Deacon
He'd been on the road for nearly 2 weeks, with a gig most every night. He was in Houston, sitting in a bar, stewing over a club soda and lime. He wished he could have something stronger and he knew he was tempting fate by sitting in a bar, but he didn't want to sit in his motel room. He'd be pulling out in the morning for Austin, so there wasn't a need to pack it in early. This was a place a lot like the one he'd played that night, where a couple acts covered the night and there was piped in music during breaks and between sets. Now that they were headed towards closing time, the music was just through the speakers.
He'd skipped calling Rayna that night and felt a little bad about it, but not bad enough to do anything about it. It had been one of those nights when the crowd wanted to hear Rayna's songs. It was one of those nights where he left with almost all the CDs of his album still in the box, which was actually true of many nights. He knew people came to see him because of Rayna and it burned him, some nights more than others. He more often than not packed the places he played, which was good, but it wasn't translating into CD sales. He'd gotten a really nice advance when he signed with Belcourt – not as much as Rayna had, but really good – but he was worried he might end up having to pay most of it back. He was proud of his record. These were songs that meant something to him, songs that told his truth. Some were about Rayna, but not all of them. He'd put A Life That's Good on it because he and Rayna often performed it together, but in hindsight he wondered if that had been a good idea. Rayna had never recorded it, even though it was a fan favorite, and he'd hoped people would buy his record for that, if nothing else. But it hadn't really happened and it was putting him in a foul mood.
After this leg he'd go home for a few days and then Rayna and Maddie were supposed to come out with him. He sighed. He knew Rayna didn't really care for riding in the truck. She'd done that for years, with him, when she was first starting out. She didn't have to do that anymore. She had huge tricked out buses and stayed in nice hotels and got to come home mid-week most every week. When she and Maddie came out with him, she always had Bucky get them into nicer hotels, because she didn't really like the motels with the doors to the outside. Just then he saw something in his peripheral vision and turned to see a girl he'd seen at his show that night. She looked young but she must have been old enough to get into the club. She was pretty, with dark hair, and had a nice smile.
"You're Deacon Claybourne, aren't you?" she asked. She had a twangy Texas accent, but it wasn't cartoonish. Her smile was pretty and her warm brown eyes sparkled.
He smiled. "Yeah, I am."
"I was at your show tonight. I thought you were really great." She reached into her purse and pulled out a CD. "I even got your CD. Would you sign it for me?" She slid it towards him.
"Sure," he said with a smile. She pulled a pen out of her purse and handed it to him. He got ready to write then looked up at her. "What's your name?"
"Julie."
He signed it Julie, hope you enjoy, Deacon Claybourne, and slid it back to her along with the pen. "There you go."
"Thanks." She paused, as though she were trying to decide what to say. "I think it's really great that you're going out on your own. I've seen you perform with Rayna, of course, but I always thought you could do this without her." She smiled again and he thought again how pretty she was. "Can I buy you a drink?"
He shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't drink." He nodded towards the club soda. "I'm good."
She shrugged and ordered a beer from the bartender who'd wandered by. She turned back to him. "I just really enjoyed your show. Are you going to be there again tomorrow?"
"Nah. I'm headed to Austin."
She put a hand on his arm. "I wish I could go up there, but I've got to work."
He gently pulled his arm away. "Maybe next time I'm in Houston then."
"So are you going out on your own for good?"
"Maybe. We'll see how this goes." He felt funny talking to a young woman at a bar. "Listen, I gotta get up early so thanks for buying the CD. And maybe I'll see you the next time I'm in Houston." He got up from the stool. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but he just raised his hand and walked out quickly and got in his truck. Afraid she might follow him, he started the truck and drove off to his motel.
The last night for this leg was in Jackson, Mississippi. He had stopped the day before in Natchez to visit his sister and his niece, but he didn't stay long. Ever since he'd left for Nashville without her, Beverly had been difficult. He had hoped by this time that things would have changed, but it had not taken long to discover nothing had.
Scarlett answered the door at the little shotgun house where she and Beverly lived. "Uncle Deacon! Uncle Deacon!" she squealed and threw open the door. She threw her arms around his neck and he'd hugged her tight. Then he stepped back from her and looked her over. She was almost 14 and she was turning into a beautiful young lady, with her pretty blue eyes and long blonde hair. She reminded him a lot of his and Beverly's mom, back before life had changed for all of them.
