October 1st, 1988

"You look like a jackass." Chad said, standing behind Deacon as Deacon looked at himself in the slightly warped mirror.

Deacon glanced at Chad's reflection, "Thanks, man." Deacon straightened the collar on his button-down shirt, "But if I wanted fashion advice from the King of Acid Wash, I'd ask."

Chad laughed, and reached a hand out on to Deacon's shoulder, "You ready to meet Don Wyatt?" He asked, squeezing Deacon's shoulder, "On this, the day his daughter is to be married?"

Deacon shrugged. He kept his gaze on the mirror, not wanting to give Chad any more fuel—he couldn't let on how nervous he actually was about meeting Rayna's father tonight. "I reckon I'll be fine as long as I don't ask him to do murder for money."

Chad smirked, "Oh, I'm pretty sure he'll do murder for free since you're defiling his youngest daughter and all."

"Will you shut up?" Deacon said, turning around to face Chad, "I ain't defiling anyone, okay? It was just a kiss." Deacon sighed, a damn good kiss. He couldn't get the taste of Rayna out of his mind, couldn't get over the feel of her lips against his, her mouth so pliant and soft beneath his own. It was all he'd been able to think about every time her saw her. It was all he'd been able to think about at all, really.

Chad held his hands out in front of him, "Alright, man." Chad took a bite of the granola bar he'd been holding, "Relax." Chad grinned, "They're all gonna think you're a righteous dude."

Deacon laughed despite himself and then rolled his eyes. "Better lay off the hairspray." Deacon looked at his watch, "I have to go." Walking to the door, he shrugged on his coat.

Chad followed him as he stuffed the wrapper from his granola bar in his pocket. Chad leaned against the doorframe and lifted his hand in a wave as Deacon walked to his truck, "Have fun at the Country Club! Stay away from older women and caviar, they'll both make you feel like you hate yourself in the morning." He called.

Deacon grinned and flipped him off as he slid into the driver's side of his pickup truck. He let out a long breath as he put the key in the ignition. He felt nervous—he'd spent his whole life avoiding things like this. Not that he was really ever invited to anything like this, but he'd still somehow been avoiding it. And avoiding it with good cause, he suspected. He shook his head as he pulled out of the driveway. All it took was a month of knowing her to change that—now, he was willingly driving himself to a country club in his beat-up pickup truck wearing khaki pants and a sportscoat that he only had because his grandfather died three years ago and he'd actually gone to the funeral.

He'd timed it so he got to the country club just before the ceremony began. He pulled his truck into the parking lot full of luxury vehicles and cursed as he slammed his rusty door closed. Even his truck looked out of place.

Sliding into the back row of the ceremony, Deacon looked around and cursed again, this time in his head. Everyone was dressed to the nines: women in sparkling dresses with sparkling jewelry, men in suits and ties, a few even in tuxes. Even the children wore puffy dresses and mini bowties.

And then there was Deacon, in khakis and a sportscoat. As the music cued up, he caught the couple seated next to him glancing at him; they were trying to be discreet but failing miserably as they looked him over. He sighed. He'd always been pretty good at blending in—growing up like he did, it felt like a necessity. Unfortunately, he didn't think blending in was going to be a possibility tonight. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat until the couple next to him turned their eyes to watch the bridal party walk down the aisle; Deacon followed suit, glad for the distraction.

After the third bridesmaid was halfway down the aisle, Deacon caught copper out of the corner of his eye and he snapped his head to the end of the aisle, where he saw Rayna. She was wearing a navy-blue dress with the puffiest sleeves he'd ever seen, and her hair was tied in a complicated knot at the back of her head. Holding a small bouquet, she tentatively made her way down the aisle, and Deacon watched her face. She looked nervous, which Deacon found endearing and a bit funny, considering she got up on stage and sang in front of people—considering she wanted to make a career out of that. She looked ten times more nervous than she did before any show.

