CHAPTER EIGHT

"Promise to call everyday!" Daphne squeaked as she buried her head in Rayna's coat.

"And video chat too." Maddie added.

"I promise." Rayna smiled as she hugged both girls.

"Let's go look at the planes!" Exclaimed Daphne, leading Maddie to the window.

Rayna and Teddy awkwardly stepped towards one another, not too sure what to say. Rayna had had a lot of time to think last night. She was conflicted, she was no longer as sure about herself and her decisions as she seemed. Nothing made sense, but then she had thought about the girls and how she loved them. Rayna wrestled with conclusions and solutions until she leant towards one that was best for the present. All the same, that didn't mean she readily liked it.

"I don't have answers. I wish I did…I know I don't trust you…but as far as us, the girls…this family is concerned, we're still married. Whether I'm here in Nashville or out on tour…if that's what you want?" She spoke, fixing his collar. "We both have to want this…and it scares me that I don't trust you when you say you do. You slept with someon-"

"-I do Rayna." He replied, pulling her into his arms, Rayna went rigid.

"Rayna! You ready?!" Yelled Liam as he waved to get her attention. He had been waiting at the doors for her while she'd been saying goodbye.

"Girls! Give me another hug!" She smiled as she stepped past Teddy, holding them one last time.

Rayna turned to back to him and he walked her to the departure door.

"I have to do something before you go." Teddy resolved, as he stepped forward and punched Liam.

"That is for kissing my wife!" He scoffed. Rayna laughed as Liam bent over in pain.

"About that…" Liam started.

Rayna pulled Teddy away, shooing him off to stand with the girls at the viewing window. She waved her final goodbye and walked with Liam out the doors onto the tarmac.

"Don't look at me, I'm not speaking to you at the moment." Rayna feigned anger.

"What? Seriously? I can't help what I do when alcohol is at play…drunk you didn't help either." Liam exclaimed, looking back at Teddy and the girls.

"You kissed me because you were drunk." She smirked. "You tormented Deacon coz you're just mean."

"Oh, so this is about Deacon?!" He said a little too enthusiastically, raising an eyebrow. Rayna shook her head, tight-lipped.

"I see. We're enforcing the silent treatment now? Nicely played." He mused. She nodded with a smile.

"What a way to start the tour." Liam muttered as he followed her up the stairs and onto the jet.

Rayna giggled, she felt like she could breathe again, doing what she loved. The thought of getting out of Nashville and away from the people that had helped her unravel into an emotional basket case was liberating. Teddy would be at home with the girls, Deacon would be on tour with the Revel Kings and she would be thousands of miles away playing sold out shows night after night. This wasn't her first rodeo; this was going to be a walk in the park.

NASHVILLE

Rayna hadn't taken much notice when Juliette had boarded the jet complaining about their early start. She had been too busy checking emails and discussing their itinerary with Bucky. Rayna had however, sat wide-eyed as she watched somebody else take a seat. Deacon. What's more, he had had the nerve to let her know that he wasn't here for her at all, he was here for Juliette. She wasn't sure what she hated more, the pleasure he seemed to get watching her squirm or the sugary sweet smile plastered on Juliette's face.

"Well this'll be interesting…" Liam said under his breath, putting a pair of headphones on, drowning out the sound of the jet as it took off. Deacon shot him a look.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Rayna hissed, all her level-headedness now out the window.

"You honestly think I know?!" Bucky questioned, looking as stunned as she did.

Rayna shot him a dirty look. "Well yeah?!"

"In case you didn't hear, he himself said he was here with Juliette." Bucky reminded her.

"I know, I heard that…Bucky, there has to be a mistake…he can't be here." She panicked, her heart rate was rising.

Bucky looked at her confused "If you knew, why'd you as-"

"Shush it."

Rayna watched Deacon intensely as she tried to figure him out. Had he come on this tour to be close to her? To spite her? Maybe he'd held to his word about forgetting last night. He could have come to check up on her with Liam being here and all, or had he agreed to come because he knew that coming with Juliette would make her jealous? The possibilities were endless. He seemed to be drifting in and out of conversation with Juliette and her assistant, not particularly interested in what was being said. This made her giggle.

"What's so funny?" Juliette demanded, whipping her head around to glare at Rayna. Deacon stared at Rayna curiously.

"Oh nothing…sounds like a fascinating conversation you've got going over there." Rayna mused, looking the other way. Bucky shook his head mentioning he was off to the toilet.

Rayna riffled through her bag in search of a notepad and pen. She began to scribble in the margin, pretending to be engrossed in what she was doing.

"That looks like fun." Deacon said, sitting next to her. Rayna nearly leapt out of the seat, hiding the notepad from him.

"You're on the wrong jet you know." She replied, irritation in her voice.

"No I'm not."

"You kind of are."

"No I'm not. I quit the other tour and jumped on this one...seemed like a good idea." He smirked. Rayna rolled her eyes.