"Hey there, girl," he said with a grin. "How you been?"
"Good. Studying a lot though. If I wanna go to Ole Miss, I gotta keep my grades up."
"Make sure you do that," he said. He had quietly promised her that if she got accepted into college, he'd pay her way. He wanted her to have all the advantages he and Beverly had not.
"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." He watched as his sister strolled out from the back of the house. She had a smile on her face but it wasn't reflected in her eyes, which were as cold and icy as winter. "What brings you here?"
"Put out my own record. Touring to support it," he said, eyeing her carefully.
"Is that so. The queen kick you out of her band?"
He frowned. "I'm doing this on my own. Rayna supports me." Beverly just smiled that snarky smile. He pulled one of his CDs out of his pocket and handed it to Scarlett. "Here you go, sweetie," he said.
Scarlett took it from him and gasped. "Oh, Uncle Deacon, this is amazing! Thank you so much! I'm gonna go play it now." She ran off towards the back of the house and her bedroom.
Beverly walked closer to him. "I'm surprised Rayna would let you off the leash, baby brother," she said snidely. "Isn't she worried you'll start drinking again?"
He frowned. "No, Beverly, she's not. I been sober almost 3 years now. She's behind me on this."
"So are you playing anywhere around here?" She waved her hand in a circle.
"No. I'm headed to Jackson."
"Oh, so you're too good for Natchez?"
He ignored her. He didn't think he could stay any longer. "Scarlett, I gotta go!" he called out.
Beverly got a nasty look on her face then, just as Scarlett appeared in the living room. "So just a drive by, is that it? You've gotten to be too high and mighty now that you're Mr. Rayna Jaymes, is that it? And going out on your own too? Too bad you forgot your original duet partner. The one you left to chase after Miss Rayna Jaymes."
He could feel the heat in his face and he clenched his fists. Beverly had never liked Rayna, always accused her of stealing him away, when that wasn't true. Beverly was the one who had backed out, stayed in Natchez when she could have left for Nashville with him. He could see Scarlett cowering in the background and his heart went out to his niece. Her life hadn't been a good one, which made him all the more determined to give her a chance. He looked at her. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but I gotta hit the road." He knew she understood.
"I'm so glad you stopped by," she said, running up to hug him again.
"I'm sorry, baby," he whispered in her ear as he hugged her back. Then he turned and walked back outside, got in his truck, and headed for the highway.
He was sitting in another bar, near the motel where he was staying for the night. He had a show at a place up the road and then he'd drive home the next day. He could smell the whiskey. He clenched his fists as he ordered a club soda and then sat and listened to the jukebox. He thought again about Beverly and, when he finished the drink, he left.
The show in Jackson was another good show. The crowd was loud and seemed to enjoy his music. But he was starting to wonder how much they wanted to see Rayna's husband rather than Deacon Claybourne. The biggest response was always to the songs he and Rayna had written and performed together. It was really getting under his skin and he decided to take Rita's advice and start phasing them out. And then, as was becoming commonplace, he sold very few CDs. After the show, although he was planning to spend the night in Jackson before heading back to Nashville, he drove to the motel, checked out, and headed home.
Rayna
She woke up with a start and sat up. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She wasn't sure what had woken her up, but then she heard footsteps. Her mouth went dry and she felt frantic. Somebody was in the house and Maddie was in another room and she wasn't really sure what to do. She could hear the footsteps approach the bedroom door and then the door opened. She wanted to scream but she couldn't make any sound come out of her mouth. And then she saw it was Deacon and she closed her eyes for a moment in relief.
"Deacon," she croaked out.
He stood by the door for a moment, then closed it and came over to sit next to her on the bed. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Ray," he said. He sounded exhausted.
"I thought you were someone breaking into the house." She looked around. "What time is it?"
"Early." He grabbed one of her hands. "I'm sorry, baby. I just, well, I just had to come home."
She pulled her hand away and put both hands on his face. "That's a really long drive."
He breathed in and nodded. "I know. I just...well, I just wanted to be home. With you."
She let her gaze flit over her face. "Did something happen?"
He shook his head. "Not really. I just, well, I stopped in Natchez."
