A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.


Chapter 52

"What in God's name did you two do to Bucky?" Rayna stood on the dock with one hand on her hip and a glass of wine in the other hand. She watched Deacon and Rhett help Bucky out of the boat.

"We took Bucky fishin'." Rhett announced loudly.

"It looks like the only thing ya'll caught was beer and sunburn." Sadie observed.

"Paul Jr. caught a bottle of rye and a bottle of bourbon with a root beer chaser. Until I taught him how to appropriately mix a boat drink." Deacon retorted.

"Hey, don't call me that." Rhett protested.

"How do you appropriately mix a boat drink?" Tandy asked.

"Apparently, it involves Deacon chugging half a bottle of beer and then pouring bourbon and rye into the bottle." Bucky volunteered.

"Deacon John!" Rayna yelled at him.

"Root beer, babe, root beer. Rhett gave Bucky a bourbon and rye with a beer chaser. Granted I gave him the idea. I ain't drank in so that I probably woulda puked and fallen overboard." Deacon calmed her down.

"Did ya'll actually catch any fish?" Sadie looked between them.

"Deacon was hopin' that you'd ask that." Rhett and Bucky walked up the dock together stumbling.

Deacon opened the live well and he lifted a ten-pound bass out. "I got a new mount for the wall."

"What you put in your den is your business as long as it doesn't end up in my bedroom or my livin' room." Rayna told him.

"Fair enough. I need my filet knife from the house. We caught some other fish that have to be cleaned. I wanna do that before dinner." Deacon pulled a stringer of fish up from over the side of the boat.

"Do you have to do that before dinner? Can't you just throw them back?" Rayna made a face.

"I don't have to do it before dinner, but I have to do it. I ain't throwin' these out. I can get some really nice filets off of 'em." Deacon retorted.

"I'll filet the damn things for ya." Rhett offered.

"No, you won't. I don't want you messin' around with a filet knife with as drunk as you are. I let you cut off a finger Lamar will not be happy. He'd probably have you locked up in a padded room if he knew that you were fishin'. You might do somethin' to your elbow." Sadie rolled her eyes.

"He does not own me just 'cause he thinks he does. My elbow is in prime condition." Rhett retorted.

"Rhett, have you met my father?" Tandy gave him a look.

"Yeah, daddy thinks he can tell everyone what to do." Rayna agreed with her sister.

"I do know what he's like 'cept right now I got Jeff runnin' interference for me cause I'm holdin' somethin' over his head." Rhett clamped his hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd said.

"I know what you're talkin' 'bout. I wanna know how you know." Deacon looked at him.

"Maddie, tells Mack everythin' and then Mack tells me things that I rather not know. And if it makes you feel any better I held him up against the wall by his throat and threatened him within an inch of his life." Rhett informed him.

"You are such a good uncle." Deacon patted his back. That statement also got the wheels in his head turning.

"Babe, do you wanna start a fire in the pit and then set the table up?" Rayna pecked Deacon's lips.

"I'll start the fire and set up the table if you go clean the trash outta the bottom of my boat." Deacon bargained with her.

"You can clean your boat out when you clean those fish later." Rayna winked.

"You are so damn mean to me. I'd do this for you." Deacon bumped her hip with his.

"I'm letting you have a fish mounted and put up on my wall. I think that's bein' nice enough to you for one day." Rayna rubbed her nose against his.

"Hey, drunk, go clean out the bottom of my boat." Deacon ordered Rhett.

"Fair enough I'm on it." Rhett stumbled back towards the dock.

"Rhett, sit down before you fall down." Sadie grabbed him by the arm and sat him down.

"Sadie, come help me get the food and Tandy can get the wine." Rayna got everyone moving.

Deacon sat up the table and chairs once he got the fire started. "There we go."

"What exactly did these women cook up?" Rhett found another beer and cracked it open.

"I'm pretty sure that they made a salad and I'm gonna have to fire up the grill." Deacon replied.

"If we are lucky they made a salad. They have the wine out. In my experience nothing happens once the wine comes out." Bucky muttered.

"The wine comes out and they get to talkin' 'bout us. Nothin' else is gettin' done." Rhett agreed.

"Deacon! Come get this food on the grill please. I love you." Rayna smiled sweetly at her husband.

"Of course, babe. I love you too." Deacon said through clenched teeth.

"Rhett Timothy, I think you've had enough." Sadie scolded her husband for drinking.