As she made her way down the aisle, Deacon didn't take his eyes off her. Throughout the ceremony, his eyes stayed with her, while everyone else watched the bride and groom. He watched her laugh a little, watched her shift uncomfortably in her heels, watched her start to tear up at one of the readings—after Tandy kissed her new husband, Deacon watched as Rayna handed her the bouquet, and then turned to face the guests. Deacon's breath caught in his throat when he realized she was staring right at him.

. . .

Deacon slid into his seat at the table, noticing the empty chair next to him. The people already seated at his table completely ignored him which, actually, was fine by him. He took a sip of the ice water on the table.

Suddenly, someone slid in to the chair next to him. Deacon stiffened, then turned to look at his companion for the night, breaking into a wide smile when he saw it was Rayna.

"Hey." She said, her chin resting on her hand. She looked down at the chair she was sitting in, "I talked Tandy into letting me sit here tonight instead of at the head table."

"Oh yeah?" Deacon asked, a huge wave of relief washing over him, "How'd you manage to do that?"

Rayna grinned, "Blackmail." She dropped her elbow and scooted her chair closer to the table, the sleeves on the dress rustling a bit, "Ugh." She crinkled her nose, "I hate this dress."

Deacon looked her up and down briefly, "Yeah? I think it's working for you."

Rayna laughed, "Shut up."

Deacon hadn't actually been joking—she looked beautiful. But, he was learning, he would think she looked beautiful in a paper sack, so he let it drop.

He cleared his throat, "It was a nice ceremony."

Rayna nodded, "It was." She turned her gaze to where Tandy was seated at the front of the room, laughing with her new husband, "I'm so happy for her." Her voice hitched a bit, and then she turned to look at Deacon and smiled. "Wanna get some air? These five course things take forever to serve, so we have a ton of time before we miss anything."

Deacon breathed out through his nostrils, "Yeah." He nodded, grateful for the idea. He'd felt a bit like he was suffocating before she sat next to him. After she'd sat next to him, he felt a bit more like he was suffocating, actually.

As the cool October air hit his face, Deacon breathed in, enjoying the fresh air.

They walked down a small path, quietly, until they were far enough away from anyone who might want to listen to them. They talked for a bit about the gig they'd had last week, about the weather, about writing more songs together. It was comfortable conversation, but Deacon couldn't help but think that it felt charged somehow. He just kept looking at her lips as she spoke, thinking of the way they moved against his when he kissed her.

When a companionable silence fell between them, Deacon smiled, "Hey, how was getting ready for all of this?" He asked her, remembering how much she had been dreading the part before the wedding. The hair, the makeup, the small talk with strangers who were joining families.

Rayna laughed, "It wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined." She stopped walking and leaned up against a small brick wall. "Sam's family is really nice. Maybe a bit too nice." She shrugged, "They've invited me to go skiing with them in a couple of months." She rolled her eyes a little, and shook her head.

"Skiing?" Deacon asked, chuckling a bit. The things rich people did for fun never ceased to amaze him.

Rayna nodded, "Yep." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a small smile playing on her lips, "I may have to talk you into coming with me then, too." She looked at him, her eyes sparking.

He didn't know much about skiing, but he knew enough about himself to know that he wouldn't be good at it, "Oh, no. I got roped into this," He waved his arms around, "That's enough. Besides, snow looks like it hurts when you hit it."

Rayna laughed and nodded a little, "It can. But there's…" She turned her head to the side, thinking, "A way to make it so it doesn't." She smiled at him, "I'll teach you how to fall."

Deacon shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at her, his gaze darkening a little, "I bet you will." He whispered, then he lowered his head down to brush his lips gently against hers. It was the first time they'd kissed since their songwriting session, and he was happy to feel Rayna's arms circle his neck, her fingers tickling the hair at the nape of his neck. She sighed a little against his lips, and his heart constricted a bit.

He'd just started to slip his tongue into her mouth when the loud sound of a throat clearing behind them broke them apart. They both turned to look in the direction of the sound.

The voice was booming when it spoke, "Trust you, Rayna, to bring an underdressed companion to your sister's wedding." Lamar Wyatt stood, staring hard at them. He glanced at Deacon, taking in his attire.

