Grace Unplugged: A Novel by Melody Carlson Page A

everybody loved it, Dad. Didn’t you see them?”
    Dad was taking in a big breath now, like he was just getting ready to explode all over again.
    “Grace,” Mom said gently as she placed her hand on Dad’s arm again, her signal for him to calm down. “Dad’s right. It’s not your call to make. Your dad is the worship leader. It’s his job to call the shots.”
    “I know!” Grace slumped down in the seat, feeling like an eight-year-old again. “He’s said it a hundred times already.”
    Now the car was silent, and Grace knew that her hope that Dad was finally letting her grow up was just an illusion. How could she have been so naïve? No one said anything, and after what seemed an eternity, Dad was finally pulling into their driveway. Grace was about to hop out as they waited for the garage door to go up, but Dad didn’t even push the button. “One more thing, Grace.” He got out of the car and came around to where she was getting out, looking her directly in the eyes. “How can you explain lying to Pastor Tim?”
    “Lying?”
    Dad nodded with a grim expression. “About the worship service. Why did you lie to him like that?”
    “Come on,” Mom was saying as she hurried to the front door. “Let’s take this inside.”
    Grace followed her, trying to remember exactly what she’d said to their pastor when he’d complimented her. Hadn’t she tried to give Dad the credit for the worship service? What was wrong with that?
    Now they were standing in the entry of their house—a neat little triangle just inside the front door, where neighbors couldn’t see them.
    Dad looked her in the eyes again, like he was trying to pry some lame confession from her. “Don’t tell me you didn’t do it, Grace. I was coming up right behind you, standing behind the door as you were talking. You told Pastor Tim it was my idea for you to switch tempo.”
    “You were spying on me?” Now she felt outraged. When had her dad turned into such a dictator?
    “No! I wasn’t spying on you. I was—”
    “Why don’t you put one of those ankle things on me too! That way you can track me 24–7!”
    “Don’t you dare try to spin it that way! You lied to the pastor’s face !”
    “Yeah! And you used to get drunk and go to jail!” Grace was biting back tears now. But she didn’t want Dad to see her crying. Didn’t want him to think he’d gotten the best of her.
    “You’re done,” he seethed. “You’re out of the band. And you can forget the album too.”
    She glared at him, wondering how this monster could really be her father. “Good!” she shouted at him. “I don’t want to be on your stupid album anyway!”
    As she turned to go to her room, she could hear Mom trying to calm him down. Mr. Worship Leader one minute and Monster Dad the next. What would Pastor Tim think if he could see them now?
    She turned to look at them, wanting to get one final jab. “You know what, Dad?” she said in a challenging tone. “Even Pastor Tim liked what I did today. But I guess you didn’t spy on that part, did you?” Now she ran up to her room and slammed the door shut. She was tempted to jam her desk chair under the doorknob like they did in movies, but she knew that was pushing it. Besides it was just a matter of time until she was completely free of these shackles.
    Just then her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was from Mossy. Could this be it . . . a way out of this town, away from these people who were trying to control her, keep her down? Tentatively she answered the phone.

    As Grace packed, she felt seriously regretful about one thing. She would miss Noah Roberts’s recital performance tonight. Oh, she knew the nine-year-old would be just fine. Noah was extremely talented on guitar and truly her star student. He would start out feeling nervous—everyone did at that age. But if he’d just remember what she’d told him, he would begin to relax. And then he would play beautifully. She knew