Chapter 11:

Deacon stood watching Rayna as she tried to wrangle the girls together. He smiled thinking about how lucky he was to have these beautiful women in his life. He didn't deserve them, he was sure of that, and he should have lost them, thanks to his mistakes, but for some reason God saw it fit to keep them in his life. His smiled faded when he felt an arm snake around his shoulder.

"Mighty fine woman isn't she Claybourne,"

"Luke," Deacon acknowledged, turning so the man's arm dropped off his shoulder.

"I know you know that Rayna and I are seeing each other and just wanted to come over and say no hard feelings." Luke stuck out his hand and Deacon reluctantly shook it. "I won this one fair and square." Deacon looked at the man raising one eyebrow. "Actually, the way I see it I won by a couple of touchdowns." Luke said winking.

"What?" Deacon asked confused.

"Well… I got the career, the fame, the fortune and now I got the girl."

'Another time and place and you would be flat on your ass Wheeler' Deacon thought but kept it to himself. "Funny thing is Luke, I never seen you as competition."

Luke's smile faded a bit and eyes steeled. "Well competition or not, I won."

"Well you'll have to excuse me, but I promised my girls ice cream." At that Deacon turned calling out to Rayna. "Hey Ray, y'all ready to go?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute," she said coming towards them.

"Later Wheeler," Deacon said a shit eating grin on his face as he moved away towards his girls.

"Hey Babe, Deacon and I are going to take the girls out for a treat. I'll call you later?" She asked as she put her arms around his waist.

"Aw baby, I thought we might get a little time alone before we're separated on these tours."

"Sorry Luke, we promised the girls this morning and I don't like to break a promise."

"Okay sugar but not too much you're already sweet enough," he said softly tapping her butt.

"Call you later babe," she said before giving him a soft kiss and heading toward Deacon and the girls.

Luke was stewing. It took just about everything in him not to walk over and knock the damn smile of Claybourne's face. As the family of four walked away Deacon threw up his hands and yelled "Touchdown," causing Luke to turn red with anger.

"What?" Rayna asked turning to look at Deacon.

"Nothen Ray, just excited for a little ice cream," he finished smiling.

The girls walked ahead of them on the bridge as Deacon and Rayna hung back enjoying their ice cream. It was one of those perfect Nashville nights, the world shifting from spring to summer. The girls were excited about the upcoming tour. Rayna wasn't sure what had changed but Maddie seemed to alter her stance on being out on tour, particularly when it came to her time with Deacon. She figured it might have been her blessing for Deacon to release his song with the girls and her hope that he would let them preform on stage. While Rayna gave in on the recording, both she and Deacon agreed they weren't ready for an arena performance and if they were ever to perform with either of her parents, they would both agree, and the environment would be highly controlled.

While Rayna was thinking about Maddie's budding music career, Deacon was thinking about Luke Wheeler. After all these years that guy still got under his skin and he didn't much like the idea of he and Rayna. He figured Luke felt the same why about him and was starting to wonder if the only reason he invited Deacon out on tour was to keep him off Rayna's tour, not that either he or Rayna had even considered it.

"So, Luke Wheeler huh," he said raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yupp, Luke Wheeler," she said not giving him the satisfaction of looking at him.

"So, you gonna start with an apology or should I start with an 'I told you so'?"

That got her attention and she looked over at him, a smug look plastered on his face. "What are you talking about?"

He snorted, and broke into his best impersonation of her, "oh you're crazy Deacon, he does not have a thing for me. You think everyone's got a thing for me."

"I do not sound like that," she said laughing.

"You're right, much more diva to your voice but I can't make mine go that high."

She slapped his arm. "I am not apologizing, that was a million years ago, and we were just friends then. He was nice, I don't think he had a thing for me, but you did always think every guy that smiled at me was in love with me." Rayna rolled her eyes at him to remind him how crazy he sounded.

"Seriously Ray, you blind or something? Every guy that's ever met you has fallen in love with you, that's a fact."

She snorted at his delusion. "What about Bucky?" she asked challenging his assumption.

"Most especially Bucky, he's been with you almost as long as I have and the only one of us willing to put up with those damn diva dips and Bell Meade tantrums," he smiled at her and she scowled.

"You're on thin ice Claybourne"

"If you don't think Luke Wheeler hasn't been carrying a torch for you since we were kids playing the county fair circuit, then you're the delusional one. Hell, he was practically strutting around the arena tonight like a gamecock."

"Come on Deacon," she said rolling her eyes again.

"Come on Rayna." He stopped walking and she stopped to look at him. "You really don't get it do you?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"How special you are, how beautiful, how talented," he said seriously. She blushed and shook her head no, trying to brush him off. He took her by the chin with one hand. "I know you don't believe it and maybe that's because you didn't hear it enough from the people in your life who were the closest to you, I know I sure the hell never said it enough but Rayna you are all those things, and you deserve all the good things this life has to give, God knows you've been through some of the worst. I just hope… a guy like Luke Wheeler doesn't deserve you, you are so much more then he will ever be."

They stood staring at each other before he pulled away and started walking again. She took another minute to catch up with him, completely thrown by his words, so honest and raw.

"Deacon?"

"Yeah," he answered watching the girls dancing in front of them.

"Just try to get along with him during the tour, for both our sakes."

"I don't have a problem with Wheeler."

She looked at him incredulously. How could he even think after everything he just said that he didn't have a problem with Luke or more specially her dating Luke? "Oh, come on Deacon, that little speech had less to do with me being wonderful and everything to do with you haven a problem with Luke."

"Whatever you say Ray," he finished calmly.

She snorted at him as he walked up to the girls joining them in their sugar high silliness. That man sure did know how to keep her on her toes. Thinking back on their life together she could recall a million different fights and arguments, but she could barely remember any of the words they threw at each other in anger. She could remember all those sweet and tender moments, when he told her things about herself just like tonight. It wasn't that no one else every said those things to her, she had heard it from fans, the press, radio hosts and the label but she only really every believed it when it came from him. He had seen her at her best and her worst and he was one of the few people she had ever let see inside of her. After all the years and the tears, no one made her feel as special as Deacon did.

She stood for another minute watching him with her girls and sent up a prayer of thanks that their daddy would always be there to remind them of how special, how beautiful and how talented they really were.