Rayna's gaze was pure fire as she looked at her father, "Daddy, stop." She jutted her chin out and looked at him defiantly.

Considering his daughter and weighing his options, Lamar turned to Deacon and offered his hand, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Lamar Wyatt." His tone was friendly, but there was a falseness behind it.

Deacon reached his hand out and shook Lamar's hand, trying to find the perfect grip, "Hi, sir. I'm Deacon Claybourne."

Lamar stared at him, holding tightly to his hand for a moment too long before he let it go. "I know who you are, son." His voice was cold. He looked at Rayna, "It's almost time for the toasts, Rayna, you're needed inside." He stared at Rayna and Deacon.

"We'll be right there, Daddy." Rayna told him, an edge to her voice.

Lamar spun on his heel, and walked a few steps forward. "Rayna." He said, not turning to look back at them.

Rayna rolled her eyes at Deacon, frustrated with her father, then pushed off from the wall and started down the path, Deacon walking slowly next to her.

"I've decided I'm going to do a song." Rayna lowered her voice so her father couldn't hear, "I wanted to do our song." She looked at him shyly, asking him what he thought.

Deacon smiled and nodded, "Alright." He said, enjoying how happy she looked as they approached the building.

Lamar went inside and Rayna turned to look at Deacon.

She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. "Sing with me." She whispered, and then let his hand go to walk inside.

Stunned, he followed behind her. He felt his stomach flutter and shook his head, unwilling to acknowledge that Rayna had that effect on him. Deacon Claybourne's stomach did not flutter. He watched Rayna walk over and whisper to the band before the DJ announced her.

Rayna took the microphone, and took her place on the stage. Deacon watched as all the nerves he'd seen earlier today melted away—he'd rarely seen someone so at home on stage.

"Hi, everyone, I'm Rayna, Tandy's little sister and Maid of Honor." Rayna smiled, and gave a little half-wave to the crowd, "I've known Tandy my whole life. She's been my big sister from the moment I came into this world, and I am so grateful for that. People say we're like oil and water, and you know what? We just might be. But we're alike in all the ways that matter." Rayna looked at the groom, "Sam, Tandy is a handful," A ripple of laughter spread around the crowd, "And that's putting it mildly. She'll test your patience, she'll test your strength, she'll test your liver—but, the thing about Tandy is that if you let her, she'll also love you with the biggest heart you've ever seen, she'll love you without asking questions, she'll love you even when you're not so sure you deserve it." Rayna smiled, and then she looked at Deacon, a silent question in her eyes. When he smiled, nodded, and began making his way to the stage, Rayna grinned, "But the truth is, everything I want to say to my big sister on her wedding day is right here in this song."

Deacon stepped up on stage next to her, and one of the bandmembers passed him a guitar. Slinging the guitar over his body, he gave it a quick strum to make sure it was in tune. Finding that it was, he began to play the opening notes of the first song they'd written together. Rayna turned to him and smiled and then looked down at Tandy from the stage. "This is called The Other Side of Fear. It's everything I hope for you, big sister."

As Rayna began to sing, she turned to look at Deacon, happy to find his eyes situated directly on her. His gaze was intense, and it spread a heat through her body. It reminded her of the first time they sang together in Watty's living room—but it was somehow even more than that this time. When he joined in, she smiled at him, never taking her eyes from his.

As the last chords of the song rang out, Deacon leaned over to Rayna. "I thought you weren't good at speeches?" He whispered.

Rayna shrugged, and grinned at him. "I guess I was… inspired."

Applause rang out, and Deacon slung the guitar off, not taking his eyes from Rayna as he returned it to the bandmember who had given it to him. As they made their way through the audience back to their table, they saw people wiping tears from their eyes, people gazing lovingly at their companions, their jaws a little slack. People smiled at them as they passed, looks of awe affixed firmly on nearly every face in the reception.

But what they didn't see was one face. The face of Lamar Wyatt, who was standing still as a statue in the corner of the room, his face a very particular shade of red.