Grace Unplugged: A Novel by Melody Carlson Page B

it.
    She wiped a tear from her cheek as she stuffed the last of her things into the wheeled carry-on bag, zipping it up. She just hoped he would understand why she couldn’t be there. And maybe once she got settled she would send him a note of explanation and encouragement. Or not. After all, becoming a star wasn’t easy or pain free. If he loved music as much as he claimed, he might as well start learning this lesson now.

Chapter 7
    A fter a restless night of tossing and turning and little sleep, Johnny got up earlier than usual. Hopefully a good long jog would clear his head. And maybe even settle his heart. He wasn’t proud of the way he’d handled Grace yesterday. But his little girl needed to be brought back down to earth. And that was his job, wasn’t it? God expected him to raise his daughter to be respectful and obedient. If someone had taught Johnny these things when he was Grace’s age, his life might not have gone into the ditch so many times. Man, if only these kids came with an instruction manual.
    He could smell the bacon frying even before he came in the front door. Bless that wife of his. She knew just what a man needed after a rough night and hard workout. He headed straight for the kitchen and a drink of water. “Smells mighty good in here,” he said as he watched her measuring coffee. “I’d give you a hug, but I’m all sweaty.”
    “Thanks.” She made a grateful smile but her eyes looked troubled. He guessed, like him, she’d had a restless night too. “Good run?”
    “Yeah.” He set the empty glass on the counter and then glanced at the clock. “She come out yet?”
    “No,” Michelle studied him as she pressed the button on the coffeemaker. “You okay?”
    He let out a long sigh. “Oh, you know, she’s been a pain. But I know I was wrong to lose it like that.”
    She nodded. “Uh-huh.”
    “I got to make it right.”
    She nodded again. “I’m sure she’s awake by now. Want me to go get her?”
    “Sure. She’ll probably be more open to you right now than to me. Don’t you think?”
    “Uh-huh.” She patted his damp head. “I love you, Johnny.”
    As he refilled his glass with water, he knew he was lucky. No, he was blessed. With both Michelle and Grace. He probably didn’t deserve either one of them, but God had been generous. Now hopefully he could convince Grace to forgive him . . . again.
    “Johnny!” Michelle’s voice sliced through the house with an urgency that cut him to the core as he sprinted from the kitchen and up the stairs.
    “What? What is it?” he yelled as he raced to Grace’s room, bracing himself for whatever had happened and praying that it was not the worst thing imaginable.
    “It’s Grace!” Michelle held out a note to him. “She’s left.”
    For a moment he felt a small surge of relief—at least she wasn’t hurt, or worse. Running away wasn’t the same as being dead. But as he read the note, he wasn’t so sure. Grace had set out to launch her music career. She hadn’t included many of the details about how she planned to do this impossible feat. Although it seemed apparent that somehow she’d gotten it into her head that Sapphire was interested in her. Was she crazy? Johnny knew enough about the music business to know that this was a bad path to take. An innocent young girl out there trying to make her break and get a few gigs and earn enough to keep from starving—well, it wasn’t a pretty picture. He’d seen it enough times to know. Not only were the odds against her for succeeding in the music business, but they were stacked up against her a bunch of other horrible ways as well. Really, this was a father’s worst nightmare. Or very nearly.
    “What do we do?” Michelle asked with teary eyes.
    “Pray?”
    “Yes, of course. We need to ask God’s guidance and direction on this,” she nodded. “Do you think she really could’ve made it all the way to Los Angeles?”
    He thought hard. “I don’t know. But that’s where