"I don't think I've had enough to drink yet." Rhett argued back with her.

"Oh, look, Tandy has the wine that shouldn't surprise me." Bucky rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what your deal is, but you have been a total crab ass. Normally nothing any of us do or say gets to you. Bucky, you are so high strung lately." Tandy gave him a dirty look.

"Even I have bad days." Bucky shrugged his shoulders.

"Rhett, come give me a hand." Deacon gestured his brother over to the grill.

Rhett stumbled over to him. "What do you need?"

"Look, I know that we promised Buck we wouldn't say anythin', but he needs help. I don't break my promises. Here's the thing if Maddie tells Mack everythin' then the reverse is also true. So, you're gonna tell Mack who is gonna tell Maddie who will go straight to her momma with that news." Deacon outlined for him.

"You have no damn idea. Maddie and Casey run their mouths to Mack 'bout everythin' they know and he does the same with them. If I don't want Sadie to know somethin' I don't tell Jimmy cause he tells Will and Will talks to my wife it's like they are all a bunch of women or somethin'." Rhett whispered back.

"So, are you in or what?" Deacon asked him.

"I've got your back, big brother. We are gonna help him against his will." Rhett bumped knuckles with him.


"Maddie, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?" Rayna looked up from her computer.

"How'd you know it was me without looking up?" Maddie perched herself on the edge of her desk.

"I'm your mother I know what you sound like when you walk into a room." Rayna leaned back in her chair.

"Well, that's a little unsettling. I came by to see Uncle Bucky about my Opry induction concert and he said that you're handling it now. I'm surprised he's in the office at all." Maddie replied.

"I am handling your Opry induction and Jimmy's. I thought that he needed a little bit of a break. I halfway expected him to call in today. Him and Rhett got pretty wasted last night. That's the drunkest I've ever seen him and I've known him a long time." Rayna responded.

"All things considered I don't really blame him. I'm surprised that you and Aunt Tandy are even letting him come into the office at all right now." Maddie had no clue that her mother didn't know the information that she had.

"Maddie, what in the world are you talkin' 'bout?" Rayna looked at her confused.

"I was talking to Mack and he said that Uncle Bucky may have cancer. I didn't know what he was talking about that's the first I've heard of it." Maddie clarified for her.

"That's the first I've heard of it too. I can promise you that I'm gonna get to the bottom of it though. You stay right here." Rayna stood up and marched out of her office. "Tandy, Bucky, Deacon, conference room now! Emergency executive meeting!" She walked into the conference room and sat down at the head of the table.

Deacon, Tandy, and Bucky walked into the room. Deacon sat on the other end of the table and Bucky and Tandy sat on either side.

"Alright, we need to have a talk. We all know that this label is at its best when the four of us are in sync. For the four of us to be in sync we have to be completely honest with each other. We are a family here and we can tell each other anythin'. Secrets are like a cancer to us because of the position we are in. I'm the wife of an alcoholic I know a thing or two about how toxic secrets can be. Deacon, how does that saying go?" Rayna blasted out of the gate.

"You're only as sick as your secrets." Deacon supplied for her.

"Deacon," Bucky said the other man's name in a warning tone.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tandy looked at her sister like she had lost her mind.

"Ask your husband." Rayna looked hard at Bucky. "Buck, why didn't you tell me that you were sick? You are more than my manager or my head of A and R you are my brother. You've seen me at me worst and you have dealt with everythin' that my crazy, chaotic life has thrown at you. You are my closest confidant. You know things about me that not even my sister knows about. I would like to think that that is a two-way street. You can tell me things too."

"Ray, you have a lot on your plate. You don't need anything else to worry about. I didn't know anything for sure until this morning anyway." Bucky replied. "Deacon, you promised me that you wouldn't say anything."

"I didn't." Deacon swore to him. He wasn't exactly lying.

"He didn't I heard it from Maddie." Rayna backed her husband up.

"Bucky, what is she talking about?" Tandy asked him.

"Tandy, I have prostate cancer. It's in the early stages and I'm gonna be ok. I didn't want to tell you and have you worry before I knew there was something for you to worry about. You would have just made yourself crazy and made it harder on me in the process. I wanted to have facts and a plan before I told you." Bucky wrung his hands.

"Oh, babe, I'm right here. I know that I'm gonna drive you a little crazy with my Type A approach to this, but it's because I want to keep you with me. We are gonna get through this together." Tandy walked over to the other side of the table and put her arms around him.

