I didn't think I'd be able to update this soon, but thanks to a snow/ice day yesterday, I had some time on my hands. It might take longer for the next chapter. Thanks to all who have reviewed; much appreciated!

"What kind of food do you like, Maddie?" Deacon asked. "I thought maybe you, me and Scarlett would go out to dinner."

Maddie thought for a moment. "Mexican?" she said.

Deacon smiled. "Mexican, it is then. So, uh, do you have any homework or anything that you need to do?"

"A little. I have some math homework." She made a face. "Not my best subject."

Deacon frowned. "Do you need a desk or something? We can get one, if you need it."

Maddie shook her head. "I usually just sit on my bed and do homework."

"Okay, then. Well, why don't you do homework now and then we'll go eat."

Maddie smiled. "That sounds good." Deacon hesitated just a moment and then turned to walk out, turning back to raise his hand in kind of a wave. Maddie smiled at him and then, when he left, she pulled her book bag up on the bed and sat down. She looked around the room, thinking about the fact that her parents had lived here together. She hadn't really thought about that, but it was one more piece in that complicated process towards learning more about where she came from. She pulled her iPad out and turned it on. She knew she should probably do her math homework, but she also knew she could get it done during her study hall the next day.

As she typically did, she entered "Deacon Claybourne Rayna Jaymes" into her browser and waited for it to load with hits. The most current ones were about the accident, so she looked farther back. There weren't a lot of stories about them. It seemed they didn't stir up a lot of press back when they were together. But there was a story from 1995 that talked about Deacon's second trip to rehab and speculation about their relationship.

"Deacon Claybourne, the bandleader for country's #1 artist, Rayna Jaymes, headed back to rehab for the second time. Speculation is that she is paying for this stint, his second in two years. Claybourne has a long history of alcohol abuse and has a habit of missing shows. On Jaymes's latest tour, supporting her album 'End of the Day', he missed multiple shows and was drunk on stage more than once.

"When asked about it, Jaymes wouldn't give any comment other than to say 'Deacon's had some personal issues that he needs to deal with. I'm looking forward to his return.'

"There has long been speculation that the two are an item, but neither will confirm. However, it's known that they bought a house together in East Nashville, where they both live.

"Jaymes is the daughter of Nashville business tycoon Lamar Wyatt and his late wife Virginia Jaymes Wyatt."

She skimmed through a few more articles, but they were all similar and short. She went back to the pictures and found the one she had saved to her picture file. It was obviously a candid shot and clearly they did not know it was being taken. The shot was not well-lit, but her mom's red-gold hair was clearly visible. It was backstage after a show; her mom was still in her short rhinestone dress and heels, her dad had slung his guitar on his back. They were kissing. Her mom was pressed against a wall and had her arms wrapped around her dad's neck, one foot and ankle wrapped around his. Her dad's hand was high on her mom's leg, pushing against the hem of her dress. It made her feel uncomfortable to look at it, because it was so clearly personal. But it was one of those pictures that gave her a glimpse into their world. It made her want to know what had gone so terribly wrong between them that led to everything that happened before she was born. They had loved each other, that much was clear, loved each other in a way that overwhelmed her.

Maddie wondered what it had been like for them back in those days. Her mother didn't give her a lot of information, so she wondered if maybe she could find out more from Deacon. She really was interested in their lives together. She wanted to hear about the good times, about how they met, about when they knew they loved each other. She hoped to be able to ask a lot of those questions during the weekend.

She reached for her phone and called her friend Talia. "Hey, Talia," she said when her friend answered. "I'm at my dad's."

"Your real dad's?" Talia asked. Talia was her best friend and was the only person she'd told about Deacon. She was the one Maddie had called the night she'd found the paternity test that said Teddy wasn't her father.

"Yeah," Maddie said with a smile. "I have my own room!"

"That's great. So, how is it so far?"

"Good. We're going to go out to dinner tonight. And I think I'm going to meet his girlfriend this weekend."

"Wow. That'll be kind of weird."

"Yeah, I guess." Maddie sighed. "I hope she's better than my mom's boyfriend."

"Oh, they all suck." Talia's parents were divorced and had both remarried. She had spent hours complaining to Maddie about her mom's boring husband and the bimbo her dad had left her mom for. "So have you gotten any more info?"

Maddie shook her head. "Not yet. I hope we'll have some time so I can ask some questions."

"What are you going to ask? About what happened when you were born?"

"I think I want to know first about when they were together. Kind of start from the beginning, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense." Talia was quiet for a second. "This is just so unreal, Mad. It's like you're in a soap opera, you know?"

Maddie sighed. "I hate it, Talia. All the lying. But now I just want to know what really happened. You know…I think they still might love each other. It's just all so confusing though."

"Yeah."

"So. I'm gonna go. I need to do some homework."

"See you tomorrow, Maddie."

"Bye." Maddie clicked off and put her phone down on the bed. She sat, looking off at nothing, for a moment, as she thought about being in her dad's house, in her bedroom. She was excited, but she was also a little apprehensive. So much was unknown. She was looking forward to learning more and hopefully finding out more of the incredibly private life that was Deacon Claybourne's and Rayna Jaymes's.

