Rayna still wasn't sure how they'd ended up there.

It had started with Adria suggesting they all needed to go celebrate the end of their first week of recording, and it had somehow lead to Deacon and Rayna sitting at a table of a small bar she'd never even heard the name of before, watching Adria teach an amused Liam how to two-step.

Though Rayna suspected some people had recognized her already, no one in the bar had bothered them yet, so it had helped her to loosen up and enjoy the evening. They were all having a good time. Rayna had succeeded in dragging Deacon to dance earlier, which was a small miracle in itself, and even Liam, who loved to complain as a rule, looked like he was having fun.

The first week of recording had gone without a hitch. Rayna had been having second thoughts right before entering the studio, she'd started to wonder if Liam wouldn't be too much of a wildcard after all, but as it had turned out, he was exactly what they needed for this album. He'd understood what they wanted from the beginning. His reputation as a producer wasn't overblown.

"That's enough slow, slow, quick, quickies for tonight," Liam announced when he and Adria finally decided to head back to their table.

"You should have worn your cowboy boots," Rayna pointed out. On their first day in studio, she and Deacon had offered him a pair of Lucchese boots as a welcome gift to country music.

Liam gestured at the barman to bring them another round. He and Adria were the only ones having shots as Rayna never drank when she was out with Deacon. It was on her insistence more than his. "World's full of alcohol, Ray," he often told her, "I'm the one who had a problem with it, not you." But it was her way to be supportive, remind him how forever grateful she was he'd been successful in overcoming his addiction all those years ago and giving her the kind of life she'd always wanted. During his last stint in rehab, after she'd learned she was pregnant with Maddie, she'd cried herself to sleep praying it would work, praying they could raise their child up together in a loving home. And it wasn't until a few years later that she'd really stopped worrying, that the nagging fear he might fall off the wagon again someday had disappeared.

The live band seemed to be taking more time than usual before starting their next song, and when Rayna looked their way, she noticed the singer and the fiddler were in the middle of some animated conversation. After a bit, the singer came back to the mic. He cleared his throat before he stared straight at her. "So... the next one wasn't planned, and I hope we're not going to butcher it too much."

As the first notes of Postcard From Mexico rang out and most people in the bar started to glance at their table, Rayna groaned. So much for her wish to spend an entire evening under the radar. She sighed when she caught a woman trying to sneak a pic of her and Deacon. Once the performance was over, the band looked over at them, seemingly waiting for some sort of approval, so Rayna acknowledged them with a quick hand wave.

This appeared to highly amuse Liam. "This was very Queen of Country of you, blessing your subjects like that," he teased. "But more seriously, they did a pretty decent job with the cover."

"I thought you didn't like my old songs," Rayna remarked.

"I like the cool ones."

"Know what I think?" Deacon intervened. "I think that whole rock star thing is an act," he joshed, "and you're country at heart."

"Let's not push it."

"Well, you named your dog June," Adria chimed in.

Liam turned toward her. "How do you know that?"

"I have my sources," she evaded.

"Been doing some research on me?" he asked, his roguish smile on full display.

Adria reached for his hat and put it on her own head. "Maybe."

There was a moment then when the two of them seemed to almost forget Deacon and Rayna were there, so Deacon tapped on Rayna's arm. Without a word, he motioned to the door, signaling maybe it would be a good time to leave. Rayna grinned and nodded.

"Alright," Deacon announced as they got up, "time for us to go check if the girls didn't burn the house down while we were away."

This appeared to bring Liam and Adria out of their bubble for a quick minute. "Already?" she asked.

Deacon picked Rayna's jacket up from the back of her chair and helped her into it. "Yeah, but you two enjoy the rest of the evening," Rayna said.

Judging by the way Adria smiled back at her, there was no question they would.

—

"And we're back live on WSM with country mega-superstar Rayna Jaymes. That was the great Tammy Wynette and her classic Stand By Your Man. Is that a philosophy you ascribe to, Rayna?" Watty asked.

"Long as he stands by me," she quipped. The fact she and Deacon were going to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in a few months left little doubt about that.

It had been too long since Rayna had last been a guest on the Watty White Show. She'd agreed as soon as he'd called to ask. They were sitting opposite each other in the small radio studio, and Watty looked down at the setlist in front of him. "What's next? Number eight."

"This is the song that made me wanna sing country music. Rose Colored Glasses. I used to sing this to my mama all the time when I was a little girl. It was one of her favorites."

There was a brief silence as they smiled at each other. "How old were you when you lost your mama?" Even if it wasn't noticeable to anyone else, Rayna heard the crack in his voice.

"Twelve."

"This must be a beautiful memory for you."

"Bittersweet."

"By the great John Conlee," Watty introduced the song. He and Rayna then both removed their headphones. "So... how's the recording going?" he asked once they were off-air.

"Great, really great. I can't wait for you to hear those tracks. And we're going to let the girls sing backup on Even If It Breaks Your Heart, so they're excited about that."

"Oh yeah, Daphne told me all about it already."

"Of course." Rayna smiled. "Well, in other big news, Marshall Evans has finally, reluctantly agreed to give me my own label."

