A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 9
"Ray, where are we goin' right now?" Deacon asked from the passenger side of her car.
"You'll see in just a minute." Rayna's eyes danced with mirth behind her sunglasses.
"We left our one month old alone with your sister and the many movin' boxes that still need to be unpacked. This better be very important." Deacon retorted. They had been in the Belle Meade house for about a week now.
"This is very important or I think it is anyway." Rayna reached over and patted his knee.
"Babe, you always think it's important. Even if it's just callin' me into the bathroom to grab you a towel." Deacon chuckled.
"That is important to me. I hate to walk into the bedroom drippin' wet." Rayna winked at him.
"God forbid you get water on that carpet." Deacon laughed again.
"Don't even pretend that you don't like the way that carpet feels under your feet. It's a hell of a lot nicer than those cold hardwood floors in the old place." Rayna turned off onto a long gravel road. Thick timber lined both sides of the lane. There was also a split rail fence that ran up both side of the road. She drove until she reached a gate. "Come on, get out of the car."
"What are we doin' here?" Deacon climbed out of the car with a confused look on his face.
"Help me over this gate." Rayna held her hand out to him.
"Girl, we are in the south you can still get your ass shot off for trespassin' down here." Deacon shook his head. "Alright, I'm gonna give you a boost." He took her hand and helped her over the gate.
"Thank you, kind sir." Rayna climbed up and over the gate gracefully.
"Step aside, babe. I'm gonna show you how this is done." Deacon backed up so he could take a running start.
"Deacon, you better be careful." Rayna warned him.
"Don't worry, babe, I got this." Deacon took off running and he used his hand to lever himself over the top of the gate.
"Look at you, not bad for a man in his thirties." Rayna smiled at him.
"I've still got it. Now, are you gonna tell me what we're doin' here?" Deacon dusted his hands off on his pants.
"Take a walk with me." Rayna held her hand out to him again.
"Alright, I don't see what harm it'll do." Deacon took her hand in his.
Rayna walked him up to the top of a ridge. In the valley below there was a lake and the property stretched for as far as the eye could see and beyond.
"Wow, this is gorgeous. That word doesn't even do this justice. I think wow is the better word." Deacon looked out over the property in awe.
"I was hopin' that you would say that." Rayna grinned.
"I still don't understand what's goin' on." Deacon's brow furrowed.
"Welcome to our retirement plan, babe." Rayna watched his face to see his reaction.
"Our retirement plan?" Deacon quirked his eyebrow.
"Yeah, our retirement plan. Somewhere that we can retreat after we're done tourin' full time and are ready to take a step back from the business. A place where we can spend time with our grandkids and just be together the two of us." Rayna explained.
"This is ours?" Deacon asked to be sure he was understanding her correctly.
"This is ours. Well, actually it's yours. The deed is in your name. Think of it as a wedding present and a thank you for moving to Belle Meade even though I know you didn't want to. This is three hundred and eighty acres of some the most beautiful land in Tennessee." Rayna bit her lip.
"I don't even know what to say to that. I don't know what to say at all." Deacon was stunned never in a million years had he expected her to do something like this.
"Is this not the right one? Do you not like it?" Rayna was starting to worry that this wasn't what he wanted. She's taken a big risk buying the land the way she had. She wasn't sure if she had somehow emasculated him without meaning to.
"Babe, I love it. I can't believe you did all of this for me." Deacon broke out in a grin.
"Deacon, you bought me two houses. You bought me the East Nashville house and you bought me the cabin. It was my turn to buy you somethin'." Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Well, babe, you did it on a really grand scale. I don't have words to express how much this means to me." Deacon put his hands on her hips.
"I'm just glad you like it. I didn't know if you would or not." Rayna smiled up at him.
"I always like it when you do nice things for me. You are the best, babe." Deacon leaned down and kissed her.
"And you haven't been absolutely amazing to me the whole time I've known you? It's not lost on me just how much you've done for me over the years. I don't know where I'd be without you, babe." Rayna stared into his eyes.
"You'd probably be a hell of a lot better off without me that's for sure." Deacon brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"That's not true at all. You make me so happy and I don't care what anyone else thinks about that." Rayna laid her head on his shoulder.
"You make me happy too. I don't think I've said it yet, but thank you for takin' Scarlett in. You have no idea how much that means to me." Deacon replied.
"Like I was gonna let her end up anywhere, but with us. I just wanna see that little girl loved and taken care of. It's not like we've never done it before anyway. You know how much I've always loved her. That's part of the reason I knew it would be ok to tell you 'bout Maddie. You've always been so good with Scarlett. Both our girls are extremely lucky to have you." Rayna hugged him tight.
"I'm lucky to have all three of my girls. I ain't ever gonna screw up what we have goin'." Deacon squeezed her back.
