A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 13
Seven Years Later
"Hey, monster, you settle down." Deacon chased Daphne through the upstairs of their house.
"You gotta catch me first." Daphne giggled loudly.
"You best get ready to meet the tickle monster then." Deacon scooped her up in his arms and started to tickle her.
Daphne's giggles turned into full blown laughs. "Daddy! Stop!"
Rayna stepped out into the hallway in her dressing robe with curlers in her hair. "That's enough outta y'all. Deacon, you know better than to get her all wound up and leave her for your momma to settle down." She planted a quick kiss on Daphne's cheek. "And you, little miss, know better than to distract your daddy with fun and games. Momma and daddy both have some place to be tonight."
"I don't understand why we can't go with you." Maddie sat on the bed and pouted.
"'Cause we are gonna be out way past your bedtime and it's a school night." Deacon tossed Daphne on the bed gently next to her sister.
"Babe, you ain't helping matters any right now. I need you to occupy them, so I can finish getting ready. You're the one who complains I'm always late. You live in a house full of women I think you would be used to it by now." Rayna stole a quick kiss from him.
"You could remedy that by givin' me a son." Deacon winked at her.
"Babe, I love you, but I'm not havin' this conversation right now." Rayna went back to getting ready.
"Why do you two have to go to work anyway? I thought we were rich." Daphne inquired.
"That's another conversation that we ain't gonna have tonight, baby girl. Y'all run along and go get ready for mawmaw." Deacon shooed the girls out of the room.
"I can't have this fight with you for the rest of my life. I'm the one who made the bad investment, I'm the one who went on tour two years in a row when it was supposed to be your turn to make up for it, and I'm the one who broke my promise to give you another baby in the process." Rayna snapped at him.
"I ain't wantin' to fight with you. I said we ain't gonna talk 'bout it 'cause I don't wanna fight. I'm sick of goin' 'round and 'round with you over this too. I will never understand why you loaned him that money, but it's done and we're whole again. We just need one more big tour to get back in the black." Deacon walked into the closet and started getting dressed. It didn't take him nearly as long as it took her to get ready.
Rayna walked into her closet. "I loaned him the damn money, 'cause I felt guilty 'bout what I put him through when I was pregnant with Maddie." She explained to him yet again.
"Babe, I love you and I'm not arguin' with you tonight. I wish you woulda asked me first, but it's gonna be ok." Deacon came out dressed in a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt.
Rayna laid her outfit on the bed. She walked over to him and grabbed his hand. "You're right. We gotta stop fightin' about this. We've been through too much together for this to be the thing that breaks us."
Deacon cupped her cheek gently and pecked her lips. "Ain't nothin' ever gonna break us. Even in the middle of our worst knock down drag out screamin' match I know that I rather fight with you than kiss anyone else."
Rayna smiled against his lips. "Go make sure our baby girls are gettin' ready for their mawmaw to come babysit them for the night. I should be ready without you here to distract me."
"I'm goin'. They are just as bad as you are when it comes to bein' ready." Deacon swatted her ass playfully and ran out of the room before she could retaliate.
Rayna and Deacon were sitting in her dressing room talking to Bucky when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," She called out.
Juliette Barnes and her manager walked in followed by Marshall Evans their label head.
"Rayna, we don't want to disturb you I just thought that it was time you and Juliette were properly introduced." Marshall said. "I will leave you two to get acquainted." He excused himself.
"It's nice to meet you. I don't know how you keep your girls from fallin' outta that dress." Rayna smiled tightly.
"It's nice to meet a legend like you. My momma used to listen to your music while I was in her belly." Juliette gave back just as good as she got.
Deacon cleared his throat to cover up his laughter. He would be in so much trouble if she knew he found this amusing.
"Deacon Claybourne, it's an honor to meet you. I've listened to all your records." Juliette gushed over him.
"Thank you. That's mighty nice to hear." Deacon flashed her a charming smile.
"Juliette, we need to get you out on stage." Glenn ushered her out.
"What the hell was that?" Rayna turned to glare at her husband.
"That was nothin'. You know I don't have eyes for anyone, but you." Deacon blew her a kiss.
"You're lucky you're cute and I believe you. I know that you like 'em young." Rayna teased him.
"I'm only three years older than you." Deacon protested.
"Whatever you say, babe." Rayna shook her head. That was the nice thing about their relationship they could fight and argue, but they would always be ok.
"Come on, let's go mingle." Deacon took her hand and walked out of the room with her.
"Momma, daddy, there you are." Scarlett walked up to her parents with her boyfriend Avery.
"Hey, baby girl, I didn't know that you were gonna be here tonight." Rayna pulled her daughter into a huge hug.
"I wanted to surprise you and daddy helped." Scarlett replied.
