Rayna has to refrain from staring at Vince all evening.
It's so... she would say bizarre, but bizarre doesn't begin to cover it. She doubts an appropriate word for this situation even exists.
At the same time, having him there feels... familiar. That makes it all the more confusing. He is the Vince she remembers, from the way he looks to the way he talks, the way he and Deacon poke fun at each other, the way he can make Lamar and Tandy roll their eyes in sync just by being himself.
What's new, though, is to watch him interact with Maddie and Daphne. The girls seem to love him, which isn't surprising in the least.
When they're all back in the living room, after dinner, Rayna sees Maddie approach him and whisper in his ear.
"Now?" he asks, and Maddie nods. "Alright," he says, and he disappears for a minute or so before he comes back carrying his guitar case. He gets the guitar out, sits on the couch, and the girls settle on each side of him. He whistles to get everyone's attention which causes Daphne to break into a fit of giggles. The room quiets as everyone turns to the trio. Vince gives Maddie a nod of encouragement.
"Thanks, everyone," Maddie says the way she has heard her mom do so many times, and Rayna smiles. Her daughter sounds like an old pro. "This is a song Uncle Vince helped me write."
Vince plays the intro before Maddie begins to sing. There's a rhyming line for every person in the room, from Coleman building a snowman to Bucky cutting the Christmas tree, and Daphne joins her big sister on the chorus. Rayna feels a surge of pride.
Deacon reaches for her hand, lacing their fingers. "Sweetest damn sound in the world," he whispers to her, grinning from ear to ear, and all she can do is smile back as she finds herself at a loss for words.
After the song ends, the adults break into cheers and applause. "They got your talent," Lamar tells Rayna, purposefully ignoring Deacon.
Deacon looks at her as to say let it drop, I'm used to it, but Rayna's hand tightens around his, the urge to defend him stronger than ever. "They get their talent from us," she corrects her dad.
She only realizes afterwards that she used us without a second thought.
Vince, who must have sensed the shift in the atmosphere, raises his hand for a collective high five with the girls. "You two kicked... bottom," he catches himself just in time. "Now, what about that duet Aunt Tandy and Uncle Bucky promised us all?"
"You might want to cut down on the eggnog, Vince, because I have no recollection of that," Bucky retorts. It triggers a general debate in which everyone jokingly sides with Vince against Tandy and Bucky.
Rayna looks at Vince, mouthing a silent thank you, and he winks at her in return.
—
The back seat is uncharacteristically quiet, and when Rayna turns to check, she sees both girls have fallen asleep. As she settles back, she catches Deacon glancing at her from the driver's seat.
"What's on your mind, Ray?"
She has to smile at that. "Today? I wouldn't know where to start."
"I wish you would tell me what's going on," he insists. "Even Vince noticed something was off. This isn't us, baby, hiding things from each other."
"You'll have to trust me here, if I knew what was going on, I would tell you."
He doesn't appear convinced, but he remains quiet, keeping his eyes on the road.
"I'm aware I've been acting strange, but I want you to know that today... this life..." she says, trying to formulate it in a way that is the truth but won't make Deacon think she's insane, "...is the life I've always dreamt of."
She's not even figuratively speaking. It is the life she has always dreamt of.
Deacon's jaw unclenches and his shoulders drop slightly, like maybe she chose the right words to reassure him. "It's the life I've always dreamt of too, baby."
—
Trying to avoid having to wake the girls up, Deacon carries a sleeping Maddie, and Rayna carries a sleeping Daphne to bed. She removes her daughter's shoes and jacket, but when she tries to reach for the antlers, Daphne's tiny hand instinctively clutches the headband. This makes Rayna chuckle. Even in her sleep, the girl won't let her take it off.
She slips out of the room at the same time Deacon gets out of Maddie's room. They smile at each other from opposite sides of the hallway.
There's no hesitation in Rayna's step when she closes the distance between them and throws her arms around his neck. He pulls her to him, his forehead resting against hers. "Merry Christmas, baby."
She gazes up at him, and she recalls all the times she'd wished she could have done this. All the times they'd sat too close on a tour bus, or he'd put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear after a show, or they'd been reminded of a past adventure only they knew about.
Tonight, she can do this.
And so, she kisses him.
He's quick to react, and she soon finds herself tucked between him and the corridor wall, his hands sliding under the hem of her shirt and her body arching into him. She lets out a low moan, and he grins against her lips.
She should probably be asking herself if it's cheating – is it? – but all she can think about is how right it feels. She has no idea how she ended up here, and it's possible it may all disappear as quickly, so she wants to hang on to it while it lasts.
When Deacon grabs her hand and leads her to the bedroom, it doesn't feel like nine years have passed since he last looked at her this way.
Good God, she missed him.
—
They're lying in bed, still naked and entangled in each other, and she has trouble believing she's the same person who woke up here this morning, confused and freaked out. Deacon's hand is resting on her hip, his fingers brushing back and forth against her skin, but she can feel the movement is getting slower like he's starting to drift to sleep.
"Babe?" she calls. "Don't fall asleep."
He smiles. "Want to go downstairs and spy on Santa?" he jokes.
"I'm serious, Deacon, don't fall asleep." She sounds rather desperate. "Please."
He props himself on one elbow. "Ray?" She can see he now has the same worried look on his face he had this morning when he'd realized she wasn't kidding.
She tries to remember if she has read anything about how long a human being can go without sleeping because she has just decided there's no way she'll ever sleep again. It's too big of a risk.
"I can't lose you," she says, and she's aware this makes no sense whatsoever to him.
It seems by now he has given up on getting a clear answer from her about what's going on, so he opts for another approach. "Want to go downstairs, play some music?" he asks, and she kisses him in response.
They get out of bed, put some clothes on before they head to the living room. He picks up a guitar from a stand in the corner while she sets cookies on a plate. They settle on the couch.
Deacon starts to strum on his guitar, and at first it sounds like he's just messing around until she recognizes the intro of Maddie's song. She grins. "It was so good."
"I know, and Vince said she'd already come up with almost all the lyrics by the time he'd started to help her."
She realizes at this moment that she'd known all of Deacon's sides, the last one she had yet to discover was Dad Deacon. It comes as no surprise that she loves this side of him as much as she loves all the others.
"Dad wrote his Christmas cards," he sings, and she chuckles.
"That one was definitely my favorite," she says.
He stops playing to look at her, smiling. "Oh, yeah. Me too."
—
Rayna feels the panic rise the second she opens her eyes. She immediately calms down, though, when she glances behind her and sees it's Deacon lying there.
It's Deacon.
It's Deacon.
They must have fallen asleep, after all, his arm wrapped around her.
The living room's clock indicates 8:40am, and she listens for any noise, but the whole house is quiet as a mouse. Even Sue must still be sleeping.
She slides off the couch, careful not wake Deacon up, and she heads barefoot to the window. She's curious to see if it has snowed some more during the night. She's already making plans in her head of all the things they could do today.
When she opens the curtains, her breath hitches in her throat.
There's a woman standing in the backyard, waving at her.
—
TBC