A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 8
Deacon walked the floor with Maddie thrown over his shoulder. He patted her back and sang to her softly. He snuck a quick peek at her and saw that her eyes were still wide open. He held her out in front of him and smiled at her. "You're just havin' none of this sleepin' thing. You must be your daddy's daughter or somethin' like that."
Maddie gave him a big smile.
"Oh you are meltin' me. I can't even be mad at you for not sleepin'. That you got from your momma yes you did. I can't be mad at her even when I should be." He cooed at her. He turned to look when he heard a noise.
"Shit, we really need a bigger place." Rayna muttered. She had tripped over something that belonged to one of the girls.
"Ray, that you?" Deacon called out.
"No, it's Scarlett. Of course it's me. I woke up because it was too quiet in the bedroom." Rayna made her way over to where her husband and daughter were.
"She woke up fussin' and wanted to be held. I didn't wanna wake you, so we came out here. She shows no signs of ever wantin' to sleep again. Look at that face. I'm not even mad at her." Deacon turned Maddie to face Rayna. "Maddie, say hi momma. Say I sleep even worse than daddy does."
"You should have woke me, darlin'. Maybe if I nurse her she will go to sleep." Rayna suggested. "Hi, Miss Maddie, it looks like you have some sleep issues in common with your daddy. Like I needed any more proof that you're his. Do you wanna come nurse with momma? That's another thing you have in common with daddy you both love momma's boobs." She sat down on the couch.
"You have good boobs, Ray. I thought you needed the rest." Deacon put the baby in her arms.
Rayna pulled down her pajama shirt and got Maddie latched on to her breast. "There you go, hungry girl." She smiled. "It's four in the mornin', baby. You have to take Scarlett to school. I don't want you drivin' her while you're tired."
"I'll be fine, babe." Deacon's words would have been more reassuring if he hadn't yawned.
"Yeah, I'm takin' Scarlett to school. You've been up all night with the baby. We're partners that means we take turns. You've been doin' it all for the past two weeks. I'm not incapable of leavin' the house. As a matter of fact, it'd be nice to get out for a few minutes. I'm not one of those mothers that's afraid to leave my baby alone with her father. I know that you'll take good care of her." Rayna patted Maddie's back.
"I guess I could use the sleep. I just wanted to make sure that you know I am your partner and I can handle this." Deacon replied.
"You don't have to keep tryin' to prove yourself to me, hon. I trust you and I know that you're in this. You're a good daddy to both our girls. Which reminds me we need to sit Scarlett down and talk to her after school today 'bout that. We also have an appointment to look at a house today. The realtor is a friend of Tandy's and we're gettin' first crack at it. I've seen it and it's gorgeous, babe. I'm not makin' a big deal outta of it, but Vince is sleepin' on the floor of our daughter's nursery and we have absolutely no room in here." Rayna told him.
"Where's this house at? I know that Vince grates on your nerves, but this situation is just temporary." Deacon sighed. He'd resigned himself to the fact that they were moving whether he wanted to or not.
"I know if I tell you you're gonna hate this house before we even look at it. I want you to keep an open mind." Rayna avoided answering the question.
"Where's the house, Rayna?" Deacon stared her down.
"It's in Belle Meade. Look at it and give it a chance before you decide to hate it." Rayna pleaded with him.
"Does it have to be Belle Meade? What's wrong with Franklin? We could get us some land over there for a pretty decent price and build a house. We would still be right here in the heart of Nashville we wouldn't be far from anythin'. I found some land that I really like most of it is in Nashville and there's a small part in Franklin." Deacon crossed his arms over his chest.
"Babe, I'm thinkin' 'bout the girls here too. I want them to go to good schools and Belle Meade has good security. That's somethin' that we have to think about with who we are. And when we have more kids we are gonna need that room to expand." Rayna pointed out to him.
"I'll think about it. I'm not makin' any promises. I will look at it and I'll think about it." Deacon relented.
"Thank you, baby, I love you so much." Rayna smiled up at him.
"Don't you smile at me like that. We both know that you're gonna get your way." Deacon gave her a look.
"Oh, I know I am." Rayna laughed.
"Just so you know I'm gonna be needin' a son. Gotta even out the gender teams around here. I love all my girls, but ya'll are gonna make me crazy." Deacon grinned.
"I will take that into consideration, but it's not happenin' soon. We have to talk about gettin' back on tour soon too. That means we have to think about what to do with the girls. One thing at a time, baby." Rayna rolled her eyes at him playfully.
"I agree." Deacon sat down and put his arm around her. He leaned his head against hers and smiled down at Maddie.
"Don't you fall asleep layin' on me." Rayna patted his knee.
"Mhmm, I won't." Deacon mumbled sleepily.
