Nashville (2012–2018): Season 2, Episode 16 - Guilty Street - full transcript

Previously on Nashville...

Maybe the three of us could
do this again sometime.

What, you mean like a band?
Yeah. You in?

I found out
my father was involved
in my mother's death.

Of course,
Tandy knew the whole time.

Come from a family
full of liars.

What are you
doing with her?
It's complicated.

So go uncomplicate it
before somebody gets hurt.

The New York Times
just called you
a serious artist.

Yeah, it only took me trashing
my career for this to happen.

Hey.



What the hell's
going on here?
Let me explain.

I'm still in your corner.

I'm not going anywhere.

That smells good.

Hey.

Is that for me?

Mama's famous
buttermilk pancakes.

You didn't have any buttermilk,

but I made do with
milk and vinegar.

Mmm.
Mmm!

I love that you know that.

Hey, it's for breakfast in bed.

Trying to take care of you.

I want to get some coffee.



Mmm-hmm. Come here. Come here.

You sure you're, um,
dealing with your dad dying?

Honestly, I'm relieved.

I know it sounds harsh, but

now he's not around
to do any more damage.

Well,
the more I hear about it,
the more I realize

I should have
been here for you.
No.

You just missed out
on a whole bunch
of family drama

that you did not
need to witness.

When my daddy died,
I gave my brother
Matt a fat lip

over who was gonna get
his antique tackle box.

You got to take your time
to process all this.

I'm fine.
Mmm.

Nobody is fine
after losing a parent.

See? Your shoulders prove it.
Oh.

Hey.

Good timing there, Buck.

Sorry. I didn't
know you were back.

Yeah, just barely.

We hear anything
from Cadillac Three?

No. Still waiting.

But it's between us
and Big Machine, so...

I want 'em, Buck.
No, I know.

I know how important
this is for the label.

Oh, um, I'm not
sure what happened, but

the check for Scarlett's
studio time bounced.

I thought you might
want to know.

You're kidding me.
Mmm-mmm.

Sounds like you need to fire
whoever's watching your books.

That would be my sister.

Capitol this time.

"Your voice will get
you anything you want.

"We're all ears.

"Ely Maddox,
Interscope." Yep.

What he means is,
it'll get him
what he wants.

You think these
diamonds are real?

I don't think they're
trying to sign me with
cubic zirconia.

These guys are relentless.

This is, like,
the second present
they've sent.

Yeah, but you're
kind of enjoying it.

And here I was thinking

that bringing coffee
would win me favor.

No, a half-caf soy latte
is the best present
you could get me.

Thank you.

Hey, have we heard anything
from Big Machine?

Nope.

Nashville labels still won't
touch you with a barge pole.

You'd think forgiveness

would be in everyone's
best interest.

You sure you don't want
to talk to any of these
big-ticket outfits?

No, no. Why?

They're just gonna make me
put out a big pop album

right off the bat.

The next album I do,
I want it to be

at the top of
the country music charts.

Warners... Sony...
Universal...

Come on. Do you really think
they're gonna give me
the freedom that I want?

No... But their offers
are only gonna last

about as long as
the fruit in that basket,

so you better decide
how much that freedom
means to you pretty quick.

All right, come on. Get in.

I'm taking you on the road.

Wish I could.
It sounds fun.

Yeah, well, if you call
three days in a van

with four guys
and a whole lot
of smells fun...

Sitting at a desk
writing a legal brief

isn't as exciting as it sounds.

Really?
'Cause it doesn't sound
exciting at all.

Mmm.

You gonna be okay out there?

A lot of temptation on the road.

If you're asking me if
I'm gonna booze it up
with the groupies...

No.

That's history.

I got you now.

Whoo! Isn't this place great?

Yeah. Looks expensive.

Not when you
split it three ways.

What?

Forget it.
I'll cover it.

I just got a check
from my publisher.

Big-time songwriter.

What I want to be
is a big-time band.

Avery, get over here.

I got a list of things
we have to do,

but first, we need a name.

Second, I wrote three new songs.

Obviously,
saved the best for us.

Now, how fast
can you learn this?