"I'm gonna make some calls. I am gonna get you the best medical care that money can buy. I'm also gonna take on your work load for a little while. You have about thirty years of vacation days that you've never used. Tandy has a stockpile of unused vacation days. I want you two to at least take a couple weeks to just relax." Rayna was already scrolling through the list of contacts in her phone.

"You really don't need to do that. I can still do my job. I will need something to do with my time. I still have to have more tests and things done. I'm taking this very seriously, but I'm not gonna roll over and play dead either. I'm not putting my life on hold." Bucky argued with her.

"I really do need to do it. Your job will always be here waiting for you. I can't do this without any of the three of you in this room with me right now. You're without a doubt the most important of the three. One of them knows where the bodies are buried and one of them knows the full extent of all my sins. You're the only one who knows both. I wouldn't be the artist I am without Deacon, I would have probably crashed and burned miserably at business without my sister to guide me, but I wouldn't still be standing without you, Buck. You've cleared up every mess I've ever made and never once have you threatened to quit on me. You clean up the messes that my girls make. I'm not quitting on you." Rayna wasn't about to back down from him.

"You are just gonna have to suck it up and deal with it, babe. You have all of our full support whether you want it or not. You have all of our concern. I know that you're used to the one taking care of everyone. This time you have to let us take care of you." Tandy hugged him tighter.

"Buck, you're not gonna win this one. You have two women who are forces of nature who love you deeply and are gonna take care of ya. They have taken care of me every time that I've needed it and one of them doesn't even like me. They both adore you. Imagine the kind of care that you're gonna get. Over the years I've really made you earn your pay check. You cleaned up the messes I made when I was drinkin'. You kept me outta jail, you got me into the best rehabs possible, you kept tabs on me even when I wasn't with Ray, and you've loaned me money. I promise you right here and now whatever you need or want while you're goin' through this I'm here for you." Deacon spoke up.

"I know that and I really appreciate it. I am gonna be ok. I'm gonna fight this and I plan on winning. In the meantime, I don't want to put my life on hold. I have two loves Tandy and this job. If I didn't have this job to come to everyday I'm pretty sure that if I had to sit in the house every day I'd go crazy. I'd start ordering stuff off infomercials or I'd gain fifty pounds from hanging out at the Mile Marker." Bucky put on a brave face for everyone.

"The one good thing 'bout this situation is you're gonna be able to leverage a lot of sympathy food from my momma." Deacon tried to lighten the mood a little bit.

"That's where the fifty pounds I'd gain are gonna come from." Bucky laughed a little.

"Tandy, let's you and me go back to my office. We are gonna make a phone call to my doctor. He knows everyone. Bucky can get Deacon up to speed about what's on his plate. Since those two work so closely together it makes the most sense for him to take on the duties associated with A and R. We can split the rest of his duties. He's a firefighter that way and we can take care of that." Rayna launched right into her plan of attack.

"Before you and I get to calling doctors there's something that I need to take care of. There's no way that you can do my job. You're extremely smart and capable, but you can't do what I do. I'm gonna make a call and get you a temporary replacement for me. I have just the person for the job and it's gonna take a little wrangling for me to get what I want." Tandy replied.

"Alright, I'll meet you in my office in say thirty minutes then?" Rayna suggested.

"That works for me." Tandy agreed.

Rayna squeezed Bucky's shoulder and kissed the top of his head. "Don't worry about anythin' you're in good hands."

"I know I am." Bucky smiled up at her. "I'd really like to know how Maddie found out though."

"She said that Mack told her. I don't know how Mack would have found out." Rayna replied.

"Which, means that Rhett told Mack. That's typically how those things work. Mack, Maddie, and Casey run in a circle together. And since I told Rhett and Deacon yesterday that makes sense. Rhett and Mack also tell each other everything. It's like dealing with high school kids. That's part of my job. I have to check in on all of them and make sure that they are staying out of trouble. Our other artists I don't have to watch that closely, but Maddie, Daphne, Sadie, Jimmy, Will, Scarlett, Gunnar, Juliette, and Avery are all either family or practically family. You have to keep a special eye on them because of how their actions can reflect on Ray." Bucky rambled a little.

"Buck, relax I can take care of it." Deacon assured him.

"That's pretty much right on the money. I don't tell Maddie things that I don't want Will to know because of how tight her and Mack are. Though it's still better than telling your wife anything because she's the mouth of the south." Rayna nodded in agreement.

