A shortish background chapter. Enjoy!

Candy hummed along to the music as she stared intently at the image in front of her.

"What are you doing?"

"Hmmm, what?" she replied distractively.

"What are you watching?"

"Ummm old footage of Rayna in concert."

"Why?"

"They are hiding something."

"Who?"

"Rayna and Deacon. I sensed it when l interviewed Rayna, to be honest expected it from her. She never opens up to journalists. But when l interviewed Deacon he was just as evasive as Rayna."

"Well you knew that he was also known for avoiding the media, so that shouldn't have been too much of a surprise for you."

"I guess not, but I thought the fact that we had a history would have worked to my advantage."

Candy narrowed her eyes and stared at the man doubling over in laughter.

"Oh you have to be kidding me. You thought that cause you had slept with him in the past he would just open up to you now? That is precious…and naïve. Next thing you will be telling me is that you made a pass at him?"

"So what if I did? He is single, I'm single. We could've had fun together."

Shaking his head at her, he moved further into the room. "Candy everyone knows that he is in love with Rayna. It's a well-known secret within the country music industry. He could have had his choice of bands to play in, hell he could have had his own music career but he choose to stay with her as her guitar player. No one does that unless they are in love."

"Are you also saying that she kept him around because she was also in love with him?"

"Now that I don't know. Rayna is a shrewd business woman, she might have kept him on because she recognised that he made her a better performer or maybe she was also in love. But what I do know is that trying to get information about Rayna Jaymes out of Deacon Claybourne is a wasted effort."

"Hmmm maybe, but they are hiding something and I will find out what it is."

"Good luck with that!"

"Look at this footage. Even when Rayna was married to Teddy Conrad, the connection they had on stage is amazing plus that video of Luke Wheeler attacking Deacon on the morning of the cancelled wedding. There is definitely a story here."

"Oh no denying that but you are going about it the wrong way. Asking them straight out will get you nowhere. "

Candy looked up once again from the YouTube footage she was viewing. She really didn't want to ask for help but if she was going to break the story of the year she needed to swallow her pride and ask.

"What do you suggest then Jeff?" She knew that he had had dealings with Rayna during his time with Edgehill Records and had seen Luke and Rayna together. He could give her some insight to what he had observed, he might even be able to open some industry doors for her so that she could get to heart of the story.

"Well you have that interview with Luke tomorrow. I don't think you will get much from him, well not directly anyway. If you play it right you might get him to imply some information but I think you might need to go do some grassroots investigation. You should try following one of them and see what happens. Here." Candy grabbed the glass of whiskey he held out to her. Turning to face him as he climbed into the bed, she contemplated what he had just suggested. She sipped her drink as she ran through the logistics of staking out either one of them. She had an early appointment with Luke tomorrow but afterwards she could camp out the front of Highway 65 offices and see what happens. It wasn't ideal but at this stage it was the best option available.

"Why are you helping me Jeff? It's not like we are friends or anything, this isn't going to help your career."

"True but it's not like I have anything to lose now since I lost my job at Edgehill."

Candy's face showed her sorrow for Jeff. Even though she knew what sort of business person he was, she still didn't think it was right that he was so publicly fired from Edgehill.

"Show me these clips that have you salivating about Rayna's and Deacon's relationship!"

"Ha! You're funny" Candy sarcastically retorted, "See look at this one. It's an early one from her career, when they were a couple." Jeff shuffled over so that he was lying next to Candy and could see the screen on the tablet. Seeing the interplay between them on stage had him mesmerised. There was no doubting Rayna's talent as a performer but that was overshadowed by the chemistry between them. The feelings they had for each other was there for anyone to see, they had completely lost themselves in each other. The audience had been forgotten and they had transported themselves into their own world. Jeff felt shivers ripple up his back as he watched the passion between Rayna and Deacon. It was electric and completely absorbed you. It was no wonder that audiences early on in their career flocked to their concerts, and they developed a loyal and passionate fan base. As they ended the song, Candy flicked her eyes over at Jeff. She could see that he too was entranced by he saw. He shook himself a little as the clip finished and glanced at Candy.

