~Juliette Barnes~

Juliette took a deep breath before she stood up from where she sat in the pew. Avery looked up at her and gave her an encouraging look. You can do this, Mama. Cadence mouthed the words and Juliette smiled sadly. She walked up the steps and stood at the top, front and center, the paper with the words she'd written down to say gripped tightly in one hand. She looked out over the crowd that was gathered in the large sanctuary in the Episcopal church in Belle Meade. It was packed, just like any Rayna Jaymes concert would have been.

She recognized so many people. Maddie and Daphne and their families, of course. Rayna's sister Tandy. Teddy Conrad. Luke Wheeler. Scarlett and Gunnar. Will Lexington. Even Layla Grant. Other music legends who were still around. Songwriters and musicians. Highway 65 staff, past and present. For a brief second she felt a flash of envy that Rayna engendered such widespread love and loyalty. But that was just the kind of person she was. She cared about people. She'd always wanted to be the place that nurtured young artists, took on those who needed a safe haven. Juliette knew she'd been in the latter group, although she was always one of Rayna's biggest stars.

She took a deep breath, smiling tightly. She started to speak and unexpectedly found she had a huge lump in her throat. She swallowed hard and then waved the two sheets of paper in front of her and put the other hand on her hip. "So," she said and stopped. She took another deep breath. "I hope you don't mind, but I really have a lot to say."


Avery was in the kitchen making coffee. Juliette was lying in bed, waiting. She heard his phone ring, then heard the low murmuring of his voice. She wondered who was calling so early, but she just waited, propping herself against the pillows and arranging the covers around her. Then she realized the murmuring had stopped.

"Avery?" she called out. In a second, he appeared at the door, looking a little dazed. He didn't have coffee either and she frowned. "Where's my coffee? And who was that on the phone?" she asked fretfully. She still was cranky in the morning before coffee. His eyes, just then, seemed to focus on her. She could feel the beginnings of anxiety. She didn't like the look on his face. "Avery, what's wrong?" she asked.

He came and sat next to her on the bed, grabbing her hands. She could see tears in his eyes. She sat up then, worried that something was wrong with Cadence. "That was Maddie Rose," he said softly, which wasn't what she'd expected. He swallowed. "Rayna passed away last night."

Her eyes widened and she felt a pain in her chest. She started breathing hard. "No!" she shouted. She couldn't catch her breath, all of a sudden. "No," she moaned, tears starting to form in her eyes. She grasped his hands tightly and looked into his eyes. "It has to be a mistake."

He shook his head sadly. "It's not." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Maddie said she was ready."

She was shaking her head slightly, but she knew what he meant. "She was ready to be with Deacon," she whispered.


Juliette ran her tongue over her lips. "It feels wrong to be standing here. For some reason, I expected Rayna to live forever. I have to admit I'm a little bit at a loss, now that she's gone. Rayna Jaymes has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I'll be honest and say I wasn't always happy about it, but she's truly always been there.

"When I first met her I told her my mama had listened to her when she was pregnant with me. That was stretching the truth, but I was trying hard in those days to jump ahead of her and I wasn't above insulting her to do it.

"But Rayna was my idol when I was growing up, if you want to know the truth. I wanted to be just like her. I used to stand in front of my mirror with a hair brush and pretend I was Rayna Jaymes. When I started singing at county fairs and talent shows, I sang 'This Love Ain't Big Enough' and 'The Best Songs Come From Broken Hearts' and 'Already Gone'. She was beautiful and talented and everyone loved her. And I wanted to be a country music star just like her.

"I'm not sure exactly when that changed, but I do remember that as my career took off, instead of wanting to be like her, I wanted to beat her at her own game. I wanted to be the queen of country music. In the midst of all that, we were forced to tour together. I knew she didn't think much of me and I was determined to outshine her, but somehow, over time, we figured out how to coexist."


When she walked into Maddie and Daniel's den, Juliette saw that her friend was sitting on the couch with her head on the side arm. She stood there for a moment, watching her, thinking back to when her own mother had died. The circumstances had been so different. She and Jolene had only just started to rebuild their relationship. But when she'd found her dead from an overdose and Dante dead on the floor from a gunshot wound, she'd felt her life spiraling out of control again.

She thought about how Rayna had tried to reach out to her, but then she'd been in that horrific car accident and nearly died. The tentative attempts they'd made to build a bridge were shattered. Juliette regretted how immature she'd been then, how she'd practically blamed Rayna for being in a coma.

Rayna and Maddie had gone through their own trials, back when Maddie was sixteen and had successfully gained her emancipation. She remembered how much Maddie had wanted that, how she'd pointed out she was following in Juliette's footsteps. Their situations were so different, though, and she knew Maddie didn't appreciate it then. But she and Rayna had gotten the chance to rebuild their relationship and, instead of feeling envious, Juliette had been glad for both of them. She thought again about the lost chance with her own mother and she sighed.