She knew then. "You went to see Beverly?" He nodded. She leaned in and kissed him gently. "I'm sorry." Deacon had a complicated history with his sister. She didn't know all of it, but she knew Beverly blamed her for Deacon coming to Nashville alone, even though they hadn't even met at the time. Deacon had told her Beverly was bipolar and that had complicated their relationship even further. Beverly didn't want his help or what she deemed to be his pity. They had gone to see Scarlett when she was a baby and she remembered feeling sad for the life the pretty little baby would have. The last time she'd seen Scarlett was when she was 6 and the feeling had never left her.
He put his arms around her then and held her close. "Not your fault. She's just a hateful woman."
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his forehead. "Why don't you come to bed? If you drove all that way you have to be exhausted."
He gave her a tired smile. "Actually I am." He got up and she watched as he stripped down to his underwear and then crawled under the covers. She slid back down and took him in her arms. As she hoped, he fell asleep quickly but she stayed awake a little longer just watching him. She hoped the next couple days would give him a chance to relax before he headed out again. She gently smoothed the hair on his head and then brushed her lips against his forehead before closing her own eyes and eventually falling back asleep herself.
The next several days were uneventful. Deacon slept a lot and spent a lot of time with Maddie. There hadn't been a lot of time for them to spend together until after Maddie went to bed, but since they were planning to be out with Deacon for the next couple weeks, she was okay with that. She wasn't really looking forward to all the riding in the truck and she tried again to see if he was any more open to using one of her buses. He hadn't been, because they were, of course, all painted up as Rayna Jaymes's buses. But it would certainly be more comfortable and it would be a great place to hang out with Maddie.
They were both sitting on the couch reading, but not right next to one another. She put her book face down on her lap and looked over at him. "So I wanted to offer my bus again for the next 3 weeks."
He closed his book and then looked over at her. "I don't want to do that, Rayna."
"It would be so much nicer for Maddie. You know that from us riding the bus on my tour. And we could sleep in it."
He frowned. "I don't want to use your bus, Rayna. This ain't your tour, it's mine."
She took a deep breath. "I could ask Bucky about..."
He threw the book down. "No, Rayna. How hard is that for you to understand? I'm trying to do this for myself. It's my tour and I wanna do it my way."
She understood that, but she didn't understand his stubbornness. No, actually his obstinance about this. From her perspective, everyone knew he was her husband. She would have been glad to ask Bucky about covering up the identifying information, but it pissed her off that he didn't care that it would be better for Maddie. This felt like so many of the arguments they used to have when he was drinking. Except, of course, now he wasn't drinking. "Then maybe Maddie and I should stay home." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
He raised his eyebrows, then stood up from the couch. "I guess we settled that then," he said and then he headed down the hall to the spare room and he slammed the door.
She wasn't really sure what she thought was going to happen, but she had hoped appealing to him on Maddie's behalf would sway him. Maddie had been cranky the last time they'd done this. Riding on the bus gave her more freedom. She could feel herself shaking, but she didn't want to back down. She thought he was being ridiculous, but he also had been testy about this tour almost from the beginning. She knew things weren't going as well as he'd hoped, record sale wise. She'd seen the box of CDs in his truck and it was obvious to her he hadn't sold many. She'd had Bucky check on sales at Ernest Tubb's and Grimey's and found out they weren't selling well there either. She ached for him, wanting badly for him to succeed.
She got up and walked down to the spare room. She stood outside the door and knocked. "Deacon?" There was no answer, so she opened the door quietly. He was standing by the window and turned to look at her. He still looked angry. "Can we talk about this?"
He breathed in. "There ain't nothing else to talk about, Rayna," he said, his voice quiet but tight. "I know you want to do things your way, but it ain't about you."
She couldn't believe how stubborn he was being. "I know it's not about me, Deacon. I was thinking of Maddie."
"But it's still all about doing things your way. You seem to forget I'm having to do this same way you did all those years ago. It ain't pretty and it ain't all soft sheets and air-conditioned buses. If you and Maddie wanna come out and do it my way, great. If not, maybe you should stay here."
She felt like she didn't know this person. She'd never known him to be so disagreeable and defiant, not listening to anything she said. Not since he'd been drinking. That stopped her cold and made her wonder if that was what was going on while he was gone. When she and Maddie had gone out with him before, she knew he went to a meeting every day. But when she wasn't there, she really didn't know. He'd been sober long enough that she didn't feel so much like she needed to keep tabs on him all the time. But this was certainly behavior that was consistent with those earlier days. "Deacon, would you rather that we not come at all anymore?" she asked.
