I woke up early, as I always did these days, although I laid there for quite a while. It was the same during the last month or so that I was pregnant with Maddie. I was uncomfortable and sleeping was hard. But a lot was different this time. When I was pregnant with Maddie, I was married to Teddy. He left me alone once I'd hit my fifth month and always slept on his side of the bed, never touching me. I know he did it because he thought that was what I wanted. He assumed that I didn't want sex and that I needed my space. In many ways, that was true, but I had loved him then and not having that closeness with my husband hurt. This time, though, I was married to Deacon and everything was different. Deacon and I still made love every night and then he still whispered the number of days he'd been sober. Those things would probably never change for us and it made me smile to think about it. We still held each other close every night and I almost always woke up to him snuggled at my back, his hand draped across my stomach. Like now.

I wanted to get up without waking him, but when I tried to move, he gently pulled me back. "Don't go, baby," he murmured against my neck.

"I want you to sleep, babe. I'm just so restless." He'd gotten home late from his gig and so he hadn't been asleep long. But he clearly wasn't ready for me to get up, which made me smile to myself. He nuzzled my neck and slid his hand back and down across my ass. I instantly felt that sweet heaviness and was rewarded as his hand slipped between my legs and his fingers slid inside me. He took his time, in spite of my pleading him with him to let me come. I could feel him hard against me, but still he was slow and deliberate, building up my excitement, then pulling back. I was whimpering with my need for release and still he kept me right on the edge. Finally he pulled his fingers out and slid his leg in between mine to open me up. I nearly wept when he pressed into me. I moved my hips against him as he thrust into me over and over. Then he made a final push and I exploded around him and he came hard inside me.

"You didn't want to get out of bed without that, did you?" he asked.

I turned my head back towards him and he leaned over me and kissed me. "I never want to get out of bed without that," I answered with a smile. Then I slowly turned myself on my other side so I was facing him, my stomach pressed against him. I kissed him again, deeply this time, lingering on his lips. Just then the baby started moving and we looked at each other and smiled. He placed his hand on my stomach and we just laid there for a few minutes enjoying that moment together. I kissed him lightly. "I'm going to get up and let you sleep some more," I told him and awkwardly turned to sit up on the edge of the bed.

Deacon reached for my hand and I turned to look at him. "I love you, baby," he said.

"I love you too, babe," I responded with a smile. I pushed myself up from the bed and walked over to the closet to get some clothes.

"Rayna, you're beautiful." I looked up and Deacon was laying in the bed, with his hands behind his head, watching me with a smile. I always felt a little self-conscious when he saw me naked like this. I wasn't sure I agreed that I looked beautiful at eight months pregnant; I felt heavy and uncomfortable. But I always saw love – and desire – in his eyes when he looked at me, so I smiled at him and slid the nightgown over my head. I padded over to his side of the bed and leaned over to kiss him. He reached his hand out and rubbed my cheek, then lay back and closed his eyes.

I went in to Maddie's room to wake her up. I stood looking at her and felt my heart fill with love. She looked so sweet and peaceful laying there asleep. I hoped she was always sweet. I walked over and lowered myself to sit on the bed beside her and reached to turn on the bedside lamp. When I saw her eyes scrunch up as the light hit them, I leaned in and whispered, "Wake up, sleepyhead," as I smoothed her hair off her face.

She opened her eyes and squinted against the light. "Hey, Mama," she said in her sleepy voice.

I smiled at her. "Hey, baby girl." Just then the baby kicked me, hard, in the ribs. I rubbed my stomach, hoping to calm her down. This one was so different from Maddie. She might be another girl, but she was a wild one. It felt like she was dancing, doing cartwheels, jumping up and down. She would be a handful, I could tell already. I turned to Maddie then and said, "The baby's kicking. Do you want to feel it?"

She sat up and smiled. "Yes!" I took her little hand and placed it on my stomach where she could feel the baby moving. Maddie's eyes widened and she smiled up at me, her face full of wonder. Deacon and I had worked hard to make sure that she was excited about the new baby and not unhappy about no longer being the only child. But Maddie had been thrilled from the beginning and loved helping me pick out baby things. When we told her the baby was a girl, she had turned pirouettes and now all she could do was talk about "baby sister." "When does she get here, Mama?"