"You know earlier you said that we left our month old baby with my sister. We actually have a six-week old baby. I just got the all clear at my OB appointment yesterday." Rayna toyed with the buttons on Deacon's shirt.
"So it's safe for us to have sex again?" Deacon grinned.
"Mhmm, that's what my doctor says." Rayna kissed his neck.
"If you haven't noticed there ain't exactly no comfortable place to do it out here and we didn't bring the truck." Deacon pointed out to her.
"There are blankets in the trunk of the car. Your wife had sense enough to plan ahead. Why don't you go get them?" Rayna squeezed his ass.
"You had this planned." Deacon stole a kiss from her before he headed to the car to grab the blankets.
"When are you gonna realize that I always have a plan?" Rayna asked him when he came back.
"I know you do." Deacon spread out the blankets on the ground.
Rayna bit her lip. "Good, you finally figured out I'm smarter than you."
"I don't know 'bout all that, but you do have some damn fine ideas." Deacon took his shirt off.
Rayna put her hands on his chest and then ran them all over his sculpted torso. "Have I told you how much I love what your workout regimen has done to your body?"
"I think you've mentioned that a time or two." Deacon flexed a little. "Now, I think it's time to stop talkin'." He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. He unbuttoned her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. "God, you're so damn beautiful." His voice was almost reverent as he spoke.
"So are you." Rayna kissed all the way down his chest and over his abs to the top of his pants. She unbuckled his belt and unsnapped his jeans.
Deacon pulled her to her feet and kissed her while he unhooked her bra. His lips trailed down her neck and to her chest.
"Easy, babe, those are your daughter's right now." Rayna winced a little when he licked her nipple.
"I'm sorry, baby. I don't wanna hurt ya." Deacon kissed down her stomach.
"I don't know how you find me attractive at all. I know I haven't gotten all the baby weight off yet." Rayna tried her best just to concentrate on his touch and not think too much.
"Baby, you will always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me. You always have been." Deacon unsnapped her pants. He laid her back on the blanket gently and started to make out with her.
Rayna wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "I've missed this so much."
"Me too," Deacon toed his boots off and worked his pants down. He ground his still clothed member against the crotch of his wife's jeans.
"Get me undressed." Rayna lifted her hips to give him the freedom to get her pants and underwear down.
Deacon pushed his boxers down. "Ray, are you sure? I don't wanna hurt you."
"I'm sure, babe. You won't hurt me." Rayna cupped his cheek.
"You let me know if I do." Deacon took her hand and kissed her palm.
"I promise I will." Rayna nodded her head in a signal that it was ok for him to continue.
Deacon sank into her slowly, but at a steady pace to keep from hurting her.
Rayna felt a brief moment of pain when he entered her and stretched her for the first time in weeks. She closed her eyes tightly and held on to him for dear life. It felt like it had eleven years ago when he'd deflowered her. It didn't quite hurt it was just more a feeling of discomfort because he was so big.
"You ok?" Deacon saw the expression on her face and grew concerned.
"Doesn't hurt any worse than it did the first time just give me a minute." Rayna kissed him and whispered against his lips.
"Let me know when you're ready." Deacon leaned his forehead against hers. He just held her close to him so she would feel safe and comforted.
Rayna took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. She put her lips against his ear and whispered. "Make love to me, baby. I'm so ready for you."
Deacon started to rock his hips slowly careful not to hurt her any more than he already had.
After a moment Rayna started to move her hips in time with his.
Deacon took that as a sign to thrust a little faster.
"It's ok, babe. You don't have to be easy with me I ain't gonna break." Rayna stared into his eyes and kissed him.
Deacon threaded his fingers in her hair while they kissed. "God, baby, you feel so good."
"I've missed bein' with you like this so much." Rayna murmured. She could already feel herself getting close to the edge.
Deacon could tell by the change in her breathing how close she was. He put his hand between them and used his thumb to rub her clit. "It's ok, Ray, you can come for me. I'm right here."
Rayna's back arched up off the ground and she grabbed a fistful of his hair as she came with a loud moan.
Deacon held her close while she rode out her orgasm. "I love you so much, baby, you are my world."
"I love you too." Rayna kissed him passionately.
The intensity of Deacon's thrusts picked up now that he knew for sure that she had adjusted to him. They were both a lot less gentle with each other this time around. It wasn't long before they both came together.
"I would say that I can't believe we just did that if it weren't totally in character for us." Deacon laughed and pulled his boots on.
"That was classic us right there. I hope you don't think that sex is gonna get boring now." Rayna put her boots on as well.
"Darlin', I don't ever think that'll happen. That's the last thing that we ever have to worry 'bout." Deacon leaned into her side.
Rayna broke out in an uncontrollable giggling fit.
"What's so damn funny?" Deacon's eyes crinkled up with laughter.
