"Ray, don't let Daddy get you this upset. You know how he feels about us pulling apart from this family. He's still grieving over mom," she said softly, rubbing her sister's back.
"But that's the point, Tandy! I'm not pulling away! I just wanna make music and finally start my career. Why can't he just be happy for me and support me?" Rayna started crying again.
"You know what happened to Momma, Ray. If she hadn't started a singing career, she wouldn't have been in that car that night and..."
"Oh just stop it, Tandy," Rayna yelled. "Don't feed me that crap! You know yourself that Daddy just wants to hold me back so he'll always have power over me. We're all still grievin' over Momma. Stop sticking up for him!" Rayna started bawling again.
"Rayna..." Tandy started, trying to find a way to calm her sister down.
"Just get out!" Rayna hadn't meant to scream but she'd had enough. She was tired of being singled out in this household. She wished her mom were here to stick up for her. Her mom always knew what to say and do to make things better.
Tandy left without another word. She gently shut the door behind her, hoping time would heal the wounds between her and her sister.
Rayna wiped her eyes as she heard a tapping on her window. She stood up and walked over to it, opening the curtains and looking out. Deacon, dressed in tight jeans and a t-shirt, was smiling down below. He'd thrown pebbles to get her attention. She opened the window and grinned back. "Hey you!"
"Hey," he said quietly so as not to alert her father he was there. "I'm doing a gig down at the Bluebird and I was hoping you would join me."
Her eyes lit up. "I'd love to! Give me ten minutes and I'll be down."
"Ok, I'm parked around the corner so I'll be in the truck," he pointed towards it. "Be careful," he added.
She shut the window and ran over to the mirror, checking her appearance. Her eyes were red and still wet and her hair was a mess. She quickly brushed it and went to the bathroom to wash her face. The cold water hitting her hot, swollen eyes felt refreshing. She dabbed a little make-up to hide the redness and brushed her teeth. She was so excited to see Deacon and perform with him tonight.
As she hurried down the stairs, careful to be as quiet as possible, she peeked into her dad's office to see him on the phone doing business with someone. She tiptoed past and quietly opened the front door. After the door closed behind her, she ran as quickly as she could to Deacon.
"Hey, Baby," he greeted her as she crawled into the seat beside him.
Even with her height, the truck was so tall she had to strain to get up into it. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," she breathed.
He looked at her face, noticing her eyes were sparkling more than usual in the streetlights. "Have you been crying," he asked her gently, taking his hand and cupping her cheek.
She looked down, trying and failing to hide the evidence. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. It's nothing..." Her voice began to waver.
"It's not nothin' if it made you cry. What is it, Ray?" He was genuinely concerned as he rarely saw her upset.
"Daddy and I just got into a fight," she answered as she wiped a falling tear off her cheek. She started crying again and he pulled her into his arms.
"Hey, hey..." He shushed her.
She pulled herself together and looked up at him. "Let's go do this show and we'll talk about it later...the last thing I want to do is look bad on stage." She pulled down the sun visor and checked her reflection in the mirror, trying to do as much damage control as she could.
"Baby, you could never look bad," he replied. "You could go on stage covered in dirt, snot, and cow manure and still look perfect." He grinned and she burst out laughing.
The drive to the Bluebird was quiet. Rayna tried to get her voice to steady while Deacon wondered what got Lamar so angry that he had upset Rayna so.
They pulled into a parking space and hurried in, sitting until they were called up. As Rayna walked into the spotlight she felt like she was home. The stage was her happy place. She and Deacon sat on the stools on the stage and sang together as he accompanied on guitar. She was back in her comfort zone and all the pain from the evening faded away as she sang her heart out.
After the show ended, they said their goodbyes and made it back to the truck. Deacon sat down and looked over at her, leaving the ignition off. "What happened earlier tonight at home?" He had to know what had her so upset.
She glanced over, wondering if she should tell him the truth. He might not approve of her being here if she did.
"Tell me," he pressed on. "I promise I won't be mad," he added, sensing her fear.
She swallowed. "Daddy walked in on me working on a new song on the guitar Momma gave me before she died. He told me if he heard me makin' music again he'd smash it to pieces and kick me out of the house." She burst into tears again and he pulled her to his chest to comfort her.
"Oh, Ray. I'm so sorry," he said, dreading the thought of what Lamar would think of her performing tonight. He rubbed circles into her back as she sobbed in his arms.
"I just don't get why he hates music so much now," she gasped. "I mean it's like he's doing everything he can to keep me from bein' happy." She cried harder, holding tightly onto him as the tears ran down her face.
"I don't know, baby." He couldn't think of any words that would comfort her, so he just held her until she calmed down.
"Momma understood me," she said with obvious pain in her voice. "She knew music was my outlet and my reason for living."
"Your dad just doesn't see the passion and gift you have," he began, as she pulled back and looked up at him. "He just doesn't understand, but he will one day," he added as he wiped her tears away and kissed the top of her head.
She nodded and they agreed it was getting late. She turned the radio on for the ride home and they sang along. Singing always made her feel better. As they pulled onto the corner where they began, Rayna turned to Deacon and put her hand on his knee.
"Thank you for tonight," she said, "for everything." She was grateful he'd shown up when he did and took her to perform. She was even more grateful he'd listened to her and let her vent.
"Anytime, Ray." He was happy he had caught her when he did. He'd wished he could've stopped the argument, but he was always glad to be her shoulder when she needed one. "If you ever need me, I'm a phone call away." They shared a smile and she headed back to her yard.