Rayna pulled up in front of Scarlett's school to drop her off. She reached around to the backseat and grabbed her backpack. "Here you go. So, when you get off school Uncle Deac and I have somethin' that we want to talk to you about. You're not in trouble or anythin' like that. We just need to have a little family meetin' ok?"
"Ok, are you sure that I didn't do anythin' wrong?" Scarlett asked.
"Honey, you haven't done a thing wrong. I just wanted to let you know, because I want you to be thinkin' of where you want to go for dinner tonight. It's time that we got out of the house for a little while." Rayna answered her.
"Ok, I'll think 'bout it, Aunt Ray." Scarlett nodded her head happily and went to get out of the car.
"Hey you, give me some sugar before you get out. You know better than that, silly girl." Rayna leaned over.
Scarlett gave her a kiss before she got out. "I love you, Aunt Ray."
"I love you too, Bug. Have a good day." Rayna blew her a kiss before she drove off.
Deacon was passed out on the couch with Maddie sound asleep on his chest when Rayna got back from taking Scarlett to school.
Rayna kissed Maddie's head gently and then she kissed Deacon's lips tenderly. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. She grabbed the phone on the first ring so it didn't wake Maddie and Deacon. "Claybourne residence."
"Listen to you answering the phone like the dutiful little house wife." Tandy laughed on the other end of the line.
Rayna rolled her eyes. Her sister knew how to push her buttons sometimes. "You thought you'd take a time out from bein' daddy's perfect daughter and give me a call?"
"Ok, I deserved that. I'm sorry. I didn't call you to fight. I called to ask about my niece." Tandy apologized.
"She is absolutely perfect. She's sound asleep on her daddy's chest right now. You really need to come see her again. You know that you're welcome over here any time. Don't let the fact that you and Deacon don't like each other keep you from bein' an aunt to your niece." Rayna replied.
"I have been super busy with work. I plan to see her this weekend. Deacon Claybourne is not gonna keep me away from my sister and my niece. Don't tell him I said this, but he's not all bad. So, are you two gonna look at that house?" Tandy went on.
"We are gonna look at the house as soon as he gets up from his nap. You know that I'm absolutely in love with it. I just don't think he's too keen on the idea of livin' in Belle Meade." Rayna sat down at the counter.
"It's a really nice house for a great price. Tell him to get over it. You're the one who makes the money in that relationship and you should get more of say." Tandy pointed out to her.
"I could take that track if I wanted to sow the seeds of resentment in my husband and basically set myself up for a divorce. He's a proud man. I can't say that to him. I may be the one payin' for the house, but we both have to live there. This is gonna be our first family home. I don't want him to absolutely hate it." Rayna reasoned with her.
"Just let me know how you like the house after you look at it. I can get a little knocked off of the price for you because you're my sister." Tandy ignored the other part of what Rayna had said.
"I'll let you know. Thanks for doing this, Tandy." Rayna told her gratefully.
"It's not a problem at all. I would do anything to get you and those two little girls away from Vince." Tandy scoffed in disgust.
"Vince is harmless. He's not the big bad wolf that you and daddy think he is. He's like a brother to me. I know that you two don't understand, but this is who I am. I'm not the formal suit and tie country club type like you two are. Momma was the one who understood me and it's ok that you don't. I love you just the same." Rayna replied.
"I gotta get back to work. I'll talk to you later." Tandy said.
"Love you talk to you later." Rayna said.
"I love you too. I'll talk to you soon." Tandy hung up the phone.
Deacon pulled his truck through the gate of a Belle Meade mansion. "I think the mailbox and the house are in two different zip codes."
"Babe, look at this house. It's gorgeous." Rayna gasped.
"It's nice I'll give you that. That must be the realtor's car there." Deacon pulled to a stop in front of the house and put the truck in park.
"For me go in there with an open mind." Rayna stuck out her bottom lip.
Deacon grinned. "Ok for you. I'll get Maddie outta the back." He got out and grabbed the car seat.
Rayna got out of the truck and waited for Deacon to walk around so she could take his arm. "The property is really big."
"Yeah it is." Deacon nodded his head. They walked in the front door.
"Hey ya'll, I'm Angie. I'm glad that you could make it out today." The realtor greeted them.
"Angie, thanks for doin' this for us on such short notice. I'm Rayna." Rayna offered the other woman her hand.
"It's not a problem at all. Tandy and I were sorority sisters in college. You're practically family." Angie shook her hand. "And who is this little one?" She asked about Maddie.
"This is our Maddie. She's probably still down for the count from the car ride over." Rayna replied.
"Well, she is absolutely adorable. Looks like her daddy doesn't she?" Angie smiled.
"She sure does. Where are my manners? This is my husband Deacon." Rayna agreed.
"Nice to meet you." Deacon shook her hand.
"You too. I've heard so much about you." Angie replied.