Raising her eyebrows at him, "Yep I know. Pretty damn powerful stuff. Ok now watch these clips. These are from the period when Rayna was married to Teddy. Umm, think they cover from the start of the marriage to the end of the marriage."

"What am I looking for exactly?"

"Just watch."

Jeff watched the progression of their relationship played out on the stage. You could tell there was a negativity between them at the start. When Rayna had returned to touring after marrying Teddy and having Maddie, but even then you could see hints of what was previously present. Deacon kept his distance on the stage, but he couldn't stop his eyes from following her every move. The same could be said about Rayna, she would flick her hair back over her shoulder and gaze over at Deacon. The next clip was later in her marriage and you could tell there had been a shift in their relationship. Deacon was once again standing next to her on the stage and there were more smiles exchanged between them. The next couple of clips were very similar, though you could progressively see their relationship deepen. Jeff's eyes widened as he watched the final clip. They were now sharing the microphone, leaning into each other's personal space. Rayna would occasionally place her hand on his shoulder as she sang and he would lean into it. The most telling signs were the looks exchanged between them and the smiles as they locked eyes. Watching as Rayna draped her body against Deacon's as she reached the climax of the song hinted that they were more than band mates. Jeff frown at that thought. There had always been rumours that they were more than friends, but there had never been any concrete evidence. Normally there would be talk from the roadies about what was going on backstage, but at no time during her marriage was there any hints of any backstage activities.

"See! You tell me that something wasn't going on while she was married. Their behaviour is pretty much identical to that when they were a couple."

Candy's face was animated as she explained her theory to Jeff. While he wasn't completely convinced they were having an affair, he couldn't argue with the evidence in front of him. His thoughts were interrupted by another clip that had started to load. This one was of Rayna and Luke singing 'Ball and Chain'. After watching her performances with Deacon, even at their lowest moments they had amazing on chemistry, he however couldn't help but think that it was a lacklustre performance between Rayna and Luke. There wasn't a lot of chemistry between them, they were just playing their roles of performers.

Jeff watched as the next clip showed Rayna inviting Deacon on stage to sing with her and her girls at the fundraiser organised by Luke. Rayna looked nervous as Deacon approached her on stage, though it was only momentary. Once he started strumming his guitar, she relaxed and began swaying along to the music. They exchanged glances and smiles as they watched the girls play. Subconsciously they had gravitated closer to each other on the stage and when Deacon wrapped his arm around her at the end of the song, the smile she gave him screamed of her feelings towards him. Jeff thought it explained why Luke was in such a foul mood after the fundraiser, it also went a long way to explain why he suddenly proposed to her. Luke had seen what Jeff had just seen on the stage.

"Ok final clip. This is from Rayna's Opry anniversary."

As soon as Deacon walked on stage and stood next to Rayna, Jeff could feel the chemistry sparking off them both. As they sang 'Rivers between us', their feelings continued to build. They were staring deeply into eyes, the audience completely forgotten as they lost themselves to the message behind the song. Jeff almost felt like a voyeur watching as they expressed their love.

Jeff turned towards Candy, a look of disbelief on his face. He couldn't believe that her crazy theory was actually correct. Based on the evidence in front him, he would swear that Rayna and Deacon had been in a couple all these years.

"Yep, I know! This is what l think they are hiding. Add in the behaviour of Luke after she called the wedding off, I would put money on it that Rayna and Deacon are now a couple, and that they had more than a professional relationship for all those years. What I don't understand is why Rayna accepted Luke's proposal, it's clear that she was in love with Deacon. Did Luke say anything to you about their relationship? Or why Rayna called the wedding off…on the morning of the wedding?"

Candy clutched Jeff's arm as she rapidly fired questions at him. Jeff was still trying to process what he had seen. He wondered how many others had failed to recognise their behaviour. Did Teddy know how deep their relationship was, did he suspect that they were having an affair. He shook his head in disbelief,

"You know, think you might be onto the scandal of the year."