I scrunched up my face. "Mm, we still have a little ways to go. Not too long though." About six weeks, but she wouldn't have understood that.

"I wish she would hurry." She rubbed her little hand over my stomach where the baby was still kicking up a storm.

I laughed. "Me too, sweetie."

She looked up at me. "I picked a name for her."

I smiled at her. "You did? What did you pick?"

She moved to snuggle up next to me, patting my tummy softly. "Daphne."

Deacon and I had not even begun to think about names and we hadn't really talked to Maddie about it, so I wondered why she had been thinking of names. "Why Daphne?"

"Miss Haley read me a story and there was a princess named Daphne. She was so pretty, with yellow hair and blue eyes, and so I think our baby will be Daphne."

I thought about that. Daphne was a pretty name, but it sounded like it would be for a girly girl, and this baby sure didn't feel like she was going to be a girly girl. But I liked it and I liked that Maddie had picked it out. I wanted to be sure that Deacon was okay with it, so I told her, "We'll have to tell Daddy what you picked and make sure he likes it too."

Maddie smiled up at me. "Oh, he'll like it. I know he will." I had to laugh at her confidence. She was probably right though. Deacon thought she hung the sun, the moon and the stars and I was sure he'd be glad the whole idea of naming the baby was decided. Then Maddie leaned over and got close to my stomach and whispered, "Hey, baby Daphne. See you soon!"

That night, Deacon and I laid curled up together, just quietly enjoying being together. He was gently stroking my arm and had buried his face in my hair. As I lay there, focused on his fingers touching my skin, I could feel desire snaking through me. I moved my hips against him just slightly. He laughed softly. He reached up and moved my hair back from my neck and peppered me with little kisses. I squirmed against him. But he wasn't quite ready for that. He wanted to talk.

"So, Daphne, huh?" he said. Maddie had told him about naming the baby Daphne and he had asked her lots of questions about why she wanted to and what she thought this baby sister Daphne might be like, but he had never specifically agreed to the name. Maddie didn't notice and she kept chattering on about baby Daphne.

I turned slightly so that I could look him in the face. "Do you not like it, babe?"

He ran his finger down my nose and then smiled. "Well, Maddie said it was a princess name and, considering how much she beats you up, she doesn't seem much like a princess."

I grinned. "But we really won't know until she gets here, you know? But I have to say that I think it sounds all sunshine-y and fun and she really does seem like she's going to be that kind of girl." I looked at him carefully. "Were you thinking of something else?"

He shook his head. "No. I think it's nice that Maddie wants to name her."

At that moment maybe-Daphne started her dance routine inside me and I put my hand where I could feel her kicks. "I think maybe she likes the name. She seems happy with it."

Deacon leaned into my ear while his hand slid between my legs. "I think I need to make love to Daphne's mama then," he whispered and then proceeded to do just that.

The next day, Deacon and I had a meeting at the label with Bucky to talk about my album and some preliminary discussions about a tour after the baby came. It was a hot August day and I had changed clothes multiple times trying to find something that was cool. I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and put on a little makeup. The back of my neck felt hot and I pulled my hair up and then fanned the back of my neck with one hand. I found a rubber band and put my hair into a ponytail so that it was up and off my neck. I checked myself out in the mirror. I was lucky that all my weight gain had been in my stomach. It seemed like most of the women in Dr. Norris's waiting room looked pregnant all over.

Haley had come to babysit Maddie, so Deacon and I left to go to our meeting. "You feeling okay today?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess." I turned to him and smiled. "I picked the wrong time of year to be pregnant though. I don't ever want to be this pregnant in the summer again."

He gave me a funny look. "Um, are you planning to do this again?"

I scrunched up my face. "You don't want more babies?"

He breathed in. "I, uh, I didn't say that. But two seems like a good number, don't you think?"

