"And where have you been at, young lady?" He was furious but his voice was steady. Rayna knew he meant business.
"I..." she stammered. "I went to the Bluebird," she finished, feeling like honesty was the best policy.
He looked down and took a deep breath. "Did you sing?"
The question was simple. She knew he wouldn't like the answer. She couldn't lie anymore to him, though. The freedom she felt on stage felt like a lie when she lied to him. She wouldn't take that away from herself. "Yes, but..."
"Get out of my house. Now." He was dead serious and looked her straight in the eyes.
Her mouth fell open. "But Daddy," she croaked.
"I said now," he repeated, pressing his lips firmly together.
She turned around, crocodile tears threatening to fall at any moment as she walked back out the door. She had nowhere to go and nothing but the clothes on her back. She ran from the house as fast as possible. As she got to the corner where she left Deacon, she saw a person appear up ahead. She got closer and noticed a white mist around the lady in the moonlight.
"Hi Sweetheart," the figure said.
Rayna wiped her eyes, not believing what she was seeing. She called out to the figure. "Mom?"
"I had to let you know that you are going to be okay," Virginia responded. "You did the right thing. You have to get out of that house if you ever want to be a singer and want your own life, darling."
"Mom," Rayna cried. "I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much!" She didn't want to blink in fear her mother would disappear.
"Rayna, I've never left your side. I love you. Now go to Deacon's house and tell him what happened. You've got bright things happening in your future, my love," Virginia said as she smiled at her daughter.
"I love you, Momma," Rayna exclaimed right as her mother vanished.
She couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. She wasn't going to question it though. She took her mother's advice and made her way to Deacon's front porch.
Rayna knocked softly on the door in front of her. She tried to peek through the glass to see if Deacon was in the living room. She didn't see him. His truck was there so she knew he'd made it back home. She knocked a little louder.
"Ray," Deacon greeted as he opened the door. "What are doin' here? I just dropped you off..." He noticed the tears in her eyes and pulled her into his arms as she let her emotions take over.
"Daddy kicked me out," she explained. She put her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.
"Hey, hey," he soothed, stroking her luscious, beautiful hair with his long fingers. "Shh," I've got you." He hated seeing her so upset. His anger for Lamar was at a boiling point. He was lucky he hadn't followed her over. Deacon would've gone to jail for murder that night if he had.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know where to go and I don't know what to do," Rayna sobbed. She decided not to mention her mother, in fear he'd think she was going crazy.
"Come on in," he responded gently. "You're staying with me. I won't have you homeless." He took her arm and pulled her into the living room. He guided her to the couch and they sat down. "Did you bring anything with you?"
"No, Daddy wouldn't let me past the front door." She began to worry about the guitar her mother gave her and how she was going to survive with just the clothes on her back.
"Don't worry about it," he replied. "We'll get you some stuff tomorrow and you can wear one of my shirts for the night. I can wash your clothes and you can use anything here that you'd like." He was determined to make this as easy for her as possible. "Are you hungry," he asked, realizing it had been hours since she'd eaten.
"No, I'm just exhausted." It was the truth. Her stomach flipped at the idea of eating. All she wanted was for this day to be a nightmare that she'd wake up from. She missed her mom and the comfort of her home. She prayed her guitar was untouched and she'd get to play it again. She didn't know when she'd get to see Tandy again either. She hated leaving things on a bad note with her sister. Her father, on the other hand, she never cared if she saw again in life. He was the reason she was miserable and had been so since her mom was in the accident. She'd give anything to go back and put him in that car in place of her mom that night.
Deacon saw a yawn as Rayna stared up at the ceiling. "I'll be right back."
He came back with a flannel shirt and a pair of boxers. "You can use these to sleep in, if you'd like," he said as he handed them to her. "You can have my room or the guest room, whichever you'd prefer." He secretly hoped she'd take the guest room as he hadn't changed the sheets on his bed and didn't want her to think of him as a slob.
"I'll take the guest room," she replied. "There's no reason both of us should be misplaced tonight. Unless you'll sleep with me in your room." She knew she shouldn't have said that last part, but it was true. More than anything, she wanted to be near him.
"Ray," he said gently, "as much as I'd love that, you and I both know that you're only seventeen and there's no way I'm letting anything happen until your birthday." He looked her deep in the eyes, trying to gauge her reaction, not wanting to hurt her more.
"I'll be eighteen next week," she argued, "and I don't mean sex, Deacon. I just don't want to be alone. I just want you to sleep beside me." She was obviously a little upset that he had ruled out sex until she was eighteen, but she knew it was the smart thing to do. If her father had any reason to ruin Deacon, he would find it.
"I understand, and maybe eventually that will work. For tonight, though, I'd rather be in separate rooms. I'll gladly stay out here with you on the couch for as long as you need, but I don't want to take advantage of you and you are very vulnerable right now," he reasoned.
"But Deacon," she looked at him sadly.
"Hey, all you have to do is yell and I'll come running, baby." He sat down beside her and put his arm around her.
Rayna decided at that moment that she wasn't going to move if sleeping on the couch meant he'd stay by her side. She fell asleep in his arms that night. He looked down and noticed she was out like a light. Not wanting to disturb her, he reached behind them with his other arm to pull the blanket on the back of the sofa around her and then turned off the light on the end table. He kissed her forehead and softly wished her goodnight. Even on the uncomfortable couch, it was the best sleep either of them had in as long as they could remember.