"Go sit with your people." She scoffed, waving in Juliette's direction.

"They are not my people." He mimicked her, pretending to be offended.

"They are now."

"You can deny it all you want…but you're happy I'm here." Deacon smirked when she smiled at his statement. Because she smiled a smile that he knew was reserved only for him. "You need to stop this right now. I thought we agreed to forge-" She scolded him, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"-I have no idea what you're talking about Ray. I'm just saying a friendly hello." Deacon naively replied.

"Let's be straight...you're idea of 'friendly'" She made quotation marks. "Involves people getting a little handsy…" Rayna smirked as she saw his mind ticking, trying to find something witty to say.

"You wanna get handsy with me?" He teased, lightly tapping her knee as he raised an eyebrow. Rayna's cheeks flushed as she tried to deny wanting to do such a thing, pushing his hands and knees away from hers. They both continued to whisper back and forth, speaking more with their wandering hands than words.

"Hey?!" Juliette called, breaking the escalating tension between Rayna and Deacon. "You two wanna be a little less exclusive? Deacon is here as part of my team, remember?"

"Bye." Rayna mouthed, as she waved him off to his own seat. It wasn't long till he was discussing set list choices with Juliette. Rayna couldn't help but feel a little jealous as she watched them work so closely together. She hated herself for feeling this way but she couldn't help it. It was as if he had unknowingly flipped a switch on in her that had no option to shut it off. She smiled to herself only to be disturbed by Liam.

"What are you doing?" He asked, leaning over his chair so he could see her face.

Rayna covered her mouth with her hand, expressing that they were still not speaking. Liam let out an exasperated sound making her giggle.

"Come on Rayna! You can't stay mad at me forever." He pretended to whinge.

"I can try." She blurted out, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be talking. Liam threw his fist up in the air, claiming victory. Rayna swore as she smacked his arm down.

"You didn't even last a whole plane trip, let alone forever." He teased.

"That's coz you tricked me." She screeched.

"Hey! Can you guys be quiet! We're kind of working!" Juliette demanded. "You're acting like a bunch of 2 year olds."

Rayna didn't really notice the insults that continued to fly from her mouth; she was too focused on what she saw out of the corner of her eye. Deacon was fixated on her. His eyes dark and wild with envy, he was jealous of Liam. Her cheeks went crimson red, prompting her to jump up and walk to the small kitchenette in the back of the jet to make a coffee. She was so intent on getting there that she left Juliette mid sentence, making her even angrier. This invited Liam to poke some fun at Juliette and before anyone knew it they were yelling at one another.

-NASHVILLE-

Tapping her fingers on the counter, Rayna willed the kettle to boil faster. Juliette and Liam's argument had become some sort of comic relief for all the passengers on board. Rayna had to turn around to avoid being caught in fits of giggles at the stupidity of some of their insults.

"What's so funny?" A low and husky voice asked from behind her.

Rayna inhaled sharply, recognising Deacon's voice immediately. He had easily left the others company unrecognised because they were all too focused on Juliette and Liam. Deacon was standing close to her because she could feel his breath on her neck, causing her to shudder.

"Nothing." She squeaked, swiftly turning around to face him in an attempt to shake the mood. It didn't work because when she spun she misjudged how far he'd been behind her. They now stood chest-to-chest, looking into one another's eyes.

"It was getting a little loud in there. Thought I'd take a timeout and get a coffee too."

"Coffee...right." She said weakly, not taking her eyes off of his.

"How are we gonna do this?" He asked, his voice low as he subtly set his hand on top of hers on the counter. Rayna willed herself not to react.

"Nothing. Because there is nothing going on here." She spoke unconvincingly.

"Really?" He whispered.

"If you're referring to us…then yes." She lied, her heart beating faster.

"Actually, I was referring to the coffee. Do you get the first cup or do I?"

He smirked, watching her reel as she hung off his every word. He kept her guessing as he watched her come undone. Deacon had hated seeing Rayna enjoy herself with Liam earlier. He had sat discussing set lists with Juliette but every time Liam had made Rayna laugh he had gripped the seat beneath himself a little tighter. When the opportunity to be alone with Rayna had come along he'd jumped at it.

"We both know you're not referring to coffee." She said uneasily, brushing hair out of her eyes. The kettle chimed as it came to the boil. Deacon swiftly took her cup, poured the water and took a sip.

"No I wasn't." Deacon admitted as he handed her back her cup before leaving her standing alone in the kitchenette.

She stood open-mouthed at what had just happened. She herself had become a babbling idiot and he had knowingly seen through her every word and stare. What's more, she was barely coping with how he was trying not to let her see he was still in love with her too.

Rayna swore. Only a few hours ago she had been eager to get back on the road again, soaking up the ease and freedom that came with it. But it only took one look at Deacon to make her realise that this tour was going to be a lot harder than she thought. She wasn't worried about him overstepping the mark; it was the thought of what she would do when he did.