"About time." Watty knew it had been a lifelong dream of hers, even if she'd only started to pursue it a few months ago.

"I've already scheduled a showcase next week for Scarlett and Gunnar to get Marshall's approval, and Buck and I are going to start holding auditions for a second act as soon as possible."

"It's a good step for you. You got a lot to give back."

"Thanks."

It was a project she was particularly enthused about. She wanted her label to be a refuge for artists, a place where they would be able to grow and find their voice and get creative control over their career. She also knew it was quite ambitious, and if she failed, her critics would be quick to dismiss it as nothing more than a vanity project.

But she was up for the challenge.

—

"Happy birthday, Mom."

Every year, it was the same ritual; Rayna sat on the little white marble bench in front of Virginia's grave, and she talked to her, told her about everything that had been going on in her life during the past twelve months. This year, though, something was different. This year, she wasn't alone.

"It's hard to believe she's been gone for 30 years," Watty commented. He'd laid flowers on the grass in front of the headstone before he'd sat down next to Rayna.

"I can remember exactly where I was when I found out she died. Tandy and I were in summer camp, we were playing cards in our cabin when the counselor came in." It was one of those moments she would never be able to shake the memory of. It had hit her lately that Maddie was already older than she'd been back then.

"She'd called me that afternoon," Watty said. "She'd told me she was going to leave Lamar, for good this time. She sounded resolute. When she didn't show up, I thought she'd changed her mind. I didn't know... I didn't learn about her death until the next day."

Rayna covered his hand with hers. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "Do you wonder sometimes how things would have turned out if she'd chosen to leave years before?"

He was silent for a while as he thought about his next words. "God knows I loved your mother, Rayna, you can trust me on that. There's no doubt in my mind she was the love of my life. But truth is... I've never seen myself as a family man. Virginia knew that. All that mundane stuff... I don't know if I would have been cut out for it back then. I'm not sure what kind of father I would have been."

One thing Rayna loved about Watty was he never tried to embellish the truth to make her feel better. Whether it was about her career or her life choices, he was always brutally honest. She was happy to see it was something that hadn't changed since he'd learned he was her dad.

"I'm just happy you've been in my life since I was sixteen. Even if I didn't know... you were there."

"I'm happy too, Rayna. I am. Maybe on that front, things happened the way they should have." There was a pause as he cleared his throat. "You're going to the gala tonight?"

"Yes, I am. Want to come?" she teased.

He smiled. "I'll pass."

"I've always wondered what Mom would have thought of it."

"An annual symphony gala in her honor?" he asked. Rayna nodded. "I can't be sure, but what I know is your mom loved music. Music of all kinds."

—

"You know, I secretly hoped that you learning Watty was your father meant I would never have to wear a bowtie again," Deacon confessed. Rayna chuckled as she hooked her arm around Deacon's and they started to walk the stairs down to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center's main hall. "But you sure look beautiful," he added. Rayna was wearing a peacock blue velvet dress, strapless and embroidered with gold detail, and her hair had been styled into a fancy side ponytail.

She squeezed his arm and smiled up at him. "Thanks, babe."

The first people they spotted were Coleman and Audrey. It made Rayna happy to see them. She knew the mayor was usually on the gala's host committee, but Cole and Lamar weren't in the best of terms since the campaign, so she couldn't have blamed Cole if he'd decided to be a no-show this year.

They made a stop then for a picture in front of Virginia's portrait before they headed for their table. Tandy was already there, and she excused herself from her conversation when she saw them.

"You look beautiful, sis," she praised, kissing Rayna's cheek.

"Right back at you. Where's Dad? I haven't seen him yet."

"I'm not sure, actually."

It turned out Lamar spent most of the evening working the room as he loved to call it. It wasn't unusual for him, but after a while, Rayna started to suspect it might be a way to avoid her. It wasn't until sometime after his traditional speech that she finally got a chance to talk to him alone. He was standing by himself on the side of the room, and she walked up to him.

"Nice speech, Daddy."

"I had a lot of practice with it." He paused, looking rather uncomfortable. "I wasn't sure I would see you here this year."

"I'm here every year."

He smiled at that. "I know, what I meant is... I've always thought the day you would learn about Watty, and if... that thing... turned out to be true, I would probably never see you again." He was still unable to say the words aloud, he kept referring to Watty being her father as that thing.

"Well, you were wrong." To be fair to him, in regard to their always complicated relationship, she understood why he might have thought it would be the case. "It's funny, you know, because you and Tandy, y'all keep saying I've always looked for a way out of this family, but you were the one who kicked me out of the house."

"You didn't give me a choice."

"That's not true. You wanted to control me, and that was never going to happen. But you know what? I'm still here. It's been months, and by now you must have noticed I haven't cut ties with you."

"Why haven't you?"

"Because you, Mom, Tandy and I, we were a family once. And despite all your flaws, I know you loved your family. I have enough space in my life for both you and Watty. It's up to you to decide if you have space in yours for me."

He looked genuinely surprised at that. Rayna wasn't sure what he was going to say. He was a proud man. But this time, he was the one to surprise her. "I wanna start all over with you. Do you think we could do that?"

"I think that'd be nice."

—

TBC