"Avery," Deacon nodded in the younger man's direction. He didn't know what his daughter saw in that punk, but he didn't like him very much at all.
"Deacon," Avery nodded back at him.
"Avery, don't mind Scarlett's surly daddy. You know he's just like that 'cause you're a man and that's his baby girl." Rayna hugged him.
"I don't take it personally." Avery hugged her back.
"You shouldn't take it personally from him. He's her daddy he's gonna get on board with whatever makes her happy. I'm the one you need to take it personally from. I ain't scared to go to prison if you do somethin' to hurt our little bug." Vince came over with Amy.
"Uncle Vinny, don't call me that." Scarlett protested.
"I think everyone knows that you shouldn't listen to him. Or at least I assume they do." Amy shook her head.
"Avery, honey, ignore Scarlett's daddy and his crazy best friend. They mean well, they really do, but they are trouble together." Rayna laughed politely.
"Scarlett, are you gonna stay at home tonight?" Deacon asked. He didn't like the idea of his daughter living with this punk. He just looked like the type who didn't know how to treat a woman like a lady.
"No, I'm gonna stay over at Avery's apartment. I wanna come by in the mornin' to surprise my sisters. I miss them like crazy." Scarlett replied.
"They miss you too. So much. Be glad that you're missin' Maddie turnin' into a teenager, though. It's not very much fun and she's not as easy goin' as you've always been." Deacon groaned loudly.
"She's got momma's mouth and your temper. What else do you expect? I've known for years what she was gonna be like when the hormones started to hit her. I'm glad I'm outta the house for it." Scarlett smirked.
"You have your momma's mouth too sometimes. I swear you're just like her when you wanna be." Deacon shook his head and mumbled.
"Deac, do you need to switch houses with me again for a night? I understand if you're on estrogen overload." Amy teased him.
"It may be that time again, Amy. I'm tellin' ya. You got Vince and the two boys to contend with and I got Rayna and her three little clones to deal with." Deacon flashed her a grin.
"I keep tellin' you that you need to get you a son. Just throw Rayna over your shoulder and go cave man on her. It's always worked for me." Vince volunteered.
"Uncle Vin," Scarlett turned bright red. He had a knack for being able to embarrass her at the drop of a pin.
"Why do I allow my husband to hang out with him?" Rayna glared at Vince out of the side of her eye.
"For the same reason I allow my husband to hang out with yours. They get each other and sometimes we deserve a break. I have two mini Vince's at home. At least you don't have two little Deacons." Amy countered.
"I do have one. Maddie couldn't be more like him if she tried sometimes." Rayna scoffed.
"So, Scarlett, what are you gonna be doin' now that you're back from college?" Vince asked the young woman.
"I'm gonna be workin' in the Bluebird and pawpaw a couple nights a week. Pawpaw and Aunt Tandy are tryin' to set up some kinda position for me too. So we will see." Scarlett answered him.
"Daddy must have pulled some strings to get you a job at the Bluebird. Momma is the big deal in this town, but daddy has the connections at the Bluebird." Amy teased her.
"I might have. She needs time to decide what she wants to do. She can't do that with Lamar breathin' down her neck." Deacon crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly.
"Amy, if you start that fire tonight I will kill you." Rayna warned her best friend.
"It'll be ok I'll piss on it to put it out." Vince offered with a boyish smirk.
"Scarlett! You're Home!" Maddie and Daphne rushed to hug their sister the next morning. They were both dressed in their school uniforms.
"I am. I ain't gonna be goin' anywhere any time soon. We can have a sisters' night one night. I have missed you girls so much." Scarlett hugged her younger sisters.
"I still don't understand while you didn't just take me to college with you." Maddie told her.
Scarlett kissed her cheek and laughed. "I think everyone would have noticed how much younger my baby sister was than the rest of the college freshman."
"Don't pay her no mind, Bug. She's goin' through that she thinks it's cool to think me and your momma are lame phase." Deacon rolled his eyes. He was leaned against the counter drinking a cup of coffee.
"I never went through that phase. I always thought you and momma were cool. Then again I'm not normal and we probably shouldn't use me as a comparison when it comes to Maddie." Scarlett shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm sure you're aware that we ain't gonna get outta goin' to that damn country club tonight. Your pawpaw wants to see you and have dinner with you. That means please ask Avery to dress presentably tonight. I don't care neither does your momma, but you know what your pawpaw is like." Deacon pleaded with her.
"I will do what I can. I promise, daddy. Don't worry so much. You're the only Claybourne that pawpaw doesn't like. Me and the girls have him wrapped 'round our little fingers." Scarlett kissed his cheek to calm him down.
Deacon smiled. "Sometimes I complain 'bout livin' in a house full of women, but when y'all are sweet to me and give me kisses like that for no reason I enjoy it a lot. If I had three sons instead of three daughters I wouldn't get all the lovin' I get."