I laughed. "Yeah, two sounds perfect." And it did. Since I knew Deacon had been nervous about the idea of having a son, it seemed like two daughters was the ideal situation. Plus, for me, the required down time from touring was a disadvantage when you were trying to sell records. Two was absolutely perfect and right.

When we got to the parking garage at Edgehill, I went to open the door and then Deacon grabbed my hand. I turned to look at him. He looked very serious. "Rayna, if you want to have more kids, it's okay with me."

"What?"

"I didn't mean to make it sound like I wouldn't be okay with it. Before."

I leaned over and kissed him. "That's sweet of you, babe, but really, two is perfect. I was just teasing you."

He looked relieved, but he said, "Well, if you change your mind, it's okay with me."

I squeezed his hand and moved to get out of the car, but he pulled me back towards him. He kissed me hungrily and I responded to him, turning towards him and putting my hand on his neck, running my fingers into his hair. I felt little swirls of excitement and moaned into his mouth. He reached for my leg, sliding his hand under my thigh, pulling me a bit closer, then gliding his fingers a little closer to my inner thigh. I moaned again. Then he moved his hand and pulled away from the kiss, taking a deep breath. I was breathing hard and sat back against the seat to regain my composure. I smiled at him. "You definitely know how to get a girl all hot and bothered."

He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. "Then I suggest we go on in and get this meeting done, so we can take care of that."

Edgehill's offices were close to the top of the building, so Deacon and I ended up on the elevator with a lot of other people. I had only worn a small amount of makeup and had my hair in a ponytail, so I didn't really look like "the great Rayna Jaymes". But it was always amusing to watch people do a double take when they saw me, wondering if maybe, just maybe, I was Rayna Jaymes. And, if I was, should they say something. I could tell that a few people who were on the elevator with us were wondering, but being as pregnant as I was, they weren't sure. I looked like me, but then I kinda didn't. I would just give the people who looked a small smile and they usually looked away, embarrassed.

We got off the elevator and walked into the reception area. "Hey there, Ms. Jaymes," the receptionist said with a smile. "They're down in the second conference room on the left." She pointed us down one hallway.

I looked at Deacon as we walked. "Did she say 'they'? Who's 'they'?"

Deacon shrugged. "I guess we'll find out."

But it turned out to be a nice surprise when we walked in and Watty was sitting at the table with Bucky. "Watty!" I cried with a smile.

He got up and hurried around the table and gathered me up in a big hug. Then he stepped back and took me in. "My goodness, my little songbird," he said with a smile. "You look like you're ready to have that little one any minute."

"I have to confess I wouldn't mind if she came early. But we still have about six weeks to go." I took his arm and let him walk me to a chair. "I'm so glad to see you," I said happily.

"Well, I was talking to Bucky yesterday about something else and he told me the two of you were coming in today, so I asked if I could crash the meeting."

"You're always welcome, Watty," I said, smiling up at him.

When we were all seated, Bucky started to talk about the upcoming album. "We have ten songs, but I think we need twelve or even thirteen," he said. "Are y'all able to do any songwriting in the next couple weeks?"

Deacon smiled. "We're always able to write, Buck." He looked at me. "We've got time, I think."

I nodded. "I don't think we'll have any problem with that. What about recording time though?"

"Well, I'm thinking that we need to try to get as much done as we can in the next couple weeks. I'm guessing you're ready to just put your feet up and wait for that baby."

I frowned. "That's all I've been doing for the last month or so. He" – I looked at Deacon – "won't let me do much of anything. I'm surprised he was okay with us recording at all."

Deacon took my hand and squeezed it. "Just trying to make sure you do what the doctor said, Ray. If it were up to you…"

I huffed. "But I would love it if the album could come out right before we're ready to tour and, if that's gonna happen, we need to get things done." I looked at Deacon. "I'll sit while I record." He nodded but didn't say anything.

Watty spoke up. "I've listened to what you've done so far and I think you've got three, maybe four solid singles with what you have right now. Have you thought about what you want the first one to be?"

"We have," Deacon said. "But we'd love to hear what you think."