"Buck, let's step into my office and go over what I need to know." Deacon suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be good." Bucky agreed.

Deacon looped his arm around Bucky's shoulders and led him out of the room.

Tandy looked at her sister and her eyes filled up with tears. "I waited a long time for him, Babe, I can't lose him now."

Rayna held her arms open to her. "Come here, you need to let me be the strong one for you this time."

Tandy let her sister take her into her arms and she broke down crying. "He has to be ok. I depend on him for so much more than he realizes."

"I know, we all do. We are gonna do everythin' in our power to make sure that he beats this thing. He is so strong, Babe. He's gonna be ok." Rayna hugged her tightly and let her have her break down. "Let me be strong for you for a change."


"Ya'll are at it kinda early ain't ya?" Rhett shuffled into Sadie's music room still in his pajamas. She and Paul were working on a song for her album.

"No, you slept in today. You're kinda late. It's after noon, babe." Sadie replied.

"I was tired." Rhett rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"From the sound of it you're hungover, boy." Paul observed.

"You would know what that's like wouldn't ya?" Rhett shot back. His father got under his skin like no one else on the planet.

"No I wouldn't I never stopped drinkin' long enough to get a hangover. Or I would black out so long that when I woke up I'd be evened out and good to start over again." Paul answered.

"It sounds like you figured out a real winnin' formula." Rhett snorted.

Sadie stepped in before the two of them could get really heated. "Rhett, you got a delivery this mornin'. I had 'em leave it in the garage for you."

"Oh, I've been waitin' for that since I ordered it the other day. That got here faster than I thought it would. I'm excited for this." Rhett rubbed his hands together.

"I don't wanna know so I won't ask." Sadie shook her head.

"I'll be out in the garage if you need me, but try not to need me. I'm gonna be kinda busy." Rhett headed out to the garage.

"I don't know, 'bout you, but I think he's startin' to warm up to me." Paul grinned.

"You really enjoy riling him up. It's gonna get you knocked on your ass." Sadie rolled her eyes.

"I'm not as old or as fragile as I look. I could take him." Paul laughed softly.

"I'm sure that he would love the chance." Sadie grunted. "Let's get on with writin' this song."

An hour later Paul stepped outside to take a smoke break. He lit up and then walked around to the garage when he heard Rhett cuss loudly.

There was an open crate sitting out in the middle of the floor. Rhett sat astride a Harley from the 1960s. The only problem was he couldn't get it to start.

"This motherfucker," He grumbled.

"Havin' a problem, son?" Paul asked.

"I ain't your damn son, Paul." Rhett tried to get the bike to start again.

"I used to have one like this. Where'd you get it?" Paul looked the bike over. He ignored the younger man's attitude.

"I got it from some collector. He never even rode the thing he just kept it in his showroom." Rhett replied.

"That's the issue then. There are probably all kinda preservatives in the fuel tank, the fuel line, and the carburetor. That stuff gunks up everythin'. I know how to get this thing started. The fuel tank, the fuel line, and the carburetor need to be cleaned out. I wouldn't imagine that you have any tools 'round here. If you run out to the truck for me my toolbox is in there. I'm also gonna need some gas, probably a new fuel line to be on the safe side, and some matches." Paul listed off.

"Do I look like your slave?" Rhett flashed him a dirty look.

"No, you look like my son. But now that you mention it you kinda do resemble a slave that would fetch a high price at the market. With us bein' Mississippi boys it's possible for you to be both." Paul gave back as good as he got.

"You seem like one of those skeevy slave owners that would be tappin' his slaves. With you that wouldn't surprise me at all." Rhett snorted.

"You really have a smartass mouth. I know that you have a low opinion of me. That bein' said if you wanna get that bike runnin' go get my toolbox for me. It's heavy and I'm old." Paul retorted.

"I'll get it." Rhett retrieved his toolbox and came back. "I don't know what you're gonna be able to do 'bout this, but have at it. I will probably just have to call a mechanic and take it to the shop." He sat the toolbox down on the floor.

"You don't have to call a mechanic. You have one right here." Paul pointed to himself.

"That's right you used to be a mechanic. If you think you can do any good give it a try. I just thought that you ain't done that kinda work in a long time." Rhett leaned up against the side of Sadie's SUV.