He frowned. "I didn't say that, Rayna."
"It feels like something's going on though. Something you don't want to tell me."
He made an angry noise. "I ain't drinking, Rayna! Isn't that what you're really asking?"
She stood her ground. This was too important. "Are you?"
"I just told you."
"I know you did. But 5 years ago, 10 years ago, you said the same thing. Only it wasn't true."
He took a deep breath. "I'm not drinking. I promised you I would stay sober and I have." He pressed his hands to his mouth, then threw his arms out. "Rayna, I would love for you and Maddie to be out on the road with me. But when we stay in different hotels or take your bus, all that says is that I'm still Rayna Jaymes' sideman. I don't mean to hurt you but that's the facts. I have to explain every damn night why you're not there. I feel like I can't get out from under you to do this on my own."
She felt heartsick at his words. It was the one thing she'd never wanted to do, to stand in his way.
Deacon
She looked devastated and he wished, in that instant, that he could take his words back. He hadn't meant to burden her with that. But he felt like he was carrying the weight of her expectations in addition to his own. She had a high bar for herself. She was his heart, but she cast a wide shadow and it was hard to live in her world when he had his own dreams.
"Baby, I..."
She shook her head. "I never meant for you to feel that way. But you are intertwined with my career and we're trying to figure this out for both of us and I just don't know what to do." He watched as she seemed to consider things. "I think you should do this and Maddie and I will be here when you come home. I think it's a lot to have to manage this with a wife and a toddler. It's hard enough even on a bus. So I get it. I think that's what we need to do." She took a deep breath, then gave him a tiny smile, and walked out of the room.
He closed his eyes, knowing he'd hurt her. None of this was going the way he'd hoped. He still thought he could turn things around, especially if he got the opener spot on the big tour. He just didn't want to give up. It wasn't that he thought Rayna wanted him to give up, but she was conflicted because of how it impacted her. He knew that. He also knew he couldn't let her walk away like that. He followed her out of the room and found her in the kitchen, standing by the sink. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her.
"I don't want you not to come," he said. "It's hard being away from you. And Maddie."
She leaned back against him. "It's hard for us too," she said quietly. "But I think maybe we're just a distraction."
"A distraction I want." He placed a kiss behind her ear. "I love you, baby. I love Maddie. Y'all are everything, don't you know that?"
She turned in his arms and looked up at him. He could see the sadness in her eyes and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be happy with what she said. She put her hands on his arms. "I support you, Deacon. I really do. And nothing would make me happier than to be able to go out on the road with you and get to see you do what you do every night." She paused.
He stiffened. "But?"
She looked away, then back at him. "I still have a career. I still have a tour to get ready for and I still need to find a substitute lead guitar player." She breathed in. "We wouldn't be the first couple to have our own careers. I want you to find your place and I think if you don't just go full on and do it, maybe there won't be another opportunity. It'll be complicated, but we'll figure it out. And Maddie and I can still come see you whenever schedules allow." She rubbed one hand on his chest. "I don't want to hold you back. You've accomplished so much in the last few years and now you have this chance and I think you just need to go for it. If you have time to be on my tour too, that's great, but I want you to think about you for a change. You deserve this."
She was saying all the right things. There was no reason for him to think she didn't mean it all. He didn't know why there was this little flicker of something deep down inside that made him wonder. She'd been the one in charge since Edgehill Records had signed her to a record deal as a solo artist. Her career had skyrocketed and he'd been a beneficiary of that. He was on the stage beside her and she had always considered him her partner in all of it. They discussed everything together. But that was when he was her sideman and his dreams of his own success had been swept aside. To be fair, all those years he'd been the fuck up in her life hadn't helped his cause, but now, when he had this chance, she was holding back. He could feel it. He stepped back. "Okay," he said. "I guess we do gotta think about things different now." He took another step back, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.
She didn't follow him.
Rayna
She stood in the street, next to his truck, holding him tightly. She would miss him. Maddie would miss him. It would just be 3 weeks, but that was a long time. Especially after what had happened between them. He'd made love to her the night before and had been gentle and loving. But that was in contrast to the general awkwardness that led up to it and was there again as he was ready to leave. He rubbed his hands over her back.
"I gotta go, baby," he said.
