"Deacon," Rayna called. Her face was swollen from crying the night before.

Deacon opened his eyes. He was spread out on the couch, still wearing his clothes from the night before. "Ray?"

She walked towards him from the kitchen. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

He grinned up at her. "Perfect now that I'm with you." He sat up and met her gaze. "I'm sorry about last night."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "I honestly don't know what I would've done if I'd been in your position." She sat down beside him, still dressed in her pjs and robe with a hot cup of tea in her hands.

"No, I shouldn't have stayed out so late," he raised his eyebrows as he shook his head. "I never should've been at that bar when your father arrived. I should have been home with you, enjoying the flowers you picked and eating the delicious dinner you made." He sighed as he laid a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry for hurtin' you, baby."

She took his hand and gently squeezed it. "Thank you," she said softly. "So you noticed the flowers?" He saw the sparkle come back to her eyes as she looked in his eyes and smiled.

"They were beautiful," he responded, deciding to keep the part about the apparition of her mother to himself so as not to scare her. "I just wish I hadn't spoiled your evening. I promise I'll make it up to you," he kissed her cheek. "How's the ankle?"

"It's feeling a lot better," she answered. "So did you get a chance to ask about getting us some performance dates?" The worry of not having any income was weighing heavy on her brain.

"Well I ran into Bucky and he mentioned a few openings coming up at some venues around town. He said he'd keep his ears open for upcoming tours we could possibly headline as well." Deacon vaguely recalled the conversation from the day before. It seemed like so long ago.

Rayna grinned, "That would be wonderful! Any idea where?" The excitement in her voice was evident.

"He didn't say. Please stop worrying, Ray. It'll all work out," Deacon reassured her. He knew she was going to be a star. He just hoped he'd still be her guitar player when it happened. He wanted to be right by her side through it all.

She closed her eyes and thought about them performing on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry surrounded by thousands of fans cheering them on. Her daydream gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling...true happiness. She wanted nothing more than to make a living performing with Deacon.

"Whatcha thinkin' about," Deacon asked, abruptly pulling her out of her daydream.

Her eyes popped open. "You." She didn't elaborate. He was all she ever thought about anymore.

He put his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured her.

She leaned in to him and he put his forehead on hers. She lifted her lips to meet his as he softly kissed her. He pulled away as she tried to deepen it.

"Ray, no. We have to stop," he ordered. He had to put an end to this before it began. There would be time in the future for them as a couple but what she needed right now was a friend, and he wasn't going to risk losing that if they broke up or, heaven forbid, Lamar found out. Deacon knew Rayna's father would have him put in jail or killed if he touched his underaged daughter.

Rayna frowned, clearly angry. "Is there someone else?"

"God, no, Ray!" Deacon ran his hands through his hair. "How could you even think that?"

"Well it's obviously something, and don't feed me that crap about me being too young or vulnerable." She realized she was yelling.

"Rayna, baby," he said calmly as he took her hands in his, "I don't want to do anything to lose you. Believe me, this is harder for me than it is for you, but I refuse to screw it up. If you are going to stay here and we're going to make this work, you have to agree to keep things strictly platonic until your birthday. I don't want to hurt you and I definitely don't want your dad hurtin' me." Deacon looked down at her hands and brought them to his lips, gently placing a kiss on them.

"You're right, I'm sorry Deacon," Rayna apologized. "The last thing I want to do is make this more complicated." She felt bad for making an advance but she just wanted him so badly. She craved him.

"Why don't we get ready and go grab breakfast. We can go down and talk to Bucky together," Deacon suggested, letting her hands go and standing up.

"I'd like that," she smiled.

Rayna got dressed and Deacon changed clothes. They found a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with the best breakfast in town. Afterwards, they found Bucky and Watty, who had gotten in touch with some acts that were interested in them.

"Well, I've spoken with Alabama, and they said they would love for you to open for them at the Ryman next month," Bucky mentioned. "Clint Black is also doing a performance at the Exit/In in a few weeks and invited you to perform with him as well."

"Oh wow," Rayna exclaimed. "That would be a dream come true!"

"I'm also looking at some other artists and trying to get you involved with them, maybe headlining an upcoming tour," Watty announced.

Rayna thought about the idea of going out on a tour. She was a little apprehensive at the idea. She'd never been away from home, home being Nashville, but the thought of being on the road with Deacon Claybourne gave her butterflies. "Anything y'all can get us is appreciated! We just need more exposure."

"Well," Watty began, "I do know of a large, upcoming wedding…"

"Really? A wedding Watty?" Deacon laughed. "I'm not sure we're exactly wedding material."

"Oh, no, you and Rayna have some songs that are perfect for weddings and I'm sure you can write a few more. Anyways, it's for a couple here in Nashville who are huge fans. They'll both have relatives coming in from out of town. Just please think about it," Watty suggested.

"It would be good to expand our fanbase and be seen by more people," Rayna mentioned to Deacon.

He nodded, reluctantly accepting the invitation to consider the gig. "See, Ray, I told you not to worry," Deacon said, giving her a side look. "I can't believe we're getting a chance to perform at the Ryman!" He had dreamt of that day for so long. "I also can't believe we've been asked to perform for a wedding."

Rayna just laughed.

They finished up with Watty and Bucky and headed on a walk to talk about things. They decided to accept any invitations they could get at this point to heighten their career success. More than anything, Rayna wanted to be a star, and Deacon was going to make sure that happened if he had any say in it.