"I'm thinking 'American Beauty'," Watty said. "Then maybe 'Tryin' to Love You' as a good counterpoint, your usual ballad number."

Both Deacon and I nodded. We had definitely thought 'American Beauty' was the first single. We had recorded it the week we got back from the cabin and I loved the summer-y feel to it, the joyfulness of it. If Deacon would have let me, I would have danced to it. It made me smile and I thought that was a perfect first single. 'Tryin' to Love You' was a beautiful song, right up there with songs like 'No One Will Ever Love You' and 'The End of the Day', the songs that had been our bread-and-butter signature hits.

"Here's something I was thinking," Bucky said. "We recorded several live versions of 'Postcard from Mexico' during the tour and I thought it would be fun to put that on the record. We've really never done anything live on an album before and it's always one of your fans' favorites. Then you'd really only need to come up with two more songs."

I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I looked at Watty. "Watty, what do you think?" I trusted him more than anyone concerning my career. He had never given me bad advice, from the very first time I'd met him.

"Your fans do love it. It might be a good test for whether you want to do more of that. You should think about that. Rock artists do that a lot, live albums. You don't see that much with country artists. We could see what kind of traction you get with it."

When we were finally done with the meeting, we had mapped out the album, Deacon and I had agreed to try to write and record two more songs before the baby came, and we had started discussions on the next tour. Deacon and I had argued some about how soon we'd go back out on the road, but ultimately we had agreed on six months. I had stayed off the road with Maddie for a year, but I didn't think I needed to do that this time. We'd take both the girls with us and Haley would go as well.

As we rode back down the elevator, Deacon rubbed my shoulders. "Babe," I said, "before we go home, let's walk a little."

"You sure you're up for that?"

"Yeah, just to the first observation area on the bridge. Not too far."

So we walked down to the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River. I loved the view of the city from the bridge. We walked slowly, not talking, just holding hands and enjoying the warm day. As promised, we stopped at the first observation deck. I leaned back against Deacon and he wrapped his arms around me. He started talking, low and quiet in my ear.

"I remember the day you came to my house with Maddie," he said. "It was a clear day like today, bright sunshine, only it was cold. I'd been in that house by myself since before Halloween and all I could think about was you. I had made such a mess of my life, of our life. Every single minute of every single day was such a struggle. I had to fight myself every day. But that day I woke up and the sun was shining and it was the first day I really thought I could make it, that I could beat this thing." His breath hitched a little. "And then there was a knock on my door. You. I thought I was dreaming."

I leaned into him a little more and bent my arms at my elbows, grabbing on to his arms with my hands. I felt tears pricking at my eyes. "I remember thinking that you looked like you were in a trance."

"I couldn't believe you were there. I wasn't sure why you were and I didn't want to hope for anything. But there you were and my heart was about to bust, seeing you standing there, looking so beautiful." He pressed his lips against my hair. When he spoke again, his voice was breaking. "I still don't remember, Ray."

I really didn't know what to say. I wondered if he would ever forgive himself for that. I wondered if I would ever forgive myself for what happened after.

He took a deep breath. "I think that's what keeps me on track, as much as anything else. I don't ever want to not remember anything else that happens to you, Maddie or the baby. It's the absolute worst feeling ever, not remembering something that important." He squeezed me a little tighter. "I don't want Maddie to ever know that."

I shook my head. "There would never be a reason to tell her. We don't have to tell her any of that. All she needs to know is that we're together and we love each other and we love her and always have."

"I love you, Ray," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Deacon. So much." I leaned my head back on his shoulder. "Let's go home."

He let me go and took my hand and we walked back to the parking garage, got in the truck, and headed for home. When we got to the house and Deacon had parked the truck, I grabbed his arm before he could open the door. He turned to look at me.

"You know what I think? I think we need a new start, a new beginning." He gave me a confused look. I smiled at him. "Let's buy that house. Let's make fresh memories there."

He leaned in and kissed me hard. Then he smiled back at me. "I think that's a great idea. I'll call Joy."