"I'm sure you have." Deacon chuckled.
Rayna elbowed him in the side discreetly to get him to behave. "This place is gorgeous."
"Everything in here is pretty much brand new. The estate is huge and so is the house. The square footage is to die for. The natural lighting is another great feature. Do you wanna see the upstairs?" Angie went into her spiel.
"We would really like that." Rayna answered with a smile.
"Follow me right this way." Angie gestured for them to follow her.
"Babe, look at the size of this bedroom compared to ours." Rayna really was in love with the house.
"Yeah, it's nice, baby." Deacon replied.
"I'm tellin' you, babe. There is just so much room for the girls to grow here." Rayna got a little more excited with every room that they saw.
"I can't argue with you there, now can I?" Deacon smiled. He didn't want to damper her enthusiasm at all. He just wasn't feeling it.
"Deac, this room is perfect for you. It's got its own fireplace. You can come close yourself up in here when we start gettin' on your nerves. Plus, you and Vince can sit in here and do whatever it is you do together without gettin' on my nerves." Rayna's eyes lit up.
"Listen to ya. Here we are newlyweds and you're tryin' to get rid of me already." Deacon joked.
"So, do you two wanna make an offer?" Angie asked after she had shown them everything.
"Let us sleep on it for the night." Rayna already knew that she was going to have to do some talking to him to get him to agree.
"That's perfectly fine just let me know." Angie replied.
"Do you wanna tell me what you're thinkin'?" Rayna asked him once they were in the truck.
"I'm thinkin' that we need to go pick Scarlett up at school. Maddie and I took a really long nap this mornin'." Deacon pulled out of the driveway.
"I meant what do you think about the house?" Rayna corrected him.
"I don't want to tell you what I think about the house. You're excited and you love it and I don't wanna tell you that the thought of havin' to live there makes me wanna set myself on fire. I don't wanna tell you that I feel uncomfortable or outta place. I don't wanna tell ya that if I had to call that home it'd make me unhappy. I've spent the last eleven years tryin' to prove that I'm good enough for ya. I don't wanna have to feel like that every day for the rest of my life." Deacon kept his eyes on the road.
"I don't want you to feel that way. We can keep looking it's not a big deal. Your happiness matters more to me than a stupid house." Rayna put her hand on his thigh.
"You know that I hate disappointin' you. I wanna say yes badly. I just feel so outta place there. I don't wanna feel the like dirty guitar player sneakin' in your bedroom window anymore." Deacon put his hand on top of hers.
"I like it when you're dirty just for the record, but I do know what you mean. I really do understand, honey. I don't want you to feel out of place or uncomfortable not when you're supposed to be home. However, you livin' in Belle Meade would really piss my daddy and sister off." Rayna laughed softly.
"I think Lamar's head would explode." Deacon chuckled.
"You're not just that poor boy from Mississippi anymore. You haven't been for a long time. You made somethin' outta yourself. I'm proud of you and you should be proud of yourself." Rayna placed a kiss on his cheek.
"And I'm proud of you. Let's go get that Bug." The corners of Deacon's eyes crinkled up when he smiled that time.
"Uncle Deac, Aunt Ray, you're not makin' me leave are you?" Scarlett sat in the living room with her hands folded in her lap.
"I don't know 'bout that. Ray, are we makin' her leave?" Deacon bit his lip to hide a smile.
"I don't plan on makin' her leave. That's not what I have planned at all, Deac." Rayna replied.
"Then what is this about?" Scarlett looked between them.
"We thought that since things have been goin' so well that you'd like to stay. We have some papers here that all we need to do is sign them and then no one will ever be able to take you away from us. We would really love to adopt you. That's only if that's what you want though. You're a big enough girl that we wanted to give you a say in what happens to you." Deacon kneeled down in front of her.
"I can stay? Really? What about momma she's not gonna be mad at me?" Scarlett asked.
"Bug, we don't want you to worry ok? Your momma will always be your momma and nothin' can ever change that. Your momma will always love you in her way. We all think that it is best for you to be with us from now on." Rayna kissed her forehead.
"What about mawmaw?" Scarlett was concerned for her grandmother.
"Mawmaw is gonna be ok. She never has to worry 'bout anythin' ever again. We want you to focus on just bein' a little girl and havin' fun. It's our job to make sure you're takin' care of. You never have to worry 'bout takin' care of anyone again. Except for maybe Maddie when you're both a little older and we have you babysit her." Deacon kissed her cheek.
"I'm so glad that I get to stay. Thank you so much." Scarlett hugged them both tightly.
"You're so welcome, baby girl. You're gonna have such a good life here." Rayna promised her.
"That's right. You're never gonna have to want for anythin' again and no one is gonna hurt you here. You're safe, wanted, and so loved." Deacon held to her tightly.