Deacon pulled into Mas Tacos with Maddie and Scarlett. They got out and went in, getting seated right away. Deacon ordered agua frescas for all three. Maddie had never had one and she tentatively took a sip of the beverage. She wrinkled her nose as she let the flavors settle on her tongue.

"Watermelon and lime," Deacon said. "Do you like it?"

Maddie swallowed and then she smiled. "I do," she said. "I really do." She was seated next to Scarlett and across from her dad. He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling happily. "What kind of taco do you recommend?"

"I like the fried avocado one." Maddie made a face and he laughed. "But their cast-iron chicken taco is great. I bet you'd like that."

Scarlett leaned in. "I'm with you on the avocado thing. Yuck. So slimy."

Maddie laughed. "Yeah, it is. I've never liked them. Mom loves them though." She looked at Deacon as though to confirm.

Deacon nodded. "Yes, she does. She was the one that got me to try them years ago."

"Really?" Maddie looked interested.

Deacon remembered his conversation with Rayna about Maddie wanting to know more about them. He thought it might get more complicated eventually, but he was glad to tell Maddie a fun tidbit of information. "Yeah, I never had them growing up. We lived kind of in the middle of nowhere and didn't have fancy food, ever. So your mama and I were singing somewhere, I don't even know where anymore, and we went to a hole in the wall Mexican place. Kind of like this place. She asked for avocado on the side and offered me some. I said no and so she made me try it." He shrugged. "And I liked it." He smiled at her. "She didn't make you try things?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, I had to try it. But it was gross." She stuck her tongue out.

Just then the server came back and took their orders. Maddie surprised Deacon by asking for some avocado "on the side". He looked at her questioningly and she shrugged. "Maybe I'll try it again. You never know. I am older now." She smiled at him.

While they waited for their food, Maddie decided to start asking questions. "So, Dad," she said, "how did you and Mom meet?"

Deacon was happy she'd started with a pretty easy one. "I met her at The Bluebird. She was there for an open mic night. Watty had invited me to meet her, although I didn't know she was the one he wanted me to meet."

Maddie perked up. "Uncle Watty wanted to fix y'all up?" she asked.

Deacon laughed. "Oh, no, nothing like that. He wanted me to hear her sing. Turns out she needed a guitar player and he thought I would fit the bill."

"Did she play guitar that night?"

Deacon nodded. "Yeah. It was pretty obvious why he thought she needed a guitar player."

Maddie laughed. "She's definitely not very good." Then she looked thoughtful. "What did you think of her?"

"Well, truthfully, Watty didn't tell me which girl I was listening for. So when your mama came out, I just thought she was this really pretty young girl. She had a really good voice, I thought. It wasn't until afterwards that I found out she was the one Watty wanted me to meet."

"So you thought she was pretty?"

Deacon smiled at her. He couldn't help but think how much Maddie reminded him of Rayna then. Not her look so much as her openness and her eagerness, the sweetness. It made his heart clench for a moment. "Yeah, she was real pretty. She seemed a little nervous, so I thought she was shy. And quiet." He laughed softly and looked down, before looking back up at Maddie. "She was definitely not shy. Or quiet. She was nervous though."

Maddie looked entranced. "So what did you think when you listened to her sing?"

Deacon ran a hand over his mouth. "I thought she had the prettiest voice I'd ever heard. And she had this great big smile – like yours – and that just made me like her even more."

Maddie beamed. "And so you wrote 'A Life That's Good' for her, right?"

Deacon had taken a sip of his agua fresca and choked. "How did you know that?" he asked finally.

"I found a story about it. And then I asked Mom. She said you did. Is it true you wrote it on a napkin?"

The server came by just then with their food, which gave Deacon a few minutes to think about how he wanted to respond. Not only Maddie was interested in his answer; Scarlett was too. He realized that, although he and Rayna had seen Scarlett when she was little, she really hadn't known the two of them when they were together either. When everything was in place, Deacon was ready to take a bite, but he noticed that Maddie and Scarlett were both looking at him, waiting for an answer.

"Oh," he said, putting the taco back down. He grinned a little sheepishly. "Well, yeah, I guess I did do that. All these words came in my head and the napkin was just there, so…" He shrugged a little and picked the taco up again.

Maddie smiled. "Why did you write it?"

He put the taco back down. She was definitely persistent. It made him smile a little, because he knew he could be the same way. "Well, I saw her up there and I just thought she looked like someone you'd want to build a life with. Someone good and kind and sweet." He gave a short laugh. "Course, then I got to know her better and found out she was kind of feisty and bossy and not as sweet all the time as I thought."

"Did you change your mind about the song? Or did you still think about that? With her?"

Deacon took a deep breath. She was making him think about things he thought he'd pushed down far enough now that he didn't have to think about them all the time. "Well, Maddie, to tell you the truth, I thought for a very long time that that song was exactly what I wanted. And that I wanted it with her. But sometimes things change." He looked at her and saw her smile fade. But he had to be honest. The truth was that song was still what he wanted, but it wasn't to be. So he had to move on. He reached for the taco and took a bite, letting the silence settle for a bit while all three of them ate.