'Cause I booked us a show
at Mercy Lounge on Thursday,

a full 30-minute set.

I love that place.
Thursday?

Wait. You're not free?

No, I am.
That's not the point.

Ask us before you
book a gig next time.

Hey.

Did you quit and not tell me?
Answer your damn phone.

What?
I just found out

that we've been bouncing all
these checks to the studio,

to the cartage company,
now to the video editor.

Well, I thought that
the royalty check
was coming in.

I guess...
I guess it didn't come.

You are the CFO of
my brand-new label.

We can't be bouncing checks
all over town.

I didn't expect that the cost
would get so out of hand.

The video was way over budget
and attorneys' fees...

It is your job to handle that!

I have not been
in tip-top shape
since Daddy died,

in case you hadn't noticed.

Oh, I noticed.
But let's be honest.

It's not about Daddy dying.

This is about you
disappearing, again.

Get it together.

You got to hear this!

Layla. You're back.

This here's my girl.
She just got back from LA.

She was on American Hitmaker.

Shut up. You're on the radio.

Oh!

Yeah!

Thank you.

Oh!

That was What If I Was Willing?

By Will Lexington...

Our most requested
song of the day.

All right, coming up...

You're the man, Will!

I'm the most requested song?

Whoo!

Congrats, buddy.
You got to celebrate, man.

Or are you
gonna do that
with your girl?

Well, now that you mention it,

y'all get the hell
out of my house.

Come on. Party's over.

Oh. Hey.

Slow down there, tiger.

Oh, can't do that.

Thank you.

Deacon Claybourne, everybody.
Give him a big hand.

Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you very much.

On the house.
Wish I could.

Every time I take a drink,
I break out in handcuffs.

Yeah.
Can I get you something else?

You got a bucket of ice?

Sure.

Here you go.

Well.

That was, uh...

Fast.

Yeah. Well...

You never told me about LA.

Honestly, it...
It kind of sucked.

The producers just had me
wave from the audience

with two other
former contestants.

I thought the whole reason
you went out there

is so you could
perform your single.

I guess since it...
Barely cracked the charts

that they changed
their mind about me.

Oh.

I'm sure that's not true.

Gonna Get Even
debuted at number eight,

and Jeff was all over me then.

Now I've left him
three messages,

and he won't return my call.

Hey.
Found this on
your doorstep.

Oh, you got to be kidding me.

I don't have any more
room for this crap!

Who is it?

Wow, it's from Edgehill.

Yep.

Never thought I'd hear
from them again.

I hope it's an apology
from that Fordham jerk.

More like jumping
on the bandwagon.

I mean, if Jeff wants me back,

maybe Nashville's
getting over itself.

Well, that part,
we can celebrate.

How about I take you
out to dinner tonight?

Don't you have rehearsal?

I'll just tell Gunnar and Zoey
I can't make it.

You sure?

Hmm.

Overzealous bandmate
or beautiful girlfriend?

It's a hard choice.
So hard.

Damn it! Avery just
bailed on rehearsal!

Did he say why?

No. He just said,
"Oh, something came up."

It's probably his girlfriend
tightening the chain.

This means I lose money
on the rehearsal space.

You said it wasn't
that expensive.

Yeah, well,
it's not cheap, either.

So, you and I will
go over the stuff.

Avery's a pro.

He better not flake.

The booker at Mercy Lounge
is doing me a favor.

I think we're ready
to record this.

Mmm, don't quite
feel like it yet.

- Hey, honey.
- Hi.

Brought you a check.

So sorry about that.
My bookkeeper had a bad day.

Oh, honey, it's okay.
We knew you were good for it.

Well, I appreciate
your discretion on that.

Of course.

Can I just say,
that I think it's great
that you two are dating.

Well, that makes
two of us.
He's a pretty great guy.

Are Liam and
Scarlett back there?
They sure are.

The little I've heard
just sounds great.
Good.

All right,
we're gonna go say hi.
Okay.

How's it going?

I don't see what the problem is.

It's my job to protect
you and your work.

From what?

From anything that's
gonna keep you from
making a great album.

