' me whether I made it easy for you or not. I got paid back for it with Maddie my beautiful mess of a baby girl. I love you so much. I couldn't do what I do every day without you." Rayna put her hand on top of her sister's.
"I love you so much too. You're a spoiled brat and a pain in my ass, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being able to get to work with you every day." Tandy squeezed her hand.
"Ok, I guess we should probably move on before one of us starts cryin'." Rayna blinked back the tears in her eyes.
"Agreed. I think it's time for a round of shots. No more bourbon right now. We are gonna do some fufu shots." Tandy signaled the bartender over to their table.
"I can agree to that. I think that I'm gonna slip the singer my business card. It can't hurt at all." Rayna changed the subject.
"That better not be one of Aunt Dottie's euphemisms." Tandy gave her a look.
"I'm not our old spinster Aunt Dottie. I'm a happily married woman. If I even thought about cheatin' my husband would lose his damn mind. Plus, that one is young enough to be my son." Rayna laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.
Deacon felt around blindly for his ringing phone on the nightstand. "Hello?" He answered sleepily.
"Oh shit, Deacon, did I wake you?" Tandy slurred into the phone.
"Yeah, you woke me, Tandy. It's," Deacon consulted his alarm clock. "Four in the mornin'. Is everythin' ok? You and Ray ain't in any kind of trouble are you?"
"No, we just got back to the hotel room. Listen up you and I have a few things to discuss. Your wife is alright physically, but mentally not so much. She's having some kind of midlife crisis or a crisis of faith all I know is she's lost. I just watched her get drunker than I've ever seen her in my entire life. I think you're the only one who can help her find her way. You need to come down here. Rayna needs you. Your wife needs you, Deacon. Don't you dare let her down again. You're part of the reason that she's like this right now." Tandy spoke to him bluntly.
"Tandy, you're really, really drunk. Go sleep it off. I'll talk to you later. Please don't call me this late again unless there's somethin' wrong. And if you absolutely have to call at least make sure that I know everythin' is ok first." Deacon hung up in her ear.
He laid for a moment staring up at the ceiling. He stroked Jack's hair gently and just thought about things. "Henry, what kinda mess has your momma gotten herself into now?" He stared down at his son and smiled at his little angelic face. "I guess after I spend some time with you kids later on I'm gonna have to go down to New Orleans." He sighed.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Now you don't need any instructions for them do you?" Deacon had his duffle bag up on the counter and his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Dad, I will be fine. Just go get on the road. We will all be ok. You have a long drive ahead of you and I want you to call me every so often so I know that you're ok." Daphne lectured him a little bit.
"Your brothers and sister are already in bed for the night. You shouldn't have any trouble outta them. They will be good as gold for you in the mornin'. I will call you and let you know that I'm ok. Thank you for doin' this for me. Your mother and I should be home tomorrow maybe Monday at the latest. Come here," Deacon pulled her into a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too, daddy, be safe." Daphne kissed his cheek.
Deacon grabbed a set of keys off the key hook. "The truck and the SUV are here I'm takin' Betty. You know where the keys to everythin' are. I don't have to give you a rundown. This part I've never told you before, but there's a pistol in the shoebox on the top shelf of my closet. I want you to get out and put it in your nightstand. Elvis will let you know if there's anyone or anythin' messin' 'round outside. You call nine-one-one and you shoot straight. You're safe here though and there's nothin' to worry 'bout."
"Dad, I know I've got it covered. Mom is gonna murder you for taking her car." Daphne laughed softly.
"I'll see you later, Squirt. Have a good night." Deacon grabbed his duffle bag and guitar case and headed out to the garage.
Daphne waited long enough for Deacon to get the car started and then she pulled out her phone and called Joel.
"Tandy, we were out late last night. Why are we up so early this mornin'? You knew that I had to sleep in because there's no way my loveable little monsters are gonna let me have any rest." Rayna grumbled as she let her sister drag her into a bar.
