Chapter 16:

Rayna was sitting in morning rush hour, begging the cars in front of her to move faster. She had overslept and so had the girls which meant they were all late, late for school and late for work. She had meetings most off the day, many of which she was dreading. It had been three days since the CMAs and though the buzz was good, she wasn't enjoying it as much as she should have been.

She had been late that night as well, but it wasn't all that bad. Her glam squad was changing her jewelry while she stood in the kitchen drinking tea and trying to wrangle her girls. They were staying at Deacon's but insisted on seeing their mom off on her big night. The girls loved having Rayna's style team around, since they were more than happy to let the girl's join in on the fun. Rayna heard the backdoor open and she figured it was Luke without even turning around.

"Babe, thank goodness you are here, we are running way late." When she didn't hear a response, she turned to see Deacon staring at her. He looked like he had the wind knocked out of him and just continued to stare. "You okay Deacon?" she asked as Alice finally closed the clasp of her bracelet.

"Yeah… I umm… I thought… umm you would be gone by now." Deacon stuttered.

"There was some mix up with the limo or something, I don't know but Bucky straightened it out," she said throwing her hands animatedly in the air.

"Doesn't she look beautiful dad?" Daphne asked.

All the women turned to wait on his assessment. "No, I think I would use breathtaking, she sure took my breath away just now." All the women in the room smiled but none bigger than Rayna herself.

"Thanks," she said shyly.

"I wish I looked more like mom," Maddie huffed.

"I think you look at lot like your momma," Deacon countered.

"No way Daphne is more mom, I look like…"

"Be very careful with your next words young lady," Deacon said playfully.

"Well, I do look more like you," Maddie finished not sounding very pleased.

"Well lucky for you your daddy is a handsome man," Rayna added and smiled up at Deacon. He gave her an 'aw shucks' look and tried to tamp down a blush.

"I think she means she doesn't want to look like a boy," Daphne said clarifying.

Soon after Luke came barreling through the door and Rayna said her goodbye to the girls. She and Luke barely made it to the red carpet where they were rushed through and into their seats. Luke was expecting a big night for himself and had several speeches ready to go. He was also trying to ramp up the competitiveness between the two of them and while Rayna was a little more laid back in her approach, she didn't back down from his good-natured taunts.

By the end of the night she had picked up all six of the CMA trophies. Including one she shared with Luke. She was doing her best to smile for the cameras and look like the star of the night, but she wasn't feeling it inside. She was on cloud nine for most of the show but when she and Luke won for Event of the Year, he didn't let her anywhere near the mic, taking the opportunity to thank his people along with implying that he was the reason 'Ball and Chain' was such a hit. Then to add insult to injury, Liam implied that her album and essentially her night, wouldn't have been possible without his musica but it was a big night for both herself and the label and she wanted to make sure they were capitalizing on the success.

She was having a drink with Garth Brooks when it was brought to her attention that Luke was more than enjoying the night. She politely excused herself and made her way to the bar where he was flirting with the bartender while ordering another drink. She tried to talk to him, tried to get him to slow down but it only added fuel to his fire. He was drunk and pissed that he was two awards for the night to her six. Instead of being proud of her and building her up, he did his level best to tear her down. He was starting to make a scene and she decided she wouldn't put up with it. She quickly found Bucky and told him the situation, then she climbed in her limo and went home alone.

She felt dejected as she placed her CMAs on the table and went upstairs to slip out of her dress and into a hot shower. She curled up in her bed alone and was just about to call the night completely ruined when a text message popped up on her phone. It was from Deacon and it was a picture of the girls with a chocolate cake. The next message was a text "The girls made you a cake in celebration." She smiled and then one more ping made her night. "Congrats Rayna, no one deserves it more." He always did know just the right thing to say to her to get her out of a funk.

The next morning Luke had apologized, and they decided to not let it get in the way of their relationship. She figured with the wedding only a week away there was no point in fighting about a stupid award show. She was still thinking of that night when Daphne began complaining from the backseat.

"We are going to be so late! I am going to miss choir."

"Sorry baby, but there is not a lot I can do about that right now," she answered apologetically.

"Oh my god, I totally forgot Dad is on the radio today!" Maddie immediately began to flip through the radio stations to find what she was looking for. "I guess there's one good thing about being late," she said turning back to Daphne.

"Turn it up!" Daphne said excitedly. Rayna rolled her eyes. The girls were so use to her being on the radio and T.V. that they barely noticed but apparently Deacon being on the radio was an occasion.

"We are here with one of Nashville's best kept secrets, Mr. Deacon Claybourne," the radio host John announced.

"Some of you probably know him best as the former Mr. Rayna James," his partner Jay said laughing. Deacon laughed good naturally, but Rayna knew that one had to hurt just a little, for more than one reason.

"Just kidding there Deacon," he added.

"Speaking of Rayna James how crazy were the CMAs, she swept the night!"

"It was a crazy night," Deacon said. "I let the girls stay up to watch, we were real proud. Though getting them up for school the next morning was though," he finished chuckling.

"Ugh dad," Maddie groaned embarrassed.

"It's gotta be tough though, right? I mean your both artists, your both crazy talented, does it ever get competitive between you? Like you ever just a little bit happy when she doesn't win?" Jay asked.

Deacon laughed, "nah, Rayna has earned everything she has, and I wouldn't be stupid enough to even try to compete with her."

"But has she rally earned it? Come on man, she is like Nashville royalty, her father Lamar Wyatt owns like half the town. Wasn't she like the homecoming queen of Bell Meade?" John added laughing.