But Liam's helping me
make a great album.

I can see why you
chose him as a producer.

He's really talented.

Yeah, he's a great producer.

Think you might be
falling in love with him?

Uh...

I...

I love the way it feels
when we work together.

He's...

He kind of opened something up
in me and made it flow. I...

He sees me.

He helped me see myself.

Yes. Yes, it's very important.

No. No.

No, I don't want to leave
another message.

If he's there,
I would like to
speak with him.

Please.

Right. Okay, well, would you
please tell Mr. Fordham

to call me when he's done
with his meeting?

Thanks.

Seriously, how busy could he be?

Well, I mean,
between losing
Juliette and...

Right, but that's exactly why

they should be pushing me
to her fan base.

I swear... It's like,
ever since Brent left,

I don't exist over at Edgehill.

Just got to give
it a little time.

Right. Do you know how easily
I could fade into nothing?

I'm gonna call Brent.

What? Wait.

Why?
To see if he knows
Edgehill's plan

and get his advice
on how I can get them
behind my single.

No. You don't need
any advice from Brent.

All you need is
a little bit of promotion.

And you got the guy

with the number-one-requested
song for that.

Hey. I thought you
were busy tonight.

Oh, I am. I just dropped by
for my giant paycheck.

See you tomorrow.
Huh?

For the gig?

Oh. Right.

Hey, you're not
gonna bail, are you?

No, I said I'd do it,
and I will.

I mean, I don't know
about anything after that,

seeing as how Gunnar's turning
this into a full-time job.

He's just excited about
the band and performing.

You can't be mad at a guy
for being enthusiastic.

I'll be there tomorrow.

Hey. How's the rock star?

Well, I'm out here
on the tarmac,

but my Learjet is late.

You know,
there is one good thing

about staying at
a cheap motel...

They all got ice machines.

Sort of blew my wrist out
a little bit tonight
playing guitar.

Mmm-hmm.

So I cut my hand off,
and it's doing
much better now.

Wait. What?

Uh-huh, yeah.
Somebody's working, huh?

Yes, I'm sorry.
I'm trying to
get out of here.

Can I call you when I get home?

That's all right.
I just wanted

to bitch and moan a little bit.

All right.
Well, you feel better?

Yeah.

I'll call you soon, okay?

Okay.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Bye.

Why in God's creation I ever
went into business with

any member of my family,
I will never, ever know.

Yeah,
I learned a long time ago
you got to choose your family.

Cheers to that.

Family aside,

what's all this business
Liam's pulling now?

Hey, you put the fox
in charge of the henhouse.

She's my only damn hen,

and I told the fox
to keep his paws off her.

This thing with
the Cadillac Three

had better work out,

'cause I've got everything
hanging on that girl.

Well, don't forget
you got, uh, Rayna Jaymes
on your label.

Not till May 1st,
when that album drops.

Believe me,
I've thought about it.

You know, I never wanted this
to be a vanity label.

I wanted it to feel like

a place that would
nurture young artists.

That's an expensive thing to do.

Well, listen here,

if you need money,
you can always come to me.

I would not want our
relationship to be...

Entangled with
those particular
kind of strings.

Mmm, well, if there is
something you need,

I'd love to be the one
to give it to you.

I could use another
glass of wine.

The review said their
gumbo is excellent.

I love gumbo.
I know.

You ready to start?

Uh, we'd like the gumbo, please.

And can we also
have the oysters
and the crab legs?

And can we see
the wine list, please?

- Very good.
- Thank you.

Hey, don't worry
about it, okay? I got it.

I invited you out
to dinner, remember?

I'm paying. I mean,
that's the whole point.

Point of what?

Of an equal relationship,

where one person doesn't
always foot the bill.

Uh, we didn't order that.

That's too bad,

because that is
a nice bottle of champagne.

Really, really nice.

It's from the gentleman
over there.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

Could you send
that back, please?

No.

We will keep it.

You're not seriously
gonna drink that?

No, I'm not.

Thank you.

Very nice.

You like it?
Mmm-hmm.

What does this cost...
About $10,000?

Eh, give or take a couple bucks.

