Grace Unplugged: A Novel (28 page)

“You take care,” Sharon told her.

“Nice seeing you, Grace.” Tim grasped her hand, giving it a warm squeeze.

Grace forced a smile, waving to all of them as she headed for the bus. “By the way, Pastor Tim,” she called from the steps. “Your book, it’s really good.”

Tim looked shocked as he nodded. “Thanks, Grace.”

As she went inside the bus, she could see that her parents and the Bryants were all slightly dumbfounded by her last statement. What—did they think she’d forgotten how to read? She smiled sadly to herself as she watched her dad slipping an arm around Mom. His face was a mixture of emotions, and she suspected he was holding onto Mom just to keep from falling over. But as the diesel engine roared to life and the bus pulled out of the parking lot, she was the one who broke down in tears.

Chapter 23

G
race felt completely exhausted when the tour ended. In fact, if it had lasted one day longer, she felt certain she would’ve come undone. It was already dark as she dragged her wheeled bag down the corridor to her apartment. As she pulled out her key, all she could think about was bed. She wanted to fall into bed and sleep for a week.

She paused by her apartment door to see something white sitting on the floor. A small glass vase with three perfect lilies. She picked up the humble bouquet and removed the card, reading it to herself by the dim hall light. Despite her fatigue she couldn’t help but smile at Quentin’s unexpected thoughtfulness. What a guy!

Carrying the vase inside, Grace set it on the dining room table and admired it briefly. Then, without even bothering to unpack her bag or remove her clothes, she collapsed onto her bed and fell fast asleep.

When Grace woke up, the sun was pouring through her window, and her phone was ringing. Disoriented, she tried to remember where she was—not the bus—and slowly getting her bearings, she located her purse and finally her phone in time to see that it was Mossy. First he welcomed her home, and then he said he wanted to see her in his office. She knew that it was related to the e-mail she’d sent him a few days ago—an e-mail he hadn’t even responded to.

“Gotta go,” he said before she could try to get him to talk about it on the phone. “See you in an hour or so?”

“Sure,” she said a bit grumpily. “See ya.”

It took her nearly an hour to shower and dress and make herself presentable enough to go out in public. It was weird, she thought as she picked up her purse. She used to be able to get ready so much faster. But, thanks to Kendra’s perfectionist ways, Grace was much more conscious of her looks nowadays.

“Your appearance is a big part of your ticket,” Kendra had told her often enough. “You need to remember that wherever you go, people are looking.”

She checked her mirror once more before she walked out the door. For the conversation she planned to have with Mossy this afternoon, she needed to feel confident and strong and persuasive. Considering how tired she still felt from the tour, it would not be easy. Besides that, she knew Mossy and how he worked. He would try to manipulate her to get his way. But she was not going to back down on this.

Her resolve grew firmer as she walked through the lobby at Sapphire. Seeing her poster up there, her video playing on a couple of the big screens, knowing her song had nearly topped the charts—all of it helped to bolster her confidence. Mossy would have to listen to her. She would make him.

She was barely in his office when she could see that he was angry. Oh, sure, he was sitting calmly behind his desk, his hands twirling a pen between his fingers, but his eyes were as dark as a summertime thunderstorm. “Where is this coming from?” he demanded as soon as she sat down.

“I just don’t like the song.” She set the flash drive on his desk.

“But it’s a hit, Gracie!”

“I don’t care. It’s all about manipulating a guy and a one-night stand. Why can’t we just pick another one?”

“I have picked other ones! Eleven others! All of which are going on your album.” He pointed to the flash drive. “Including this one, which is your follow-up single!”

“You’re not listening, Mossy. I’m not singing it!”

Mossy’s hands curled into fists of frustration as he glared at her. “You sound so much like your dad right now. It’s sick!”

“What’s the big deal? It’s one song! And leave my dad out of it.”

Mossy’s face registered his surprise. He wasn’t used to hearing her defending her dad. “Well, I talked to Larry this morning,” he said in a way that suggested he was holding all the right cards.

“About what?”

“He didn’t want me to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“We got it. You’re opening for Renae.”

Grace was blown away. It was really happening. “She picked me?”

“She picked you.”

So it was true. She was going to open for Renae Taylor. This had been her dream for so long. But even so, did it mean she had to compromise on this? Didn’t she have any rights in this business?

“So, whatever’s running around in your head, you need to get past it. These are the songs Sapphire wants, and these are the songs you’re gonna deliver.”

