Sorry about the long wait between chapters. Struggled with this chapter plus a lot of stuff to juggle in real life. Hope the wait is worth it. I have finally worked out the direction I want the story to go in, and especially with the say the show is heading think we might need some quality Rayna and Deacon moments.

Warning this chapter contains semi adult themes and language... consider yourself warned!

Enjoy and all feedback/reviews welcomed.

Rayna sighed as she reluctantly dragged herself out of bed. She reached for an old flannel shirt of Deacon's. Slipping it on she was instantly encased in the safety that being wrapped in Deacon's arms brought. She rubbed her face against the worn material enjoying the lingering scent of him, making her miss him even more. The morning light was struggling to take hold as she walked into the semi darkness of the kitchen. Not bothering to turn the light on she looked around the empty room. She could see evidence of Deacon everywhere from the scraps of paper with song lyrics scattered on the kitchen bench to his favourite coffee cup. Loading the coffee machine, she lend against the bench waiting while watching the light fill the room.

Grabbing her coffee she made her way over to the island bench. Hugging her mug, she welcomed the warmth as it filtered through her. She glanced down at the pile of papers left by Deacon. His distinctive handwriting sat side by side hand drawn melodies of hastily composed licks of songs. It had taken Rayna a while to get accustomed to the associated mess living with Deacon bought. Teddy had always been tidy. He always made sure everything went back in its place, whereas Deacon, especially when writing, tended to leave a trail of music in every room of the house. After living with Teddy for 14 years Rayna had become much more organised than her younger self. At first it drove her crazy, constantly finding screwed up pieces of paper tucked between the couch cushions, but over time she mellowed and accepted it as part of living with Deacon. If having him in her life meant a bit of mess, she was more than happy to oblige.

Normally not a morning person, this morning she was happy to have some quiet time alone before the demands of the day wore her down. Signing Markus to Highway 65 was a scoop for her. It had created some much needed positive publicity but as she was slowly learning, it also came at a cost. Whether it was because he had jumped music streams or whether it was part of his personality, Markus was proving to be more time consuming that any other artist on the label. Rayna counted her blessing that Bucky was so dependable and that she could trust him completely. Markus had blown off all the producers they had organised for him to meet and agreed to work with Avery, but after one session he had fired him. Rayna had a meeting later with Bucky to try and work out what had happened. Avery Barkly was a brilliant young producer and she had no doubt that he would be able to produce an album to put Markus on the country music map. Rubbing her temple she could already feel the tension building. Sighing she hugged the warm mug close to her, missing Deacon even more. Having him to talk to about Highway 65 music business helped her make smarter choices.

Beverley's death had created a tension between her and Deacon. She knew he was hurting and she wanted to help but he was determined to push her away. His anger at Scarlett was also affecting the whole family. He was short with the girls, yelling at them for no reason. He would often storm out of the house not telling her where he was going, and then return late in the night with no explanation. Rayna knew that he had to deal with the issues surrounding Beverley's untimely death, and he also had to deal with the guilt associated with receiving her liver. Going to Natchez to pack her house up with Scarlett seemed to help repair some of the rift between those two but Rayna needed him by her side. He was her rock. Through all they had been through over the years, he was always the one who gave her the strength to believe in herself. She knew that she was capable of being strong on her own, but he was always there to shoulder the weight with her.

Tracing her fingers over he's handwriting, Rayna smiled shyly as she realised he was due to come home today. She had missed him. Every fibre of her being ached to be near him again. This was the longest they had been apart since they had finally found their way back to each other. He had called her every night from Natchez but she longed to hear his voice caressing her as he hugged her tight against him. Rayna laughed out loud at her thoughts, she sounded like a love sick teenage girl. She sounded as melodramatic as Maddie. Groaning at the thought of her oldest daughter's behaviour, Rayna quickly accepted that today was going to be another headache inducing day. She had been so angry at Maddie when she picked her up from the airport late last night, that she hadn't even been able to see clearly. When Luke told her that Maddie had gotten on stage with Juliette to perform a duet she was angry but after seeing the footage she was furious. As a mother she wanted to protect Maddie from the world and also as an artist she wanted to protect her from the ruthlessness of an industry that is capable of destroying her.

The ringing of her phone, interrupted any further thoughts about what to do with Maddie. Smiling, she picked it up,

"Hey… I was just thinking about you"

A deep sultry laugh on the other end of the phone, sent shivers down her back and made her toes curl.

"Hmmm and I'm thinking about you now. What are you wearing Ray?"

Rayna choked out a laugh, as she glanced down at her naked legs barely covered by his old shirt.

In a sultry voice, she purred "Oh, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise"

Licking her lips, she dropped her voice even lower as she breathless breathed out

"…you will discover tonight exactly what I'm wearing."

Rayna could hear his ragged breathing on the other end of the phone. Biting down on her lip, she squirmed on her chair. Just hearing his voice on the phone was driving her mad, she wanted to feel his hands on her and taste him on her lips.

"Ray" he whispered frantically back at her.

"Hmm…yes"

Rayna could hear noises in the background along with muffled voices. A smothered curse from Deacon, accompanied a large crash indicated to her that he was moving somewhere more private. She smirked to herself as she took another sip of her coffee. That would teach him to tease her when her hormones were ready to explode.

"Jesus Ray! Are you trying to kill me?"