Maddie sat up and turned. When she saw Juliette, she jumped up from the couch and ran to her friend, her face dissolving in tears as she did. "You came," she cried into Juliette's shoulder.

Juliette rubbed Maddie's back as she cried, making soothing noises like she had when Cadence was little. When Maddie pulled back, Juliette gave her an understanding smile. "What can I do?" she asked.

Maddie shook her head. "Nothing. Just come sit with me?" Juliette nodded and they walked over and sat back down on the couch where Maddie had been. Maddie sat sideways, Indian-style, and reached for Juliette's hands. "I knew this day was coming," she said. "It's still hard though."

"Of course it is. She was your mama. It's hard to lose your mama. No matter how old you are." She squeezed Maddie's hands. "You were part of her, before you were born, and that part just never quite leaves us."

Maddie pulled her hands back and covered her face, crying softly. Juliette reached out and rubbed her leg, until Maddie had regained control. "I just feel like everyone will be looking to me," she said then. "To be strong."

Juliette smiled. "And you are. You're just like her." She looked at Maddie closely. "You know that, right? You're just like her. You can do this, Maddie."


Juliette glanced over at Maddie. "I watched her go through some tough times and I was impressed with how she always managed those situations with grace. She never lost sight of who she was, although I'm sure there were times when she wished she could have just thrown a hissy fit." She smiled then. "I'm pretty sure I was the cause of many of those situations. In fact, I know that I was.

"I spent a lot of years being jealous of Rayna. As successful as I was, she had more. She had a family who loved her. She was a good mama to her girls. She had Deacon. He was always there for her, even when they weren't together. He always loved her and I think I envied that most of all. She had an amazing career and the respect of the whole country music business." She smiled again. "I remember, back when we were touring together, we'd been asked to present a CMA award together. I can tell you I didn't want to do it. And, of course, we were given the stupidest lines ever. That was the day she told me that selling millions of albums and having millions of Twitter followers didn't give you respect, that you had to earn it. And she was right. Because she had earned it every single day, by being generous even when she didn't have to be, by treating people respectfully even when she might have wanted to be rude, by smiling even when she spoke her mind because she knew it would help her cause more than being a screaming shrew.

"Rayna had every right to be a diva, if she'd wanted to be. She could write her own ticket in the music business. Everything she touched turned to gold. But she worked hard to build relationships, so that when, inevitably, things weren't going her way, people still wanted to help her. I watched her build herself back up. Instead of fading away, she stood her ground and said 'I'm not ready to be a legacy artist' and she fought her way back to the top of the mountain. But you know what? She never did it at the expense of anyone else. She supported her artists and even artists who weren't hers. She supported me, even when I gave her no reason to.

"When I look back, Rayna was there for all the important moments of my life. She was there when my mama died. She took me onto her label when I got fired. She was with me when I went into labor and gave birth to my daughter. And she was the first person, besides Avery and my team, who came to see me in the hospital after I nearly died. She knew how that felt, knew I needed someone who knew what I'd been through."


Every time Juliette opened her eyes, she hoped it would all have been a bad dream. A very horrible bad dream, to be sure, but a bad dream anyway. As often happened, when she'd drifted off to sleep, she'd had the same dream. The flight attendant had told her they were about a hundred miles outside of Nashville and would be landing soon. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, there had been a loud thump and the plane had shifted ominously to the right. After a few seconds of rocking back and forth, they'd started to plummet. She could hear herself screaming, begging, pleading not to die. And then, just before the awful crash to the earth, she'd wake up, breathing hard, her heart racing.

Although she did dream it, it was unfortunately all too real.

This time, when she woke up, she looked up and saw a pair of concerned eyes. She blinked once, twice, and then took a deep breath. It was Rayna standing by her hospital bed. "Hey," Rayna said, reaching down to grasp her hand. "We were worried about you and Avery said it was okay for us to come."

Juliette glanced down at the foot of the bed, where Deacon stood, a worried look on his face. "We don't have to stay long, if you ain't up for it," he said.

She felt overwhelmed. She could feel the threat of tears and she breathed in, willing herself not to cry. "It's okay," she whispered. She cleared her throat. "Thanks for coming," she said, her voice a little less raspy.

"How are you feeling?" Rayna asked. She looked back at her and saw concern furrowing Rayna's brow.

Juliette tried to smile. "Not great," she said. "But apparently good enough that they're gonna let me go home at the end of the week."

Deacon came over then and stood next to Rayna. "Glad to hear that," he said.

Juliette looked over at the controls on her bed and hit the one that raised up her bed. She winced just a little as she felt some discomfort. "They say I'll heal better at home," she said. In a wheelchair. With a lot of physical therapy. The doctors said she'd be able to walk again, but she wasn't looking forward to what was in store for her.

Rayna nodded. "That's true. Being with the people you love, that helps so much. Trust me."

Juliette felt the tears again. "Did you…did you dream about it?" she asked. She saw a shadow cross Deacon's face and felt bad for bringing it up in front of him. He turned and walked over to the window, leaving them to talk. She watched him and then turned back to Rayna.