Grace wasn’t really processing his words now. She was stuck on the fact that she would be opening for Renae. They would be touring together. This was big. Really big.

“You mean it?” she said again, “I’m really opening for Renae Taylor?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Because you
are
the next Renae Taylor.”

She felt torn again. Was she just going to roll over because he was promising her this bone? Although Renae Taylor was a pretty big bone.

“So you’re gonna go in the studio and nail the album,” he said calmly, persuasively. “Then you’ll do the photo shoot with Randall, just as planned. And you know why?” His lips curled into a knowing smile. “Because
this
is why you came out here.
This
is what you were born to do. Grace.
You made it
.”

Grace took in a slow, deep breath. She knew she was tired. More than tired. She was exhausted and fatigued. It was possible that she hadn’t been thinking about these things clearly enough. This was her career . . . and headlining with Renae. How could she turn her back on that? She glanced at the prominent plaque hanging behind Mossy’s head. Johnny Trey’s gold record for “Misunderstood.” Soon hers would be hanging next to it. “I gotta think about this,” she said tiredly as she stood.

“Yeah, you do that. Think about how hard you’ve worked for this, Gracie. Think about what it’s going to feel like to open for Renae . . . to become the next Renae.” He stood and smiled. “You think about it.”

Grace drove her car to Malibu, where she could walk on the beach and clear her head and just think. But as soon she got out of her car, her phone rang.
Please, don’t be Mossy,
she thought as she reached for it. To her relief it was Quentin. “Hey,” she said softly. “Thanks for the flowers.”

“Sure. Welcome home, rock star.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Oh, Quentin, I’m so confused.” Now she explained her conflict with Mossy. “I came down to the beach . . . you know . . . to sort it all out.”

“Which beach?”

“Malibu.”

“Hey, I’m not far from there. Want company?”

“Sure. That’d be great.”

Before long they were walking down the sunny beach together, and she was pouring out her heart to him, not holding anything back. Somehow she knew he would understand. After all, he worked for Sapphire too. He knew what she was up against.

“And it’s not just the songs,” she said finally. “It’s everything.”

“Grace,” he said calmly. “You don’t
have
to do it.”

“Quentin, I’m opening for Renae Taylor! I can’t blow this. Mossy’s right, this is why I came out here. I should be so happy right now. What’s wrong with me?”

“Grace,” he said gently,
“you already know.”

She frowned at him. And now they both just walked in silence for awhile. She understood what he was saying to her, but it wasn’t the words she wanted to hear. Or maybe it was. “I’m so confused,” she confessed. “One minute I think I know what I want. The next minute I’m questioning myself.”

“Maybe you should question yourself,” he said quietly. “
Why
do you want a music career? Why do you want
any
of it—the fame, the success, the money? If you just want it for yourself, there’s always going to be something missing. You’ll never be satisfied with it.”

“You sound like my dad.” She gave him a half smile.

“Wow, thanks.”

Grace knew that he meant it sincerely, and for a nice change it didn’t bother her to hear him speaking so fondly about her dad. It was actually kind of sweet.

“But Mossy is right, Grace.”

She blinked in surprise. Quentin was agreeing with Mossy?

“You could make a million albums. You could be bigger than Renae. It’s all completely possible . . . within your reach.” He stopped walking and peered directly into her eyes. “But none of it matters if you’re not doing it for God.”

She let out a long sigh.

“Did you read the book, Grace?”

She simply nodded. “Yeah.”

“You think maybe it’s like your pastor says? We know it in our heads. But we don’t
own it?
Is Jesus Christ really who you’re living for, Grace?”

She bit her lip as she considered this. At one time she’d believed Jesus was in her heart. But that was a long time ago. It seemed like she’d left Him behind . . . along with everyone else she’d loved.

“’Cause maybe the problems you’ve had with your dad . . . maybe they just reflect your relationship with God.” He shrugged. “That was my story anyway.”

She knew that was her story too, but she wasn’t ready to admit it. She wasn’t ready to
own it.

“Look,” Quentin said kindly but firmly. “Go ahead and open for Renae. Or don’t open for her. That’s not what matters right now. Get your life right with God, Grace. And then make things right with your dad. Until you do that, you’ll never find what you’re really looking for.”

Grace just stared at him. Most of her knew he was right. Most of her wanted to agree with him. But another part of her wasn’t ready to let go of the dream she’d been chasing so hard, the dream that was finally starting to come true.

Why did everything have to be so hard?