Well, enjoy every penny.

Thanks for coming over.

Think maybe you've had enough?

It's amazing what you
find out about a person

after they're dead.

Peggy sent money
to her sister every month.

She had three different
charge accounts with florists,

and, uh...

She lied to me
about her pregnancy.

Postiglanifex?

Yeah, I didn't know
what it was, either.

Women take it
after they miscarry.

I'm sorry.

I didn't realize
Peggy had had one.

Apparently,
she miscarried before...

Not after we got married.

What a throwback, huh?

Fake a pregnancy,

get the man to marry you.

You know, the thing is,
if she had told me

that she lost the baby,
I still would have...

Of course.

You really loved her.

I loved the woman
I thought I knew.

But I never would
have married this...

Or done what I did.

All right, come on.

We should get you out of here.

Never figured
I'd be 45 years old

touring out of a van,

playing in bars

with my audiences
numbering in the dozens.

It's a lot of fun
when you're young...

Especially when you're drinking.

But... I'm not.

I'm sober.

And I'm grateful for that.

Deacon Claybourne?

Ruth Bennett.

Oh, my God.

Wow.

I haven't seen you in...
Half a lifetime.

Yeah, I was thinking,
I haven't seen
you since, um...

Rayna's Red
Velvet Tour in '99.
That's right.

That's right. Yeah.

That was the one where
you got to step forward

and did a little duet
with her there, right?

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh.
You remember.

Don't forget a voice like that.

Thank you.

What are you doing here
in the middle-of-nowhere,
Virginia?

Uh, I moved here
when I left the business.

Or when it left me.
Yeah.

I own a bakery.

Good. Maybe you
should tell me

where I can get a decent
cup of coffee around here.

Better yet, I'll show you.

Well, all right.

All right.
Let's start over here.

I hope you got to enjoy

a few hundred dollars' of
that champagne last night.

I'll admit
it's a little
over-the-top.

But a basket of fruit
wouldn't convey how much

I want to be back in business
with you, Juliette.

Well, imagine what dropping me
from your label conveyed.

A mistake that I've been
paying for on every level.

But you know what? I'm just
gonna cut to the chase, okay?

I think you need
a label to help you
mend some fences

here in Nashville.

And I believe that
should be Edgehill.

And I'm offering you
your own imprint.

Well, as you can see,

I've got a few other offers
I'm considering.

Right. But do any of
them include a deal
for Avery Barkley?

I heard his work on
Don't Put Dirt On My Grave.

I think he's talented.

And I got a quarter million
for him to produce
for that imprint.

His own deal?

Yeah, as a part of yours.

He will be kissed into
the country music scene

with Edgehill in his corner.

You are unbelievable.
Really.

I mean, everybody in this town
knows that you dropped me.

And I will make sure that
they know I brought you back,

realizing the error of my ways.

Look, I'm not
gonna pressure you.

I just think that we could do
something really great here.

Think about it.

Quickly.

That is Will Lexington
with What If I Was Willing?

Now, I know you've been
waiting with questions.

Let's start with
Lori in Bellevue.

Lori, you're on the air.

It's kind of
a personal question,

but are you free Friday night?

Wow. Uh...

You know, as nice
as that sounds,
I got a girlfriend.

Think y'all know her...
Layla Grant.

All right, Reggie in Franklin,
you're on the air.

I hear a lot of
influences in your music.

What you been listening to?

Well, lately...
A lot of Layla Grant.

Her new single, Tell Me, rocks.

Y'all should check it out.

Why'd you stop touring?

I went from singing backup
to getting a solo contract.

So I built it all up,
and then I, uh...

My drinking knocked it all down.

You and me both.

Yeah?
Yeah.

I had 14 years
before I went out.

That's a long time.
Mmm-hmm.

So what happened?

Found out I had a daughter.

Wow.
Yeah.

Teenager,
if you can believe that.

You just found out?
Yeah... Few months ago.

You ever see her?
Oh, yeah.
Her mom's great about that.

Really? Wow.

And she's just...
Just the sweetest kid.

And she sings and
she plays guitar.