Rayna absolutely hated this this kind of talk. She knew that people assumed she had everything handed to her and it drove her crazy. She also wasn't a big fan of The John and Jay Show and did her best to avoid hearing it as well as appearing on it. She was tempted to turn it off, but she was curious to how Deacon would respond.

"You guys got it all wrong. Rayna came up like all the rest of us, playing dive bars and honkey tonks. Trust me, I was there. She earned her stripes the hard way and while she likes her high heels, Rayna isn't really the homecoming queen type."

"Yeah, I think you have to actually be in high school to be a homecoming queen, isn't it true her dad kicked her out at sixteen. I don't think she finished high school."

"It's true she's been on her own since sixteen." Deacon responded. "What can I say; that woman's tough as nails. She can mop the floor with you two that's for sure." Rayna smiled, 'you tell em Deacon' she thought.

"We would be glad to have her; Bucky won't let us anywhere near her. Think you can put in a good word?" John asked.

Deacon laughed in earnest. "I think it has less to do with Bucky protecting her and more to do with him protecting you. You two don't want to mess with her."

"You go dad!" Daphne yelled from the back seat. Rayna and Maddie looked at each other and laughed. It was cute to hear Daphne all riled up for her momma.

"So how is co-parenting with the Queen of Country music?"

"Great, she's a wonderful momma."

"You two were together how long, wasn't it like fourteen years before you broke up?"

"Seventeen," Deacon answered a little uncomfortably, not sure where the guys were going with all this.

"Damn, seventeen years and you had the kids than what happened?"

"You know, just drifted apart is all but were still friends, raising the girls up together."

"Man, I don't know how you did it, your oldest is fifteen?"

"Yeah, Maddie is fifteen and Daphne is eleven."

"So, you have been doing the co-parent thing for like ten, eleven years, that's got to be hard, I mean Rayna's a knockout."

"That she is," Deacon said agreeing.

"Man, she's talented and all that but wow, the looks don't hurt." Jay added.

"Yeah, don't you ever put the kids to bed and just grab her…"

"Okay, that's enough of that," Rayna said turning off the radio. The girls snickered at their mother's obvious embarrassment.

"Dad's so cool though. The John and Jay Show it like the coolest country show." Maddie said in awe.

"What are you doen listening to that show? And how are you listening to it? It's on when y'all are at school."

"Ugh, mom, be chill. We listen to it later online, it's not that bad." Rayna just made a face and then said a little prayer 'dear lord, let me get this child to school before I kill her'.

She finally got the girls to school and made her apologizes. While she wasn't impressed by the radio show itself, she was grateful for the way Deacon stood up for her. She had heard the show before and John and Jay had a reputation for being crass as well as goading their male guest into the same sort of locker room talk. From what she heard Deacon had avoided it, but she was curious how he responded to the last line of questioning and made a mental note check the show out online after work.

She didn't have to wait that long though. In the early afternoon Deacon had showed up at Highway 65 to drop of Maddie's soccer uniform, she had left it at his house, and he knew she had a game the next day. Since it was Rayna's few days with the girls, he figured it was easier to drop it off with her at the office than driving all the way over to Bell Meade. He also tried to avoid being at her house as much as possible now that Luke was spending most of his time there. He tried to drop Maddie's stuff at reception, but Rayna spotted him on her way out of a meeting and asked him to come back to her office.

"So, the girls and I caught your show this morning," Rayna said leaning back against the front of her desk.

"Is that so?" Deacon responded leaning against the doorframe. "Running kinda late for school though."

"Ugh, bad morning, don't ask," she advised. He nodded his head in agreement. "Well we only caught a few minutes; the guys were pretty rough on me, but I do appreciate you standing up for me."

"Wouldn't be any other way. How much did you hear?" he asked worried about what his daughters did hear.

Rayna chuckled at his concern. "I cut the radio right after the 'put the kids to bed' line."

"Thank god," Deacon said relieved.

"So, I take it that it got worse?"

He laughed and rubbed his chin. "You know how those two can be."

"I do know, that's why I am asking."

"Rayna, I wouldn't say anything that would embarrass you." He was serious now.

"I know and thank you for clearing up the whole Bell Meade homecoming nonsense, drives me crazy that people assume just because my daddy had money that I didn't earn my way."

"I know it does, but you did earn your way along with everything you have, and I will tell anyone who says otherwise." She nodded her head at him in thanks. "Right, so I just wanted to drop Maddie's soccer uniform off, didn't want to have to run all the way out the house," he said as he walked into the office and set the uniform down on the chair in front of her.

"Thank you," she said. He nodded once more and then turned to leave.

"Hey Deacon?" she said stopping him at the door. He turned to her. "I also wanted to thank you for your text, the night of the CMAs, it meant a lot."

Deacon shoved his hand in his pockets. "Wasn't a big deal, just the truth." She smiled up at him in thanks. "You know after all these years you still amaze me with what you can accomplish," his eyes circled the room letting her know he wasn't just talking about the awards.

"Well you know what I always say, there would be no Rayna James without Deacon Claybourne."

He laughed and shook his head. "Nice of you to say Ray but I am pretty sure you would have been you either way. What I do know for sure is that there would be no Deacon Claybourne without Rayna James. You saved my life Ray and then you gave me two reasons to live it. No matter what happens, I'll always be grateful for that."

His words were overwhelming so much so she had to take a couple deep breaths before she found her voice again. "Thank You," he finally breathed out.

"Good Luck next week. You know Ray, I only ever wanted you to be happy."

"I know"

At that he nodded and headed out the door.