Maddie took a sip of her drink, then said, "Blue."

Deacon looked puzzled. "What?"

"Blue, I like blue. And red. No pink. You said you didn't know what colors I like." She smiled. "Just no pink. My room at home is pink but I can't convince Mom to change it. She still thinks I'm a little girl."

Scarlett winked at Deacon. "Well," he said. "I guess it's a good thing that we didn't buy what I wanted to buy, because I would have bought pink. I thought all girls liked pink."

Maddie laughed. "Daphne does. But I don't really. But I can't get Mom to believe me."

"Well, what do you like? Other than colors. What do you like to do?"

"Play the guitar," she said with a broad grin. "And sing. And write songs. Like you."

Deacon grinned at her. "I'm glad we can share that. What's your favorite subject in school?"

She thought about that for a minute. "History, I think. And English. I'm not a fan of math or science."

"But I bet you make good grades in both."

She shrugged and gave him a shy smile. "I guess." She looked over at the plate of avocado slices then. "I guess I should try these," she said apprehensively. She sighed and picked up her fork.

"Wait!" Deacon said. He picked up a slice of lime from his plate and reached over, squeezing it on the avocado. Then he sprinkled a little salt. "That's how I like them."

Maddie took a deep breath and then cut a small bite with her fork, lifting it to her mouth. She hesitated and then put it in her mouth. She chewed a little bit, then swallowed. Deacon raised his eyebrows. She shrugged. "It was ok," she said. "Not as bad as I remember it." Deacon grinned. She pointed her fork at him and smiled playfully. "But don't add it to the menu at home."

Home. He liked the sound of that. And so did she. And so did Scarlett, who felt like her heart would burst watching her uncle with the daughter he'd never known was his, learning how to be a daddy on the fly. She'd been worried when he'd first told her Maddie was his daughter. He had seemed to want to stay far, far away from that, but she'd realized later that he was afraid. Afraid to be a dad, afraid he would disappoint his daughter, but mostly afraid he would disappoint Rayna. But he and Maddie seemed to be developing a nice relationship and she was happy to be able to witness it.

They ordered one last round of agua frescas. Maddie wasn't done with her questions. "So what was it like when you actually met Mom the first time?" she asked. "I know you said that you thought she was pretty and all, but when you actually met her."

Deacon thought about how to answer. "I guess I was a little nervous. When I got closer to her, I realized she was younger than I thought."

"Sixteen," Maddie said.

Deacon smiled. "Well, actually she wasn't even quite sixteen. Just a couple months shy of it. I didn't know that at first. But she was really young. She seemed older in some ways though. I think that was because of where she grew up. She had good manners and all that." He was struggling a little, because he couldn't tell his daughter that when he first met Rayna he'd fallen head over heels in love with her. That he wanted to kiss her and make love to her. Those were things he was going to try to keep her from doing, so he didn't want to tell her that her mama was the sexiest woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

Maddie grinned. "Did you fall in love at first sight?"

Deacon shook his head and smiled. Damn, she was persistent! "Maybe a little," he said.

"She told me she fell in love right away." Deacon raised his eyebrows. She'd always told him that, but he'd never been sure he believed her. "How long were you together?" she asked, looking serious.

He took a deep breath. "Ten or eleven years," he said quietly.

Maddie looked thoughtful. "That's a long time," she said finally. She didn't say anything else, just let that roll around in her head. She wondered what had made them break up, but she didn't want to go there yet. Math might not have been her favorite subject, but she had calculated quickly and knew that was around the time her mom would have gotten pregnant. It could wait. She had a lot more she wanted to know.

When they got back to Deacon's house, Maddie went upstairs to get ready for bed. She noticed the little stuffed teddy bear sitting on the dresser and picked it up. At the knock on the door, she turned to see Deacon standing there. She smiled. "Hey," she said.

He smiled back. "Hey. I just wanted to come tell you good night."

Maddie looked down at the bear and then back at him. "Did you buy this for me?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Scarlett told me you were too old for stuff like that."

She smiled shyly and shook her head. "You're never too old when it comes from your dad."

Deacon felt a lump in his throat. It was times like these when he wished he had a how-to manual for being a dad, because he wasn't completely sure what the correct response should be. He didn't know what to say to her, so he just walked over and put his hands on her shoulders, leaning down to give her a kiss on the forehead. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him and, after a second, he did the same. When she stepped back, he took a breath and said, "Don't forget to set your alarm. We need to leave at seven to get you to school."

Maddie smiled. "It's already set."

"Good night, Maddie. I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too. Good night, Dad."

He closed the door and she went over to the bed and crawled under the covers. She laid there for a moment thinking about the fact that she was spending the night in her dad's house for the first time, the house where he and her mom had lived together once, and she smiled to herself. Then she reached over and turned out the light. But it was a long time before she finally fell asleep.