Really?
Oh, yeah.

Just like her daddy.

Oh, my gosh.

For better or for worse.
Yeah, that's my big regret.

Next to music, I just...

I don't know.
I love kids.

It's not too late.

Maybe not.

Want to try?

Sorry.
I better not.

I got my hands full
with the one.

I used to come up here
all the time after John died.

It was the only place
I could find any peace.

I used to be so angry.

At the kid who killed him,
the justice system,
the cops...

Myself.

Why yourself?

Well, you know,

you rethink it a thousand times.

If only I had called him
five minutes sooner.

If I hadn't asked him
to go to the market.

Like we're in control
of the universe.

You torture yourself.

You don't seem like
an angry person at all.

Well, it took a lot
of work to get here.

You need to find your own place,

wherever it is you
can find some peace.

What is it this time...
Cold, hard cash?

Jeff offered me an imprint.

My lawyers haven't looked over
the contract yet, but...

You're not considering it,
are you?

I'm considering everything.

Is there a clause in
that contract for respect?

Because Jeff
doesn't respect you,

no matter how much
that champagne cost.

I know, but...

It's not just for me.

It includes $250,000
for you to produce.

It's a great deal,
and it's certainly
the only one

that's gonna get me back
into Nashville's good graces.

And you'd accept it
without even talking to me?

I... Didn't think you'd
have a problem with it,

considering Edgehill's
offering you a producing deal.
Yeah...

By riding on your coattails.

No. Not...

They never would have
offered this if you
weren't good enough.

I really thought
that you would be
happy about this.

It goes to show you...

Yeah, that you don't have a clue

how it feels every time
you buy me dinner.

You can say no, Avery.

Can I?

Okay.

No.

Hey.

Hey.

Listen, I wasn't trying to
make you jealous or anything.

Oh, I'm not.

Come on, Rayna.
You know how this goes.

I mean, she's a cool chick.
She's crazy-talented.

We've been working nights and...

Oh, yeah.
We're on top of each
other all the time.

Oh, yeah, I know.
We're making great music.

Yeah, I know.
I know how it goes.

Right?
Yeah.

So...

Difference is, I'm a grown-up,
and that girl is a kid.

A very fragile kid.

Maybe you're not
giving her enough credit.

I think I gave
you too much credit.
I trusted you with her.

I told you,
she's my one and only artist!

I asked you to handle her
with kid gloves.

It kind of happened, okay?
I didn't plan this.

No, I know. You never
plan anything, right?

And now she's fallen
in love with you.

Can you blame her?

I'm just kidding.

You don't know what
you're dealing with here.

She can't handle it.

And you have jeopardized
my artist and my label.

And you're gonna
break her heart.

Not necessarily.

No, you're gonna
break her heart now,

before she gets into this
any deeper with you

and you screw this up any more.

Are you...
Are you firing me?

Yeah.

But you already paid me.

Yes, I did.

I'll see you on down the road.

Hey, Jeff.

Speaker.

What's up, man?

I heard the radio spot today.

Sounded great,
till you turned it into
a Layla Grant promotion.

Well, no disrespect,
but I don't see
how giving Layla

a little shout-out
hurts anything.

Her career is not
your business, Will.
It's mine.

I know, and she's been
wanting to talk to you
about her single.

We did all the promotion
we're gonna do.

Her 15 minutes are up.

Jeff, that single just launched.

Yes, and I can count
the number of spins
it's gotten on one hand.

American Hitmaker
will have another runner-up.

Is he dropping me?

I'm not sure yet.

Mmm, it's a shame, too.

Really thought
she was gonna break out.

Jeff, I would appreciate it
if you'd give her
another opportunity.

She had one.

Now our focus is
gonna be on you.

I'm really sorry.

For what?

You didn't do anything
except try and support me.

Of course I support you.

You're great.

And I believe in you.

I don't know
what's gonna happen.

But the fact
that you're here...
It means everything.

It's gonna be okay.

Come here.

Hey.
Let me tell you...

I have never seen your lawyers
close a deal this fast.

Okay, a little less money
than some of the other offers,

but you're back
in country music...