"We love you, daddy." All three girls hugged him tightly at the same time.
Rayna slipped into the front row of the audience next to her sister. She didn't know why she tried to sneak she knew that her father would know she was late. He always knew when she did something to disappoint him or otherwise fail to uphold the Wyatt family name. Lamar was already up at the podium making a speech. Thankfully she wouldn't have to worry about hearing from him until after this ridiculous ceremony.
She didn't know why anyone thought that her father needed a holiday declared in his name, but she could set the record straight on that one. Lamar was a good man for everyone in the city of Nashville except his two daughters. He'd given the public his best face and he was a son of a bitch behind closed doors. Their relationship had gotten better since she'd gotten married and had the girls, but they would still always be at odds.
"You're late," Tandy leaned over and whispered to her.
"Deacon would have happily told you that I'm always late. We had that thing for Watty last night and Scarlett just got back in town, so we did a late dinner with her and Avery." Rayna whispered back.
"On this one thing I agree with him." Tandy retorted.
"You're so funny I forgot to laugh." Rayna grumbled.
Both women straightened up and tried their best to keep a straight face when they saw their father shoot them a dirty look.
After the ceremony Lamar got his daughters cornered before they had a chance to make a break for it.
"What do you want, daddy?" Rayna did her best not to snap at him. He had a way of playing on her nerves that no one else could come close to.
"I wanted to thank you both for being here today even if you were late it meant a lot to me. I also wanted to remind you that we are having dinner at the country club tonight. My oldest granddaughter is home from college and I'm looking forward to seeing her. I think I've even found a job for her." Lamar told her.
"We will be there, daddy. I can't any promises about how long this dinner will last. Deacon hates the club more than I do if that's possible." Rayna reminded him.
"I don't think it'll kill either of you to be in the club for a couple hours." Lamar gave her a withering look.
"It might. You don't understand how much Deacon hates it." Rayna countered.
"We both know how much Deacon hates to be around civilized people and not be able to behave like the redneck he is. We sit around the same table as him on the holidays. He looks like monkey in a suit." Tandy rolled her eyes.
"Be nice. You don't get to be mad just because my husband doesn't cheat on me with everything that moves unlike yours." Rayna glared at her.
Lamar ignored his daughters. It would do him no good to engage with them. "Rayna, make sure that you invite June as well. Deacon is always on his best behavior when his mother is around. And I enjoy her company."
"There is nowhere else in the world June would be than out to dinner with the family. I can't promise that Maddie and Daphne aren't gonna revolt. They are their father's daughters. It's a toss up as to which one is more like him sometimes." Rayna warned him.
"I will take my chances. I know that they know how to behave in public." Lamar arched his eyebrow at her.
"Ok, fine, you've made your point, daddy. I need to get out of here. And I'm sure that you have things to do too." Rayna grumbled.
"I'll walk you out." Tandy volunteered. She could sense that it was time to get her father and sister away from each other before they got into one of their fights.
"That man infuriates me like no one else on the face of this earth can except maybe my husband." Rayna rubbed her temples.
"Babe, you know what he's like and he has been that way for as long he's been alive. I don't know why you let him bother you." Tandy looped her arm through her sister's.
"Because, we've butted heads as long as I've been alive. At least when momma was still alive she played buffer between us. I don't know why we don't get along I just know that we are incapable of it." Rayna sighed.
"You're not the lone ranger. He doesn't always get along with me either and I always do what he wants me to do. You two butt heads, because you're so much like mom. She didn't do what he told her to either." Tandy pointed out to her.
"I've always said that he gives the city his best and there was never anythin' left for his wife and daughters." Rayna snorted.
"You're not exactly wrong there. I remember mom used to tell him that he should have married his job instead of her. Come to think of it I'm not so sure those two even liked each other." Tandy laughed a little.
"I think they had strong feelings 'bout each other though, I heard 'em fight more than once. It sounded a lot like it sounds when I'm fightin' with Deacon. We love each other deeply, so when we fight I'm pretty sure the whole house knows it." Rayna retorted.
Tandy scoffed at that. "I've heard you two get into it. I'm pretty sure the whole city knows when you're fighting. You've gotten better since you both gotten older, but there were times I thought I was gonna have to call the police on you."
"We both feel things deeply. I can't help it." Rayna rolled her eyes at her sister.
"You both give me a headache I know that much." Tandy walked with her sister to her car.
"Are you making the dinner reservations tonight?" Rayna asked her.
Tandy gave her a look that said she should know the answer to that. "I always take care of things like that for him. He acts like he paid for school, so I could be his assistant."
"Add four more to the list. If I have to sit through this then Amy is gonna suffer along with me." Rayna told her.
"I like Amy you know that I do. I feel sorry for her. I don't know how she takes it being married to Vince. I will amend the reservation. I can barely stand to be in the same room as him for five minutes." Tandy rolled her eyes.