She didn't immediately let go, but finally knew she needed to step back. "I'll miss you. We'll miss you."
He gave her a tight smile. "I'll be back before you know it," he said. "And we'll talk. Like always."
She put one hand on his cheek. "You'll be great," she said encouragingly.
"Thanks," he said. Then he leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss. "I love you, Ray."
"I love you too, Deacon." She smiled. "Have a safe trip. Be amazing." She thought she caught just the hint of a twinkle in his eye when she said that, the same thing he always told her when she went out on stage. He kissed her on the forehead, then opened the door and got into his truck. He started it up and she took a step back. He looked at her through the window and smiled. She lifted her hand in a wave and then watched as he pulled away from the curb and onto the street. She kept standing there until he disappeared from view, then finally walked back up the steps to the house.
She was at Sound Check with Bucky and Watty and she started to think about where Deacon was on his trip and whether she should have told him to go on without her. It had been difficult with Maddie in the picture. Had there not been Maddie, she would have gone, happily. But he didn't seem to understand that with a child everything was different. It wasn't that he was indifferent to Maddie – he was not – but, to be fair, logistics had never been his thing. He adored Maddie and that made her thankful every day that she'd given him a chance to be a father. Even Tandy had grudgingly had to admit that he did a wonderful job with their daughter. He was responsible, reliable, a disciplinarian when he needed to be, and a cozy lap for Maddie to curl up in when she was tired or scared. Maddie adored Deacon every bit as much as he did her. It was what made her want another child.
"Rayna?" She shook her head, coming out of her reverie, and looked at Bucky. "What do you think?"
She blinked. "I'm sorry, Buck. I think I just, well, I think I need a break. That's what I think." She got up, ignoring the surprised looks on both Bucky and Watty's faces, and walked away from the table, her hands on her hips. They were there to talk about the set list and the substitute lead guitar when Deacon was gone and songs they wanted to put on hold for the album she would need to start work on when the tour wrapped. But she couldn't concentrate. She also had an onsite appointment with the movers later that day to walk through the house to get a list of what would be moving to the new place. And she needed to go to the new place and decide where she wanted things to go.
It was too much. If Deacon was in town, he'd be helping with the set list and there wouldn't be any talk of a substitute lead guitar player. Maybe the album wouldn't be on hold. And he could certainly help with some of the moving details, or at least take some other things away so she could deal with those kinds of things. Why did this have to happen now? Of all times, why now? She needed him, here in Nashville, not out doing his own van tour. Why couldn't things have just stayed the way they were? But I wouldn't have wanted that for him, for him to have to throw away his own dreams. Right?
She turned and walked back to the table, sitting down, her hands flat on the table. "Okay, so what do we need to do?"
She drove down the gravel drive to the beautiful home just outside of Belle Meade. At least that's what she told herself. She had sworn she would never live in Belle Meade again and yet here she was, behind Percy Warner Park, and it had been described as 'on the outskirts'. The agent had told her the home had been built for a wealthy couple who were going to use it as a second home. She remembered when she told that to Deacon. What the hell kind of house do they live in as a first home? A castle? It was crazy. But now they were getting divorced and the house was available for rent. A pretty sizeable rent –much more than what they were paying for the Edgewood house – but they could afford it and it offered the privacy they both wanted. She actually was hoping they might be in a position to buy it once the couple settled all their affairs. She parked out front and got out, walking up to the massive front door. She entered the code in the lockbox and got the key, then opened the door. When she walked in, she was struck most by the quiet.
The first time Deacon saw the house, he hadn't been a fan. Over time he mostly came around but he still thought it was too much.
"Baby, this is just so much more than we need," he said, as they stood in the kitchen. He waved his arm around. "I mean, our whole house fits in this area."
She laughed. "That's not quite true, but just imagine it, Deacon. A fire in the fireplace, our comfy furniture around it. A pie in the oven or maybe popcorn for movie night. It's cozy."
"It ain't cozy, Rayna. It's too big to be cozy. And if there's a pie in the oven, I don't know who made it." But he had a twinkle in his eye when he said that, so she knew he wasn't too annoyed.
"Maybe we're warming up that pie we bought at Kroger," she said with a smile.
"I think Maddie could get lost in this place. We might never find her."
"I think she'll stay close to us. But she'll have that big yard and the pool and a room with space for everything she wants."
He looked around. "I guess."