Ohhh!
With your own imprint.

Oh, and the best part is,

Jeff Fordham has
to publicly dine

on a big, fat plate
of chicken-fried crow.

Right.

Here you go. Right there.

Question? Problem?

Are you positive that
they've red-lined

everything having
to do with Avery?

'Cause I don't want
to sign this contract

if it's gonna
cause more problems
between the two of us.

No, no. I'm sure, I'm sure.
It's good. Okay.

Okay. Good.

Okay, honey, listen.

I think this is the best move
for you right now,

but if there's a reason
that you're hesitating,

you do not have to do this.

No. No, no, no.
You're right.

This is the best
move for my career.

Yeah.

It's just these two.

Thank you.

Hey!

You didn't return my calls.

Yeah.

You're leaving?

Yeah, I'm heading out
to Tokyo tonight.

Gonna work with this new band.

Cool.

When are you coming back?

I'm not sure.

What about the album?

It'll get done.

Oh.

Please don't look so sad, okay?

We had fun, right?

Fun.
Yeah.

It happens all the time...
Proximity and all that stuff.

You're young.
You'll see.

It's not tragic.
It's just... Living life.

It's not how I want
to live my life.

Then live the life you want.

I'll see you on down the road.

Hey.

I come in peace.

You look like you
pulled yourself together.

Did you get our books
back in order?

I went through
all of our accounts,

and I moved the money around,
and...

We're okay for right now, but

with more money going out
than coming in,

we're gonna need
to figure out a strategy

so that we don't
bleed the company dry.

What's the word?

There's no way
to sugarcoat this.

Big Machine just
scooped up Cadillac Three.

They signed them an hour ago.

Is it 'cause our checks
were bouncing all over town?

Bad news travels fast.

Can you give us
a quick second,
please, Bucky?

Mmm-hmm. Yeah.

I'll make some calls.

I'm so sorry. Just tell me
what you want me to do.

And then trust you to do it?
That's not happening.

We're not doing
this anymore, Tandy.

Can we please
just go have a drink

and just figure out
how to get past this?

There's no getting past it.

I'm out. I'm done.
Rayna.

I really think that
I've earned the freedom
from this family

and the mountain of crap
that we have built.

Rayna. Rayna.

I am starting fresh...
Without you.

Okay, we can change
the way that we do
things in this family.

Really? How do you think
we're gonna do that?

I don't know.

But I can't change anything,
not without you.

Oh, I'm glad you could make it.

Hey, I'm doing you a favor here.

Wh... Wait.
Doing me a favor?

Yeah. You booked us a gig
with, like, two days' notice.

And you made one
of two rehearsals.

I don't want a guilt trip.

All right, I got a lot
going on right now.

How about a little
appreciation here, okay?

I booked this gig
off my cred.
Congratulations.

Some of us still
have to fight for
the things we want most.

What the hell does that mean?

It means not
everybody's got a rich
girlfriend, all right?

Hey! Seriously?

Can we at least
get through one gig

without having
a huge band fight
and breaking up?

I'm gonna go get ready.

Everything okay?

Yeah.

Yeah, let's go play the show.

Oh!

Oh, wow!

Oh, my gosh.
Did I...

No, that's my fault.

Apparently, I still have
a drinking problem.

I'm sorry.

Can't take me anywhere.

I can try.

Thank you.

It was fun.
It was fun.

I'm sorry you ran out of time.

Hey, want to come
to the show tonight?

I wish I could, but I...

Try to avoid bars, you know.

I get that.
Yeah.

Okay.

Hey, um...

What are you doing
after the show?

Uh, you're looking at it.

One more night of
opulence and luxury

before I head home tomorrow.

You want to stay
with me tonight?

I really like you,
Deacon Claybourne.

Always have.

Thing is, I got someone
waiting for me at home.

Pretty serious.

Okay.

Oh, gosh.

Uh, well...

If things don't work out,
you know where to find me.

Yeah, I do.

Bakery, right?

Yeah. Bakery.

It was great seeing you, Ruth.

Whew, that was fun.

Do you always
have those in here?

Yeah. Why?