"I did," Rayna said quietly. "For a little while. But then I knew I just needed to push past it. I just reminded myself that I survived. And so did you."

Juliette could feel the tears slide down her cheeks. "But no one else did," she whispered. "I keep thinking about them."

Rayna reached for her hand and smiled compassionately. "I know," she said. "I suppose that will be the hard part. But you did and you have to get stronger for Avery and for your daughter. They need you." She breathed in. "The fact that they didn't lose you means they need you all the more. And you need them, to help you appreciate the fact that you're still here. Rejoice in that, Juliette. Be glad for that."

Deacon had walked back up behind Rayna and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled, covering his hand with her own. "We're all glad you're here, Juliette," he said.

She tried giving them a brave smile. "Thanks, y'all," she said, a little shyly.


"Maybe Rayna gave herself a minute to dwell on what could have happened, but she was always the person who saw the positive. She didn't die the night she was in that car crash and she went on to have a long, happy life. She got to see her girls grow up and become amazing women. She got to have thirty years with the man she loved by her side. She had the career she'd always wanted and was able to build a business that supported other artists. When she did finally leave this life, she left an amazing legacy behind her.

"I didn't die the night my plane crashed. And I learned so much from her then about gratefulness. She encouraged me when I was down. She cheered even the tiniest improvements. She reminded me every day that there were people who loved me and were rooting for me. She wanted me to have that long happy life too.

"It really wasn't until then that Rayna and I actually became friends. We'd had our moments, times when for one reason or another, one of us needed the other. But then the moment would pass and we would be like ships passing in the night. But having that shared experience bonded us in a way I wouldn't have imagined before. I needed her, really needed her, and she was there for me.

"I was very fortunate to have crossed paths with Rayna Jaymes. I wouldn't have admitted to that, back when I was twenty-four years old, but she touched my life in amazing ways. But probably, after I recovered from the plane crash, her taking me back to Highway 65 was the thing that changed my life for good. She helped me to rebuild my career and to prove to myself that I could be better than ever. She showed me it was okay to enjoy my life and to make room for the things, and the people, who are truly important." She smiled indulgently at Avery and Cadence. "Rayna was one of the best people I knew and I am truly going to miss her." She reached up and brushed away a stray tear. "Thank you."


Juliette was looking at her hands in her lap as Avery slid in the driver's seat. He put the key in the ignition and then turned towards her. "You okay?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

She didn't look up, but nodded. "Yes." Then she shook her head. "No." She looked up at Avery, a tear trailing down her cheek. "I'm not ready for her to be gone."

"I know," he said soothingly. "I'm pretty sure nobody was, based on what was said in there."

She bit her lip. "I wasted so much time trying to be better than her," she said.

He frowned. "I don't know what you mean," he said. "You and Rayna have been friends for a very long time."

She reached up and wiped away the tears on her face. "I know, but I spent a lot of years not respecting her, trying to live her life, instead of just learning from her." She sighed. "I didn't really appreciate her until after my accident. I mean, really appreciate her. She never gave up on me, Avery, even when I was just awful to her."

He smiled. "There weren't many people she wouldn't help," he said. "That was just who she was." He started the car and slowly pointed it towards the road, heading for the cemetery. They rode quietly for a while and then he said, "You know, she thought of you as part of her family."

She nodded. "I know. I was very lucky." She reached for his hand and they smiled as they continued on their way.


Juliette parked her car and turned it off, just sitting there for a few minutes. Finally she got out and walked over to the Wyatt family plot. Rayna had been gone a little over a month and it was her first visit to the cemetery. It was a bright sunny day, with a hint of spring to come, but she still needed a light coat, which she pulled tightly around her. She walked up to the bench that faced the gravestones. She sat on one end, closer to the graves of Deacon and Rayna. Even though it was sad knowing they were both gone, she also felt a sense of peace in knowing they were together.

She sat quietly for several minutes. "I miss you both so much," she said finally. "You were both true friends, people who I know truly cared about me, even when I didn't deserve it. This world just won't be the same without y'all in it. But Rayna, you especially meant so much to me. When you came to be with me when my mom died, I had no idea what you were going through then. And when Cadence was born, you stayed with me, even though you really needed to be with Deacon then. But that was who you were. You had such a big heart.

"Thank you for all the times you were there for me, helped me out of a tough spot, even when I gave you grief for doing it. I'm so glad you stuck with me and that we finally truly became friends. I think I finally realized what a gift you were in my life when I was lying in that hospital bed, wondering if I'd ever walk again, ever be able to get on stage. You listened to me when I didn't believe I could do it and you encouraged me. You made me stronger."

She could feel the tears rolling down her face. "I miss you, but I know you're at peace." She stood then and walked over to stand in front of Rayna's gravestone. "Farewell, my friend. Til we see each other again." She raised her hand as if to wave and then turned, walking briskly back to her car.