She stood in the main hallway. At the far end was a massive grand staircase that wound its way up to the second floor. There were definitely more rooms than the 3 of them needed – Deacon had been right about that – but it had felt oddly homey to her. There was a library/study on one side of the main hall and a very formal living room on the other, as well as a formal dining room. They had no furniture for any of those rooms and probably wouldn't, at least for now. She walked down the hall, hearing her heels clicking on the stone. When she veered to the right she walked into the part of the home that was what she had loved about it. The great room was appropriately grand, with a massive chef's kitchen she would never fully make use of, a comfortable den, and a breakfast area as large as a formal dining room. Behind the kitchen was a butler's pantry and powder bath. Down the hall was a room Deacon said they could use as a music room. And up the back staircase were the bedrooms.
Their dining table would be dwarfed in the breakfast room, but that was okay. The comfortable couches and slouchy chairs they had would be perfect in the den. Deacon had promised they would buy some furniture just for the music room. Or maybe they should buy new furniture for the den and put the furniture they already had in the music room. She liked that idea better. They were already used to songwriting on those couches. She opened her notebook and made some notes. She headed for the kitchen. The island had to be fifteen feet long. Maybe more. It was massive. Very formidable. Their kitchen stuff would take up very little room in the ridiculously grand kitchen. And then there was still the butler's pantry. She was intimidated just thinking about making coffee in that kitchen.
She headed for the back stairs and the bedrooms. As she walked down the hall, she thought the first bedroom, that overlooked the pool in the back, would be Maddie's room. A room fit for a princess. There was another bedroom across from it that she hoped might soon be for a brother or sister for Maddie, and then another guest bedroom. And then she walked down to the main bedroom. She was sure the room was nearly the size of the house they currently lived in. And that didn't even count the massive his and her closets. And then there was the bathroom. The shower was so large they could have a party in it, but it was gloriously separate from the amazing soaking tub. The tub was big enough for both her and Deacon – she knew, because they'd sat in it to try. It was actually one of the things he really liked. I could see me and you sitting in that, me running my hands all over your body. Separate sink areas with counters big enough for more than one person to use. She was told the floors were heated, which would be nice on cold winter days. She went back out to the bedroom. There was a seating alcove that she could already see a bassinet sitting in one day. It was more space than they probably ever needed, but it was private, with its massive gates and unobtrusive fencing, which the Edgewood house was not. And that was what made it perfect.
She headed back to the front of the house, this time choosing to walk down the majestic staircase. It seemed like something from a long ago, more formal time, but it was beautiful all the same. The house wasn't as imposing as many of the other homes in Belle Meade were. It was probably the size of her father's house, the one she'd grown up in, and it certainly wasn't one of the grandest Belle Meade mansions. It might not end up being a permanent home, but for now it seemed perfect. Yes, it was large, but in a surprisingly homey way.
Her phone buzzed just then. She smiled when she saw it was Deacon. "Hey, sweetie," she said when she answered.
"Hey," he said. "How are things going?"
"I had a meeting with Bucky and Watty this morning about the tour and we got the set list worked up. I still want you to look at it, of course, but I'm pretty happy with it. And I'm at the house right now figuring out where things will go." She paused, realizing he normally didn't call in the middle of the day and wondering what was going on. "What about you?"
"Well, the label reached out and wants to extend my dates. And get me a manager. A real manager."
She hadn't expected that. "Okay. So what does that mean?"
"It means I'll be out longer, Rayna." He sounded a little annoyed. "Sales on my record have started to pick up and they want to take advantage of that."
She bit her lip. "What about my tour?"
"You might wanna go ahead and line up a replacement now. Just in case."
She breathed in deeply, not wanting to overreact. "But Deacon, you work for me. In my band. Don't they understand that? I need you on tour with me."
"I thought you wanted to support me, Ray. You know this is what I want. Why I came to Nashville in the first place."
She was starting to feel panicky and didn't want to get into this over the phone. "I do, Deacon. But can we talk about it when you get home?"
"We can. But I'm just gonna be in town for a couple days."
"A couple days? I thought it was 3 weeks."
"I got more gigs. And I need to start back sooner."
Her head was spinning. Now it sounded like there would be even less time for him to rehearse. Unless he really was going to blow her off. And the house. She suddenly felt overwhelmed. She wasn't ready for this. "Well, I guess we need to talk when you're back," she said finally. What else could she say?