"I know you like to pretend that you don't know Vince in the biblical sense, but we all know the truth." Rayna teased her.
"I was drunk and so was he. It doesn't count." Tandy disputed.
"Whatever you say, Babe." Rayna climbed into her car with a laugh.
"For the record this is why I love you, but I don't always like you." Tandy frowned at her.
"That's not true and we both know that. You always like me, because I give you an ally against daddy." Rayna called her out on her bullshit.
"Just get out of here. I need a break from you if I'm gonna have to put up with you again later." Tandy waved her off.
"Daddy, I'm not nine years old anymore. I don't need you to walk me into the place where I'm gonna work like I'm some little girl." Scarlett argued as she walked into the Bluebird with her father.
"I ain't walkin' you in like you need an escort. I'm walkin' you in 'cause I wanna introduce you to some of my friends." Deacon corrected her.
"Scarlett, when country music royalty wants to show you around the Bluebird you don't argue with him." Avery pointed out to her. Of course, he had tagged along on this little field trip.
"For once I agree with him." Deacon said grudgingly. There was just something about Avery that kept him from liking him.
Deacon introduced Scarlett around to everyone who worked there and then he stepped aside to talk to the manager about his usual Thursday night slot. When he was done he went over to talk to the sound guy. "Gunnar, what do you think? Is that guy good enough for my little girl?" He was referring to Avery.
"He seems like a douche if you ask me." Gunnar replied.
"Between me and you I think the same thing. I always thought that maybe you and Scarlett would get somethin' goin'." Deacon told him. This wasn't the first time Scarlett had worked at the Bluebird. It was a recurring summer job that he got for her when she was home from college. She didn't have to work, but he and Rayna had wanted to instill the value of a dollar in their girls.
"As long as I've known her she's only had eyes for that grease ball." Gunnar snorted.
"There is just somethin' 'bout good girls like her that make 'em go for the bad boys who are gonna break their hearts one way or another. I should know I married one of those good girls. 'Course there's the case to be made that I ain't really a bad boy. I ain't been since that girl got her hooks in me." Deacon lit up when he talked about his wife. Things hadn't been the easiest for them the last few years, but that only made him love her more than he already did.
"I think that the case can be made that your wife has a little bit of a wild streak in her and you're both perfect for each other." Gunnar supplied helpfully.
"I think you might be right 'bout that. There is no denyin' we are a lot alike when it comes to certain things and that's why sparks fly when we get into it." Deacon agreed with him.
"From the look on your face right now you must be talkin' 'bout momma." Scarlett walked over to her father.
"Now how could you accuse me of such a thing?" Deacon smiled at her.
"You always light up like a Christmas tree when you're talkin' 'bout momma. It doesn't matter how long you two have been together it's like you're still in that puppy love stage. She does the same thing when she talks 'bout you." Scarlett pointed out to him.
"I love my wife, sue me." Deacon joked.
"Ain't no one got time for that. It would be a waste of time anyway. It wouldn't change nothin'." Scarlett laughed at him.
"Let me tell you somethin', little girl. The best thing a daddy can do for his babies is love their momma." Deacon told her seriously.
"Then the girls and I are in damn good hands. There ain't no doubt in anyone's mind how much you love momma or us." Scarlett kissed his cheek sweetly.
"I'm the one who spoils you girls rotten, but all three of ya prefer your momma to me. Explain that one." Deacon arched his eyebrow.
"Our momma is the great Rayna Jaymes. Every little girl wants to be her when she grows up. It's not like we have much of a choice." Scarlett countered.
"Listen to the mouth on you. I'm gonna remember this the next time you come to me wantin' somethin' after your sainted momma has told you no." Deacon knew when the words left his mouth that he was blowing smoke up his own ass. He would never be able to tell any of his girls no and that included Rayna.
Scarlett just laughed in response to that.
"Do you see how these women I live with treat me, Gunnar?" Deacon clutched his chest like he was wounded.
"I think you might be an easy target. They have had years of practice to push your buttons the way they do." Gunnar stole a quick glance at Scarlett. He looked down and blushed when she caught him staring.
Scarlett bit her lip to hide a smile. She didn't mind Gunnar looking at her one little bit. She had only waited four summers for him to make a move. She wasn't with Avery that whole time. They were on and off more than they were together. "You're right on the money. He knows it. He just won't admit to it."
Deacon just shook his head and looked between the two of them. They were crazy if they didn't know that they both liked each other.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait. I've just had a lot on my plate and I just got around to updating this fic. I haven't given up on it though. I'm not going to follow all the seasons exactly. I'm just going to use them as a road map. I promise the end result is Rayna and Deacon happy together. They just may have to have a few speed bumps along the way. Until next time please review.