Oh, don't get me wrong.
They're great.

Just, uh, make a fella
feel a little...

Watched.

Well, they're paintings.
Yeah.

And the girls are gone,
so you can relax.

They're really bothering you,
aren't they?

No. No, they're fine.
I'm fine.

No.
I can tell you're not fine.

What's the matter?

I need to ask you a question.

What?

You firing Liam...

Was that because
you and he were an item?

Well...

Maybe a little bit, but...

Not how you might think.

Ever since Daddy died,
I just don't
have tolerance for

anyone else who breaks my trust.

I'm glad you're
dealing with that.

And I hope you know
you can trust me.

I mean,
you can tell me anything...

Good, bad, or otherwise,
past or present.

Thank you.
Yeah.

Okay.

So...

How bad are things
at your label?

Well, let's see.

I fired my producer,

I only have one artist

and she's not gonna
be ready for months,

and I may or may not have a CFO.

But other than that,
things are great.

Mmm. How about I take
your mind off of all that?

Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

I'm sorry.

Stop. It wasn't you.

You've had a lot more...

Experience, you know?

Maybe you can...
Maybe you can teach me.

How do you know
how much experience I've had?

Before I met you,

I was gonna wait
till I got married.

You probably should've
told me that.

Would that have changed things?

I don't know.

Tell me what you like.

Mmm. Right now...

What I'd really like...

Is a beer.

And that remote.

I am such an idiot.

You are not an idiot.

Don't you be so
hard on yourself.

I was actually
getting into an honest,
adult relationship, but...

He just bailed.

Well, he's good at that.
But you're gonna be fine.

And we're gonna
get you a new producer.

I got to figure out
how to get all that out

with a new producer.

I mean, believe it or not,
what we had was special.

I understand all that.

But what you need to know is,

everything that he
brought out in you
was already there.

You can't let
anybody else control

who you are as an artist.

You have to own it.

Trust me on that.

And, most importantly,
trust yourself.

So, can we keep recording?

Mmm-hmm.

And it's gonna be amazing.

Hey.
Hey.

I was gonna call
you when I got off.

Yeah, I just wanted to
let you know in person.

I got Edgehill
to drop you
from my deal.

I signed it last night.

And then I remembered
what you said

about Jeff not respecting me,

and I realized
that you would
never respect me

if I went back to Edgehill.

So I tore the contract up.

Really?
Mmm-hmm.

Jeff's opinion of me is
never really gonna change.

And yours matters
a whole lot more.

So, what are you gonna do?

What about the other offers?

I'll figure something out.

As far as I'm concerned,
you are my best offer.

Can we try dinner again?

You asking me out?
No.

I'm asking you to ask me.

Whew!

Oh, man.

Well, was it fun?

Yeah.

Whole lot of it was, yeah.
Oh...

I got something for you.

A very special present.

A hat?
Mmm-hmm.

"Romain's Grain and Feed."

Yeah. No gift shops...
Just truck stops.

Hmm.
That is good.

Mmm. Thank you.

Um, sorry I was distracted
when we spoke.

My head was in my work.

Well, now it's in my hat.

You look like you
could use some fun.

Okay.

Oh!

So, we're gonna go after
Painted Ponies and Evan Ryder.

I'll start making calls.

Be tough.

I don't want to
lose anybody else
to Big Machine.

Hey.
Hey.

How are ya?
Good. How are you?

Good. Do you have a second?

Sure.

What's going on?

Do you respect me?

In what context?

Uh, as someone who
has something to say

and the guts to say it?

Well, I think that
you have always been
true to who you are.

Never pretended
to be anybody else.

I'll take that as a yes.

Uh, and I greatly respect you.

Thank you.

You said to me at the Opry

that what I did was very brave.

And I'm wondering if...

You're brave enough

to help me rebuild
these bridges that
I've burnt in Nashville.

That's a lot of bridges.

I mean, not all of them.

I can leave Jeff Fordham
out there scratching his head.

Scratching something.

Listen, I need a label.

A label that'll let me be me.

Is there any chance that...
That could be yours?

I think I might be able
to help you with that.