Rayna gave a throaty laugh that held a promise of what was to come. Rayna's pupils dilated as she teased her fingers over her throat, imagining his lips caressing her. Her breath was shallow and rapid as she exclaimed,

"Oh Babe, just you wait… I have plans for you that will make your toes curl."

Deacon's guttural response resonated through her, making her body flush with desire. Her fingers brushed accidently against her aching nipples causing her to gasp and breathlessly moaned into the phone. Hearing him groaning back, she trailed her fingers down her body. Her fingers swept along her bare legs, sweeping closer and closer to her throbbing centre. She bit down on her lip painfully, as her fingers danced along the lacy edge of her shorts. Her body was responding to Deacon's breath on the other end of the phone, she was poised to explode. The heady combination of Deacon's breath in her ear and thoughts of his hands on her body was flaming her desire.

"Ray" he whimpered at her.

Panting for breath, she threw her head back as she cupped her swollen breast.

"Jesus Deacon…. I need, "she moaned, "I want you… god I need to feel you…"

Startled by the sound of feet stomping down the stairs, Rayna dropped the phone in shock as Maddie stormed into the kitchen. Thankfully her eldest daughter didn't look in her direction, because Rayna's face was flushed and her breathing was ragged.

"Ray? Ray?"

Rayna blinked in confusion as she frantically picked the phone up.

Whispering in a hush tone, "Fuck Deacon…. Maddie just walked in on me."

Deacon was silent for a moment before he roared with laughter.

"It's not funny damn it." Rayna furiously exclaimed, "What would have happened if she walked in a minute later? Stop laughing"

"Oh Ray, I promise I will make it up to you tonight."

Rayna hung up and silently watched Maddie moving around the kitchen. She sighed as her eldest daughter slammed things down and stomped about. Rayna rubbed her temples as she contemplated the best way to talk to Maddie. What she was quickly realising is that Maddie had her father's temper. Deacon was also prone to anger if he felt he was being wronged. Rayna had always admired that quality in him. He always stood up for what he believed in and refused to let anyone push him around. Sure there were times when that got him in trouble, and it usually also meant she had to bail him out of jail, but over the years he had learned to control it.

Throw teenage angst into the mix and you had a volatile mix. Maddie gave her mother an exasperated look before she stormed out without saying a word. Rayna blinked in disbelief at the retreating figure of Maddie. Walking over to get more much needed coffee, she thought sarcastically 'Yep, today is going to be great.'

After dropping the girls at school, with Maddie still giving her the silent treatment Rayna swung by Highway 65 to try and figure out what happened between Avery and Markus. Bucky was as confused as Rayna about the whole situation. They both thought it was a good match and that it would have resulted in an amazing album. Rayna, after talking with Avery was still baffled about what happened. She knew that Markus had a reputation for being difficult, she had hoped that it had exaggerated. However after talking with Avery, Rayna was beginning to think that Markus was going to be a lot of work. Leaving messages for Markus to call her, Rayna headed back home to try and get some work done while the house was quiet.

Entering the stillness of the house, she reflected on how much her life had changed in the last six months. This is what she had always longed for. A nice quiet life with the man she loved raising their family. Her life with Luke certainly had never felt like this. No sooner had they announced their engagement than her life began spinning out of control. Prior to dating Luke, she had never had to worry about the press following her, but that soon changed after they started dating. She couldn't leave the house without a camera lens trained on her, her life was no longer her own. She loved that her and Deacon had managed to keep news of their romance out of the papers, in fact up until recently most people were unaware that he was living with her.

The beep of her text messages bought her back to the present. She dug around her bag trying to locate her phone. Smiling down at the name on the screen, she clicked to open the message just as there was a knock at the door. Walking carefully towards the front door, she read the message attached to the photo of a park bench with a broken slat.

'Good to see they still haven't repaired the damage we did'

Rayna frowned at the cryptic message while looking at the photo. She had just reached the front door as her memory provided the answer. Her face flushed with a combination of embarrassment and desire. They had broken the bench during sex. The combination of being back in Deacon's hometown for a funeral and being forced to stay with Beverly had resulted in a frantic and energetic moment out in the woods. Rayna's face was tinged with remnants of desire as she opened the door.

His eyes roamed over her face, noting how her eyes sparkled with laughter while her face, flushed a delicate pink highlighted her beauty. Markus gave her a slow smile as he leaned up against the door frame.

"Hey Rayna"

"Um, Markus? What are you doing here?" Rayna's voice betrayed a hint of confusion.

"I got your message."

Without asking for an invite, he walked past her into her house. Blinking in disbelief, Rayna closed the door and followed him into the kitchen. She watched as Markus wandered around the living room picking up the various photos and mementos she had collected over the years.

"So I wanted to find out what happened with Avery? Last time I checked things were going great. He was your man."

"Ye he was, but then he wasn't. He wasn't feeling the direction I wanted to take my music."

"Right, but he is such an amazing producer and I think if you gave it another chance you could have an incredible album."

Markus acknowledged what Rayna was saying as he walked over to the fridge and helped himself to a bottle of water.

"Help yourself"

Tipping the water in her direction in acknowledgment, "No l need someone who understands who l am and what I'm trying to say. It's like what we talked about on the plane. You got what I looking for, you understood what I was trying to say with my music. Rayna you should produce my album."

Rayna stood in her kitchen dumbfounded after Markus had left. Somehow Markus had managed to get her to agree to be his producer.