Grace Unplugged: A Novel (30 page)

Grace clutched her guitar as she waited in the shadows backstage. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this nervous. Even now she questioned if this was such a great idea. It was one thing to play for strangers, but playing in front of family and friends and sharing her heart like she planned on doing . . . well, that was something else completely.

She peeked out to where Pastor Tim was speaking to the congregation. From where she was standing, she could see her parents in their usual seats near the front. Of course, they had no idea what was about to happen, but she could tell that they were curious as to what Tim was saying.

“After speaking with her for some time, I was pleased to invite her here this morning. It seemed like the perfect way to end this service. So without further ado, please welcome back to our family . . .
a special guest
.”

With her guitar in hand, Grace slowly emerged from the shadows and walked out to the pulpit. With each step she silently begged God to help her do this. Her parents looked truly stunned now, and she spied Rachel literally dropping her jaw just a few rows behind them. But Pastor Tim just winked at her as she stepped up to the mic.

“Hi.” She made a nervous smile, looking out over the congregation. “You probably didn’t expect to see me here this morning. Most of you know I didn’t exactly leave here on the best of terms. And I know along the way I hurt some of you.” She looked directly at her parents, trying to control her emotions. “And for that, I just wanted to ask if you could forgive me. The problem was me. I left home to chase my dream. And I got it. Only it was the wrong dream.” She had tears coming down now, and so did some of the congregation.

“So this morning, I asked Pastor Tim, and he said it was fine. He said I could play a song for you. My first song . . . that I wrote. And I want to dedicate it to my mom . . . and my dad . . . whom I love very much.” She choked back a sob as she reached for her guitar. But before she strapped it on, she glanced over to the piano and then back to her dad. Setting the guitar down, she went over and sat down on the bench and started to play.

Really, the piano was the perfect instrument for this tender song. And so, putting everything she had into it, she began to sing “All I’ve Ever Needed” with so much heart and soul that nearly everyone in the church was crying by the time she finished. But the crying quickly subsided into joyous applause. Grace spotted her dad getting to his feet, clapping energetically, and soon the rest of the congregation was standing and clapping too. She hurried down to join her parents, happily hugging them. And then she was hugging Rachel and several other old friends. And eventually she felt someone tugging on her sleeve and looked down to see young Noah looking up at her with big eyes.

“My star guitar student,” she said as she leaned down to hug him. “I’m so sorry I missed your recital.” She peered into his eyes. “How did it go?”

He smiled shyly. “Okay.”

She ran her hand through his hair. “Good for you. Keep practicing!”

Chapter 25

Two Years Later

S
o much had happened in the past two years that sometimes Grace felt like she needed to pinch herself just to see if it was really real. It was as if all her dreams had actually come true . . . were coming true. But this time there were no regrets and no compromises. This time God was the one directing her path and her career.

The music pounded in her ears as Grace walked over to where Quentin was standing backstage, talking on his phone. Quentin had been managing her career for some time now, and she had no complaints. No complaints whatsoever. She glanced down at her pretty diamond engagement ring as she snuck up from behind him, planting a kiss on his cheek. He turned around and grinned. “We’re up soon,” he told her, then returned to whoever was on the other end.

“No, that’s great news,” he said into the phone. “Cool. Very cool.”

Grace slipped her arm around Quentin, snuggling up close to him as she smiled over to where her band members—the same guys that helped her dad lead worship at Homewood Church—were waiting with their instruments on the sidelines. They seemed intent on watching Chris Tomlin as he wound down his performance. Chris had totally rocked the amphitheater tonight, and the audience was stoked.

“Thanks, Larry,” Quentin said into the phone. “That means a lot to me.”

She looked at him with curious interest. So he was talking to Larry at Sapphire Music. She wondered what was up.

But now her parents were coming over to join their little entourage.

“Hold still,” her mom was saying to Dad. “Let me get this for you before you go on stage looking like a complete goofball.”

“All right.” He smirked at Mom as she wiped a smudge off his chin. He nodded to Grace. “We up?”

“Yeah,” she told him. “Just about.”

“I’m looking at a couple of new artists,” Quentin was saying into the phone. “Both are strong.”

Grace waved her fingers to Quentin. “Tell Larry hi,” she whispered.

As Quentin delivered her greeting, Chris Tomlin exited the stage; and Quentin paused from his phone conversation to give Chris a thumbs-up. “Way to go, man.”

“Thanks, Quentin.” Chris nodded. “Later, man.”

Quentin quickly wound up his conversation with Larry and pocketed his phone, turning to Grace with a happy grin. “Third quarter reports are in,” he told her. “Larry says it looks like our division’s here to stay.”

She hugged him. “It’s all due to your stellar leadership,” she told him.

“It’s your brilliant singing.” Quentin kissed her.

“Hey, cut it out,” Dad teased them. “You’re not married yet.”

Grace laughed. “Ready to rock and roll?” she asked Dad. She could hear the emcee taking over the mic now. “That Chris Tomlin never disappoints, does he?” he was saying. “As you know, this concert has been presented by Sapphire Christian Music Group,” he said. “But it’s not over yet. So, everybody, let’s put our hands together for
The Gracie Trey Band with Johnny Trey.
”

“So let me get this straight,” her dad said to Quentin with twinkling eyes. “I work for my future son-in-law?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Quentin helped Gracie strap on her guitar.

“That still sounds so weird.” Grace laughed, slapping her dad on the back.

“We good?” he asked.

“You bet! Let’s move it, old man!”

Pretending to walk with a limp and hunched back, Johnny headed for the stage but straightened up to his true spry self as soon as they hit the lights. As usual, the crowd came to life as the band entered the stage, clapping and yelling and cheering wildly. As the band took their places and set up, Grace looked out over the expectant faces and smiled with satisfaction—such a different atmosphere from the drinking clubs she’d been playing two years ago. She looked upward, silently thanking God that He was the one calling the shots now.

Grace and her band played with energy and enthusiasm, and the crowd zealously thanked them with noisy appreciation. But finally it was winding down, and then it was time to play the last song. Grace didn’t even know where the time had gone to.

“You guys have been so great tonight,” she said to the crowd. “Thanks so much for coming out and supporting us like this. And for the last song I want to leave you with something really special.” Now the musicians behind her started to play the instrumental introduction to “You Never Let Go,” and the crowd clapped and cheered to acknowledge they recognized it.

“This song always brings me back home,” she explained. “It was written by Matt Redman. But my dad and I always played Chris’s version.” She glanced at Dad, and he smiled warmly at her. “It’s one of our favorites.”

As Grace sang those powerful lyrics, she knew she was singing truth—every single word in this sweet song was absolutely true—
God never let go
. Despite all her mistakes and confusion and floundering, He had never let go of her. And she never wanted to let go of Him again either.