"I just had sex with someone's daddy." Rayna didn't know why, but the thought was absolutely hilarious to her.
"You would think of that. If that's the case, then I just had sex with someone's momma." Deacon shook his head at her.
"You're damn good for a dad." Rayna teased him.
"You're pretty damn good for a momma." Deacon teased back.
"We better get going. We need to pick Scarlett up from school. This is her last week before summer vacation and then we need to figure out what we are gonna do with her." Rayna replied.
"I know. We will get it figured out, babe. We always do." Deacon leaned over and stole a kiss from her.
"Hey, Buck, I'd say that I'm surprised to see you here, but I'm not." Rayna wasn't shocked at all to find her manager at her house. "Scarlett, run on up to your room and get out of your school clothes. Then you can come back down and tell Aunt Tandy about school and see Maddie." She ushered Scarlett up to her room.
"Ok, Aunt Ray." Scarlett started to head to the stairs. She stopped to kiss Maddie on the head. "Hi, Baby Maddie." She scampered off.
"She loves her baby sister." Deacon smiled proudly.
"I'm here for a reason and it wasn't to see your sister. You've been out for six weeks with the baby and we need to start thinking about a long term plan. Edgehill is putting a little bit of pressure on us to give them a game plan." Bucky explained.
"Are they pushing for another tour already? I just got off of a year and a half long tour last August. What do they want? I could back out on a short tour, but I really need to work on a new album. I can tour all I want to, but I need to have some new material ready to go." Rayna sighed.
"They are understanding of the fact that you may not want to tour right this minute. But they were in hopes that you wouldn't mind getting back into the studio this week. They want you to record a duet with Riff Bell. You're both tearing up the charts. They think you two would be a good fit together." Bucky explained to her.
"Set it up, Bucky, the last thing I want is them on my case. It won't kill me to be out of the house for the time it takes me to record a song. It'd be nice to have money comin' in from somethin' other than my old album sales. Let me know what they say." Rayna replied.
"I was hoping you would say that. I love it when you're easy to deal with." Bucky breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm almost always easy for you to deal with. Deacon is the one who deals with the majority of my mood swings." Rayna corrected him.
"It doesn't mean the rest of us don't have to deal with your bad moods too he just catches the brunt of them." Bucky ran his hand through his thinning hair.
"I have no comment on the grounds that it might get me in trouble." Deacon cleared his throat.
"You're a smart man in that respect. At least you have good sense about something." Tandy quipped.
"Listen to that, Ray. I think she's finally startin' to warm up to me." Deacon batted his eyelashes at Tandy.
"Honey, you better behave yourself." Rayna cautioned him.
"Do I even wanna ask what you two were up to while you had me watching my niece all afternoon?" Tandy ignored Deacon's comment.
"Tandy, please don't ask them that question in front of me. I already know way more than I want to about their private matters." Bucky blushed and looked down at the floor.
"Bucky, I apologize for my sister. She was raised to be a lady, but she fell in with the tramp. The rest of it is kind of history." Tandy shrugged her shoulders.
"Tandy, knock it off." Rayna rolled her eyes.
"I was just joking." Tandy waved her hand around to say that it didn't matter.
"You're just joking will end up with you two in a real fight. I would like to avoid that if at all possible." Rayna gave her a harsh look.
Deacon went over to where Maddie was in her baby swing and picked her up. "There's my girl. Did you have fun while momma and daddy were gone?" He kissed both her cheeks.
Maddie smiled big at him.
"There's daddy's smile. That's only one of my most favorite things to see in the world. Yes, it is." Deacon cooed at her.
"I can't wrap my head around that. I always knew that he'd be a good father I just never thought he'd live to see it." Bucky commented.
"Buck, truthfully there was a minute there when I doubted him too, but he's more than proven himself." Rayna smiled pride shining in her eyes.
"You ready for a diaper change and a bottle? I will change your diaper, but I think Sissy wants to give you your baba." Deacon laid her out across the couch and changed her diaper. "There we go all dry."
"Does he always just change her wherever?" Tandy asked.
"The changing table is all the way upstairs. Sometimes it takes too much energy to go up there." Rayna replied.
"And I just don't see the point as long as she isn't really messy. Then I'll take her upstairs. You wouldn't believe the things that come out of this pretty little girl." Deacon chuckled.
Scarlett came bouncing down the steps. "I can feed her now? You promised."
"You can feed her now. She's ready for you. You just sit down on the couch." Rayna patted where she wanted her to sit.
Scarlett sat down and held her arms out. "I'm ready too."
Deacon settled Maddie in Scarlett's arms. "There's the baby and here is her bottle." He handed the bottle to her. "You are all set. You know what to do from here."
"I got it, Uncle Deac." Scarlett put the bottle in Maddie's mouth.
"Look at that, Ray. Both our girls are together." Deacon smiled from ear to ear.