Maddie started to cry from her bassinet.
"And that is my cue. Miss Maddie wants to eat. After I feed her we can go get some food. Scarlett, I told you that you get to pick, so we will go wherever you want to go." Rayna grabbed Maddie out of the bassinet.
"Uncle Deac?" Scarlett looked at him curiously.
"What can I do ya for?" Deacon tickled her side.
"Does this mean you're gonna be my daddy now? I never had a daddy before." Scarlett cuddled against him.
"I'll always be your daddy no matter what. It doesn't matter what you call me. That's how I feel 'bout you in my heart. It doesn't all have to be figured out today. It's ok to think on it a little while." Deacon answered her.
"The same goes for me, sweet pea. I love you like I love Maddie." Rayna added.
"Ok, I was just wonderin'." Scarlett shrugged her shoulder, but there was a thoughtful look on her face.
"For the important question. Where do you wanna go to get some food?" Deacon was starving to death.
"Can we go to the diner that Uncle Vinny took me to when he had to go to a meetin'?" Scarlett asked.
"Yes we can. Then maybe after if we're good Aunt Ray will let us go to the record store." Deacon suggested.
"That sounds like a good plan to me. Uncle Deac wants to go down to the record store and show his girls off is what this is about." Rayna agreed. She loved the freedom that living in Nashville gave them to still be normal people. They could go out in public as a family without being hassled.
When they got home from dinner Tandy was waiting on the front stoop for them.
"Hey, we didn't keep you waitin' long did we?" Rayna hugged her sister.
"No, I just got here. I'm surprised that you already took the baby out of the house." Tandy hugged her back.
"I had to get out of this house before I started climbing the walls." Rayna unlocked the door.
"Aunt Tandy picked a good time to visit. Maddie got a good nap in. Now she's wide awake and ready to play." Deacon told his sister-in-law. He carried Maddie in and sat her seat on the counter. He took her out and kissed her cheek. "Come here, you little monkey."
"Oh my goodness. Look at that smile on her face." Tandy was amazed by how happy she was.
"Only her daddy makes her smile like that. She hears his voice or sees him and those little eyes light up. They have this undeniable bond and I love it." Rayna took the baby from Deacon.
"Let me see her." Tandy went and sat on the couch with Maddie.
"Scarlett, why don't you go put your pajamas on?" Deacon suggested.
"Ok, Uncle Deac." Scarlett ran off to her room.
"What did you think of that house?" Tandy asked while she fussed over Maddie.
"It was somethin'." Deacon grunted.
"It was really nice, but I think we are gonna pass." Rayna replied.
"Babe, you aren't gonna find many deals as good as that one. I think you'd be a fool to pass it up. If I needed a place that big I'd buy it for myself." Tandy looked at her like she was crazy.
"I really do love the place, but I thought maybe we should look at some other houses first before we made a decision." Rayna explained.
"You should just put an offer in before it goes on the market. You know it'll go fast and then you'll be kicking yourself for not acting sooner." Tandy advised her.
"If it were just up to me I would have already put the offer in. Deacon doesn't care for it that much and he has to live there too." Rayna leveled with her.
"Deacon, tell her to put an offer in on the house." Tandy turned to Deacon.
"You think I can tell her what to do? I know you know her better than that. She doesn't listen to me even when she should. There was this one time in San Antonio and I won't repeat the rest of the story." Deacon turned it into a joke.
"Don't mention San Antonio. I thought I was gonna die after drinkin' that tequila with Vince." Rayna cringed.
"Not even I would touch that tequila. That should have told you somethin'." Deacon chuckled.
"It doesn't surprise me that you and Vince were involved with bad liquor." Tandy rolled her eyes.
"Tandy, be nice. They may not always use their brains, but they are my best friends. More importantly Deacon is my husband and your nieces' father. You need to try to get along with him." Rayna gave her a pointed look.
"Fine, I will try to be as nice as I know how." Tandy relented with a sigh.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Baby, I think you should make an offer on that house." Deacon told her as they lay in bed together.
"Babe, I don't wanna make an offer on the house if you're gonna hate it." Rayna reasoned with him.
"I like the house. It's the neighborhood that I don't like. I can get over that though. The property is nice and so is the house. I don't want you not to have what you want just because I don't like it." Deacon would do whatever it took to make her happy even if it meant he didn't get his way.
"Are you sure, babe? I don't want you to be miserable." Rayna searched his face with her eyes. She really wanted this.
"I'm sure, babe. All I want in this world is your happiness. I know that the girls will love it and you already love it. I don't wanna be the odd man out." Deacon smiled at her.
"In that case I'll make an offer in the mornin'. Thank you for this. I know that this isn't really what you want." Rayna kissed him tenderly.
"You're welcome. I'd do anythin' for you. You oughta know that by now." Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.