"I do this kinda work all the time. And it's like ridin' a bike I could never forget. I'm kinda the go to guy in this city for these old pieces of machinery. DJ knows a guy who runs a shop and I sometimes help him out when he's got this old stuff. It's a lost art. Everythin' on this new stuff is computerized and they never learned to do things the old-fashioned way." Paul opened his toolbox and took a wrench out.

"You really are old school. You've got the cigarette hangin' outta your mouth and the flannel shirt. The only thing missin' is the beer can sittin' next to your tool box." Rhett watched him work.

"Back in the old days there would have been. If I thought that I could drink without bein' a mean son of bitch and I didn't wanna wreck the liver your brother gave me I'd still be drinkin' today." Paul took a drag off his cigarette without taking it out of his mouth. He loosened up the bolts that held the tank onto the bike frame. "Come give me a hand with this."

"And do what with it?" Rhett walked over.

"That's right I didn't teach you this stuff the way I did with DJ. It's never too late to learn. Go on and slide that tank off. Disconnect the fuel line first." Paul showed him what to do.

"I got it. Now what?" Rhett moved the tank to the floor.

"Now you get me that gas that I asked you for. Come on act like you know how to work with your hands. I know that your momma saw fit that you got a good education so you didn't have to really work with your hands, but you're strong. Move that thing like I'm your father and Lamar Wyatt." Paul picked up a gas can and poured a little of it in the tank.

"First of all, I worked down on the docks back in Natchez. I offloaded all kinda cargo. Secondly, Lamar has treated me more like a son than you ever have. You got a problem with me bein' close to him you keep it to yourself it's your damn fault for never bein' there." Rhett argued with him, but he didn't take his eyes off of what he was doing.

"I know I wasn't there. I know that I didn't raise you or have anythin' to do with ya. I've been tryin' for the last ten years, though. You're the one who won't let me in. I ignored you, but I beat the livin' shit outta your brother every time he looked up. He found a way to let me back in and forgive me. You're a stronger man for not havin' had me in your life when you were growin' up. I was toxic and I can admit that. Still, like it or not I am your father. It's my last name that you have and it's my blood in your veins." Paul lit a match and dropped it in the gas tank.

"Are you fuckin' crazy, old man? What the hell was that?" Rhett jumped back. "And I know you're my father. The whole time I was growin' up the only thing I wanted was to know ya. It's pretty damn hard to be a biracial boy in Mississippi without a daddy in the picture."

"I ain't crazy that's how you clean the preservative out and keep it from gummin' up the works again. Once the gas burns off the preservative will be gone. It's basically what the manuals tell ya not to do 'cause it's too dangerous. It's how we used to clean the gunk off of the brand new rifle shipments we'd get in Vietnam. It was a damn miracle that we didn't blow ourselves up. One of our sergeants was a world war two hold over that taught us how to do things the old way. It's pretty damn effective." Paul waited for the fire to burn out and then he examined the gas tank. "That's clean. You think havin' no daddy was hard try bein' the son of Deacon Claybourne. That man was revered in that town. I was his scapegrace namesake who could never get out from under his shadow no matter how hard I tried. The only reason I got so many chances in that town was because I'm his son."

"Damn, I guess you do know what you're talkin' 'bout here. I didn't know that you were in Vietnam." Rhett looked impressed. "He was a good man. I met him a couple times. Apparently, he knew 'bout me too. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just thought he was a friend of my momma's."

"There's a lot that you don't know 'bout me. All you have to do is ask if you wanna know. It's gonna take me a little while to fix this issue. Time passes faster if I talk and work at the same time." Paul retorted.

"Ain't Sadie gonna get mad at you for runnin' out on her in the middle of a writin' session?" Rhett picked up his father's pack of cigarettes and shook one out.

"Nah, she'll be relieved. I push her pretty hard durin' our sessions." Paul chuckled.

"Work away then, Master Jefferson." Rhett made another one of his mater/slave relationship jokes. He picked up a lighter and started to light the cigarette.

"That's the last time you make a damn Thomas Jefferson reference. As a man who lived through the civil rights movement in Mississippi I find that offensive. And have you lost your damn mind? You're an athlete you know better than to put that shit in your body it's poison." Paul took the cigarette away from him.

"Fine I'll come up with a new joke. Take all my fun away from me then." Rhett sighed.

"Get in here and learn somethin'. If you're gonna stand and watch you're gonna learn to do." Paul waved him over.

"Show me what to do." Rhett walked over and stared at the bike.


A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.