October 23rd, 1988

The morning sun was shining, peeking through the trees nestled along the river. With their father out of town on some form of business or another, Tandy had convinced Rayna to go to church—the later service—for the first time in months. Now, they were strolling along the river, their stomachs full from a late brunch, paper cups of coffee in their hands. The sound of their heels echoed against the concrete, and Rayna pulled her black and white scarf tighter around her neck against the onslaught of cold.

"You know, I'd almost forgotten about all the hellfire and brimstone," Rayna said, smiling as the wind whipped her hair around her face.

Tandy chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee, "Wouldn't be a sermon by pastor Greenleaf if it weren't full up on hellfire and brimstone."

Rayna shook her head, "No, it certainly would not."

"So," Tandy said, drawing the word out a bit, her eyes focused on the path in front of them, "Baby sister, after last night I have to ask, what are you doing with Deacon?"

Rayna stopped in her tracks, a pebble skittering forward with the force of her stop. Tandy kept walking for a moment before noticing Rayna was not beside her. Turning around, she saw Rayna stopped a few feet back, her nose pink from the cold.

"Jesus, Tandy," Rayna breathed out, "Is that why you brought me to church today?"

Tandy stepped towards Rayna and rolled her eyes a little, "Oh, come on. You know I'm not nearly as subtle as all that—I invited you to church because I miss going to brunch after church with you." Tandy smiled, "Sam's not nearly as fun to drink bootleg mimosas with."

Rayna laughed despite herself, but she didn't keep walking forward. Instead, she meandered over to a bench and sat down, crossing her legs at the ankles and tucking them underneath the bench. Tandy joined her crossing her legs at the knees, and they both sat in silence for a moment warming their hands against the paper cups of coffee in their hands.

"Well, good," Rayna said, finally, "Because I think you and I both know you lost the right to be passive aggressive about premarital sex in the bed of Andrew Campbell's truck your junior year of high school." She didn't smile, but there was humor in her voice.

Tandy closed her eyes and winced, "Not the proudest two minutes of my life," She opened her eyes and glanced at Rayna, "So… have you?" She asked, bracing herself for the answer.

"Had premarital sex?" Rayna asked, biting back a smile and trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Tandy laughed, "Yes."

Rayna flushed, "No," She shook her head, "Not yet." Her voice was a whisper, a confession that she'd thought about it.

The inevitability of the moment was not lost on Tandy, but it still didn't make her any more eager to hear that her baby sister, the one she'd helped bathe, was thinking about having sex.

"Rayna," Tandy sighed, inching closer to Rayna on the bench, "You spent a lot of time not ruining farm boys in the beds of their daddy's trucks," Tandy said, turning her head to look at her sister, "Lord knows you could have ruined more than a few," Tandy said, bumping her shoulder against Rayna's, "So, I'm just…"

"Worried," Rayna supplied, nodding her head as she gazed out at the river, watching the water creak by, "I know."

"It's what I do." She shrugged, "I worry about you," Tandy said, a ghost of a smile on her face.

"And I love you for it," Rayna said, her voice gentle.

Tandy opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Sensing her action, Rayna looked at Tandy out of the corner of her eyes.

"What is it?" She asked on a heavy sigh, arching an eyebrow. "Far be it from you to ever keep your mouth shut, so you might as well just say it now."

Tandy let out a huff of air and watched as it made its way into the late morning air, "I just…" She trailed off, and then shrugged, "Babe," Tandy said, her voice gentle, "Don't you think you deserve more than being felt up in an alley behind a bar with dumpsters as an audience and broken beer glass under your feet?"

Rayna clenched her jaw, "It's not like that, Tandy," Rayna's voice was low, the anger bubbling just under the surface. She clenched the fist of her hand not holding the coffee cup and tried to control her anger—she didn't need an argument right now, not with her sister, the only family member with whom she was currently on speaking terms.

Tandy turned her gaze to the river, "That's what it looked like." She jutted her chin out and lifted her head a little.

"Well," Rayna still spoke through clenched teeth, "Things aren't always exactly what they look like," She turned to look at her sister, "You certainly ought to know that."

Tandy sighed, brought her coffee cup to her lips and drained the last of its contents, "I just want to be sure you know what you're getting yourself into."

Rayna laughed then, her fingers playing along the rim of the lid of her coffee cup as she balanced it against her lap, "Of course I don't, Tandy," Her voice dropped, "I've never been here before." Rayna took a sip of her coffee then tossed it in the trashcan next to the bench, "But there are some things I'm just going to have to learn on my own."

"I know that," Tandy leaned over Rayna and dropped her empty cup in the trash, "I do," She nodded, "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I've known guys like Deacon…"

Rayna cut her off, "No," Her voice was stern, "You haven't." She narrowed her eyes at Tandy letting her know that this point was not up for debate. "I've never known anyone like him," Rayna said, matter-of-factly.

Tandy ran her hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh, "Fine," She shook her head, "I just… don't want to see you get your heart broken," Tandy said, her voice suddenly quiet.

Rayna smiled, "I don't want that either, but…" She shrugged, "I think you know me better than that. Fear of something isn't going to stop me." Rayna grinned, "It never has."

Tandy laughed, leaning her head on Rayna's shoulder, "Yes, well, I know that's true, but it's different, Rayna." Tandy's voice grew serious, and she turned to fully face her sister on the bench, "Love is different," Tandy cleared her throat, "When it…" She trailed off, "You don't get all the pieces back."

"Tandy, come on," Rayna said, her voice quiet but thick with emotion, "You and I haven't had all the pieces since Momma died."

Tandy felt the tears sting her eyes, the cold seeping in and making the sensation worse, "That's true." She nodded, "That's true," Her voice was barely a whisper.

They settled into silence, watching as people meandered along the river talking, laughing, holding hands.

"Look," Rayna's voice cut the silence, "I know what you're scared of, but I don't need you to protect me from it." Rayna sighed, "You can't protect me from it." Rayna turned to face Tandy, "What I need is for you to be happy for me."

"I am," Tandy said, reaching for her sister's hand.

Rayna cut her a look, then laughed a little at Tandy's expression.

"I am," She said, "Just… if he hurts you, Rayna," Tandy gave Rayna's hand a squeeze, "Daddy is going to be the least of his worries."

Rayna laughed and squeezed Tandy's hand back, looking down at their joined hands, "I wouldn't have it any other way," Rayna said. Smiling, she stood from the bench, bringing Tandy up with her. They walked beside the river, still holding hands, "You know," Rayna said, "You and Sam might want to give the whole alley thing a try…"

Tandy's mouth dropped; she stared at her sister in disbelief, then laughter erupted from her—she bumped Rayna's shoulder with her own, "Is that right?"

Rayna smiled, a light flush creeping up her neck to settle on her cheeks, "That's right," Rayna nodded, a twinkle in her eye.