"Okay. Just wanted to let you know. I gotta run. I'm on the road right now."
"Um..." Then she realized he'd disconnected. She stared at her phone for a moment, then looked around the grand entrance foyer. How in the hell are we going to make this all work?
Deacon
He knew he'd taken her by surprise. He also knew that when he got home there would be arguing. There probably would be arguing every call they had until then. But he was going to have a manager now who was going to help him get where he wanted to go. He'd fudged a little with Rayna when he told her the label was involved. They were only involved as far as letting him know someone had reached out. He thought it was a good idea anyway. If he was really going to see how this solo career could work, he needed someone working for him who could help him get there.
He pulled the card out of his pocket and flipped it over. Rita Edwards, Artist Management. This was getting real.
Rita had approached him when he was at a gig outside Baltimore. She told him she'd heard his record and liked his sound. She'd contacted his label and found out he wasn't being managed by anyone and wanted to offer him her services. He also found out she hadn't just listened to his album but had seen him perform solo at several places, as well as having seen him perform with Rayna.
He was sitting at the bar with a club soda at the end of his set. His intent was to go back to the motel and call Rayna, then get some rest before he drove to the next town. In his peripheral vision he saw someone slide onto the bar stool next to his, but he didn't look over. He could tell it was a woman and she ordered a drink. When she'd paid for it, she turned towards him.
"I just wanted to tell you I think your music is really great." He turned to see an attractive brunette. She was dressed rather casually, although he could tell her clothes weren't cheap. Rayna could dress down too, but it was always obvious that her clothes were high end. This woman was the same. She smiled. "I've heard your CD and I was really impressed by your songwriting. You really have quite a way with words and matching them to the melody."
He smiled. "Thanks." She looked like she might be his age or even a little older. She had a little edge about her.
She held out her hand and he shook it briefly. "I've seen a few of your solo shows," she said. "I also checked you out with Belcourt." She smiled again. "I think they should be doing more for you publicity-wise and that's why I wanted to meet you."
He frowned. "I don't get it."
She laughed a little, a pleasant sound. "I'm sorry. I'm in talent management. Rita Edwards." She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card, sliding it across the bar top. "I'd be interested in representing you. I think I could help you build up your brand and get some better venues. I heard you've got an opening slot with Toby Keith for 6 weeks. If he doesn't extend that, I believe I can find you something for the rest of the summer on another tour."
He was surprised. "Well, Ms. Edwards, I appreciate that. I'm going out with my wife though after the Toby Keith tour."
Rita raised her eyebrows. "As an opener or just her guitar player? And please call me Rita."
He felt a little irritated by her question, but he wasn't sure if it was the idea that he could have been one of Rayna's openers or just the apparent disdain towards him being in Rayna's band. "I'm her bandleader," he said.
"Why doesn't she spotlight you as her opener? Not that I think that's the best spot for you to really gain traction, but she knows you're capable, right?"
"She's already got an opener."
"My point, exactly. I could get you opening for someone else. A bigger tour. With the idea that in a year or two you might be headlining your own mid-level venue tour. Your record is picking up some traction, in case you didn't know, and I think it could set you up nicely for a follow up next year."
Suddenly he was interested in what she was saying. "And so you'd do what for me?"
She smiled and he noticed she was a pretty woman, particularly when she smiled. "I'd like to be your manager. My job would be to help spread the word about you, get you better shows and spots, help ensure you get featured on radio, and promote you to other tours. At first. After that, bigger tours, and eventually, your own tour. Isn't that what you want? Or is this just something to do while Rayna's off tour?"
He didn't really like her last comment and frowned. "I'm trying to see about my own solo career. I got the deal with Belcourt and put out that record. Right now just trying to put myself out there."
She pushed the business card a little closer. "Check me out. I'm legit. And you shouldn't have to be the one who's putting yourself out there. If you're really serious about building a career of your own, give me a call. That's what I can help you with." She finished her drink, then got off the stool. "Great show tonight, by the way. You're good at connecting with the audience." Then she turned and walked away.
He looked at the card again. He felt energized in a way he'd not felt before. He wanted this, wanted to see where this could lead. It could mean he didn't work with Rayna anymore, but she knew this had been his dream too. He just hoped she still would support him. Clearly they'd have a lot to talk about when he got home.