"I know, but I heard good things about this artist and I wanted you to take a listen as long as we're in town." Tandy sat her sister down in the side of the booth that faced away from the stage.
"Whatever you say. I'm just thankful that you got a little bit of coffee in me before we left the hotel." Rayna sighed. She pulled her sunglasses down on her eyes to block out the sun.
"We can get some breakfast in a minute." Tandy reassured her.
"I think the next time I get the idea to stay out so damn late you need to be the voice of reason like usual and talk me out of it." Rayna groaned. She felt like death warmed over.
"Here's my grandpa's old Gibson and a girl of no importance. A shot of whiskey sittin' on the bar. I used to give a damn. I used to try real hard. But I'll give in tonight chances are." The artist started to play.
Rayna and Tandy were too busy ordering breakfast to really pay attention at the minute.
"One foot on the narrow way and one foot on the ledge. Siftin' through the devil's lies and what the good book says. If I'm goin' anywhere I'll probably go too far. Probably away from you chances are. Chances are."
Rayna turned to look over her shoulder. There's was something familiar about this singer's voice. She was surprised to see her husband sitting on a stool on the stage. "What's he doin' here?"
"I have no clue." Tandy shrugged.
"There's a lonely corner waitin' and two seats left for playin'. I'll tell her everythin' she wants to hear. I'm not worth the love that's makin' I'm better at the breakin'. A guy like me knows how to disappear." Deacon winked at Rayna when she made eye contact with him.
"One foot on the narrow way and one foot on the ledge. Siftin' through the devil's lies and what the good book says. If I'm goin' anywhere I'll probably go too far. Probably away from you chances are. Chances are."
"Hold me like I mean it. Say 'til you believe it. And we'll see if we can fill an empty heart. But I won't tell you what the chances are. One foot on the narrow way and one foot on the ledge. Siftin' through the devil's lies and what the good book says. If I'm goin' anywhere I'll probably go too far. Probably away from you chances are. Chances are." Deacon put his guitar in the case once he had finished playing.
"I'm just gonna go sit at the bar while you two have some alone time." Tandy excused herself before Deacon walked over. "Take care of her." She said to him lowly.
"I've got her." Deacon whispered back. He sat down across from Rayna.
"Babe, what are you doing here?" Rayna asked him.
"I heard that my girl was in trouble and I had to come rescue her." Deacon took her hand and squeezed it.
"I've done a whole lot of drinkin' and a whole lot of rambling to my sister this weekend. You of all people should know that you can't listen to the ramblings of a drunk. I can't believe my big sister called my husband on me." Rayna glared daggers at the back of her sister's head.
"She was right to call me. Tell me what's goin' on with you, Ray." Deacon tried to get her to level with him.
"I don't know, babe. I've just been so lost lately. I don't fuckin' know who or what I am anymore. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but it all started when I had to take care of you for all those weeks. It just made me realize I'm so far from the woman, the artist that I used to be that I don't even know how to find her anymore." Rayna never had been able to hold back with him. He could read her with just one look and get her to open up to him about the things she'd locked away even from herself.
"Since I'm the one who made you lose your way or helped you realize you were lost or whatever I guess it's my job to help you find yourself again. I'll take you to every little dive bar I know from here to Nashville if that's what it takes, babe." Deacon didn't hesitate to shoulder the blame for what she was going through.
"What did I do to get lucky enough to deserve a husband like you?" Rayna's eyes teared up.
"I've asked myself that same question many, many times when it comes to you. I don't have a good answer for that, but I think we've been through too much together to start doubtin' it now. I guess that just means we can believe in each other when we can't believe in anythin' else." Deacon used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tear from her cheek.
"I guess she was right to call you then. Don't ever tell her that I said she was right though." Rayna retorted.
"You ain't gotta worry 'bout that. You know I wouldn't tell her anythin' that could be mistaken for nice." Deacon flashed her a pearly white smile.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. As you know with the song list I put the artist that did the version of the song that I used and not the writer or original artist. Until next time please review.