"I see that and it's pretty damn amazing." Rayna smiled back at him.
"Rayna, I gotta tell ya you look damn fine for a woman who just had a baby." Riff greeted Rayna with open arms when she came into the studio to record with him.
Rayna hugged him and brushed her lips against his cheek. "Flattery will get you absolutely nowhere with me. As a matter of fact, it might get your ass kicked by my husband."
Riff pulled back from her and laughed. "Where is Freakin' Deacon anyway?"
"I left him sleeping on the couch with Maddie. We will see how long they last at home until he gets bored." Rayna chuckled. "So, do you wanna go over this song with me so we can get started?"
"Sure let's do it. You know they drug this song up and I couldn't nail it by myself. You were the first person that I thought of. We've come up in this business together and you're just 'bout the only person who can help me do it justice." Riff leaned up against the wall casually.
"I sure do appreciate that, Riff. I think just as highly of you." Rayna smiled fondly.
"Ain't no need for you to compliment me. You're the one doin' me a favor here. I hate draggin' you away from your new little one like this. I know what it's like durin' those first few weeks. You don't wanna leave 'em, but you'll go nuts if you don't get two minutes alone." Riff replied.
"That's how I feel right now for sure." Rayna agreed with that.
Riff shuffled some papers around. "Here's the song. I figured you'd probably wanna run through it a couple of times before we went in to record it."
"Yeah, that'd be great. I'm a little rusty the last thing I sang was a lullaby. My husband doesn't exactly believe in those. Johnny Cash in bedtime music to him. Of course Maddie loves it. What else did I really expect?" Rayna looked the lyrics over.
"Has he branched out into Willie and Waylon yet? I have some recommendations for him." The corner of Riff's mouth turned up in a smile.
"Do me a favor and don't give him any ideas, Riff. He does fine all by himself." Rayna shook her head, but she was laughing.
"Rayna, I was thinkin' that maybe we could end that bridge strong together just kinda blend our voices together. What do you think?" Riff put his headphones around his neck.
"We have to pause and then take the last word of the bridge then, because I'm good, but not even I am that good. I need to take a breath after holdin' that note for so long." Rayna took her headphones off.
"No shit? You think I can go right for a long note after holdin' that note like that?" Riff laughed.
"You do not have to be fuckin' smart ass, Riff Bell." Rayna slapped his arm playfully.
"You wouldn't know how to handle me if I were any other way, Rayna Jaymes." Riff's eyes sparkled with laughter.
"Riff, you best stop bein' in there actin' like you're puttin' the moves on my girl." Deacon's voice came from the other side of the booth.
Maddie let out a little whine from the carrier that was strapped to Deacon's chest.
"That's my husband and baby." Rayna smiled. "Deacon, what are you doing here?"
"We wanted to come see momma work. And we were thinkin' that it's 'bout time for a break." Deacon replied.
Rayna looked at Riff. "That alright with you?"
"We gotta stop to eat anyway. We may as well stop now." Riff pulled a flask out of his back pocket and drank from it.
"Thanks, Riff." Rayna chuckled at him.
"No problem. You're the one doin' me a solid here." Riff took another pull off his flask.
"Does your wife know that you drink your lunch?" Rayna arched her eyebrow at him.
"No. What my wife doesn't know won't hurt me. And what she does know I wish she didn't." Riff opened the door to the booth.
"I'm sure that's how Deacon feels about me." Rayna teased.
"You're puttin' words in my mouth on my behalf." Deacon had Maddie in his arms now.
"There's not much you do that I don't know about because we are always together. Oh, let me see my girl." Rayna lifted Maddie up and kissed her cheeks. "Hi, baby girl, momma has missed you so much."
"She's missed you too. Not as much as I missed you when she had the worst dirty diaper that I've ever seen though." Deacon replied.
"I'm glad that I missed out on that one. I wanted no part of it from the sounds of it." Rayna put her arm around his waist. "Can you say hi to Riff, Maddie?"
"Hi, Maddie, if you don't look like your daddy I don't know who does. You are just cute as a button. You take that from your momma. You need to thank her for that when you're older." Riff tickled Maddie under her chin.
"You make nice with her, Riff." Deacon teased him.
"I am bein' nice to her. This is why I'm so glad I don't have daughters. They say it brings the cray out in a man." Riff punched his shoulder in a show of manly affection.
"It's true. The thought of her growin' and ever fallin' for a guy like me scares the hell outta me." Deacon couldn't argue on that point.
"You two can stand here and do this for hours I'm aware of that. I'm gonna go to lunch just Maddie and Me." Rayna looked between them.
"Alright, babe, I'm comin'. I can't be hangin' out with this degenerate anyway it's bad for my sobriety." Deacon wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"You're a clown, babe." Rayna laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder.
A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.