Read Online Grace Unplugged: A Novel by Melody Carlson - Free Book Online

Sapphire is located.”
    She nodded. “Even if she was headed there, how do you think she got there?”
    “Train? Bus?” He frowned. “Did she have much money?”
    “Not that I know of.” Michelle was going through Grace’s things now, acting like a detective who was trying to find a clue to the mystery.
    “We can try her cell,” Johnny said. “But she probably won’t answer.”
    Michelle nodded and then let out a choked sob. “What do we do?”
    Johnny pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry, babe. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at her like I did. But we’ll figure it out. I promise you. I’ll find her.”
    “According to the date on the note, she took off last night. Where could she have slept?” Michelle asked between sobs. “Where is she now?”

    Grace was relieved that she’d been able to sleep on the red-eye flight to Los Angeles. But she’d been so exhausted after her hair-raising getaway last night that it wasn’t really surprising she’d conked out on her second flight. She didn’t even want to think about how she’d taken a ride from complete strangers—a couple of college-aged guys that she’d found at the diner in town. Noticing her guitar, they’d started chatting with her about music. As it turned out, they just happened to be on their way to Birmingham too.
    They seemed respectable enough, but after having been taught for years not to talk to—let alone ride with—strangers, she knew she could’ve been making a big mistake. Thankfully, she was not. The guys turned out to be great, and they even dropped her off at the airport, telling her not to forget them when she became a big star.
    Her flight out of Birmingham was a short little hop on a small jet that seemed to bounce over the turbulence all the way to Atlanta. And when she arrived, she had a long layover until her next flight. However, she couldn’t complain because she had told Mossy’s assistant she wanted to leave on Sunday night, and she had refused to back down. Fortunately, the assistant had made arrangements for Grace to spend the night in an airport hotel. So with her guitar case and bag, she boarded a hotel shuttle bus at about ten o’clock that night. But because her morning flight was an early one and she worried she might oversleep, and because she was feeling uneasy about her parents, and mostly because she was so excited about this adventure she was embarking on, she had spent most of the night wide awake.
    It was no wonder she’d slept soundly on the flight to LA. But now that she was here and it was morning and no airport security or police had tried to stop her—which she’d been expecting the whole time—she felt free as a bird. As she rode down the escalator to baggage claim, she suppressed the urge to spread her wings and pretend to fly. After all, she wasn’t a child anymore.
    She didn’t have any bags to claim, but Mossy’s assistant had said that was where passengers were picked up. And sure enough, as soon as she stepped off the escalator, there was a lineup of drivers, all holding up signs with people’s names on them. And to her delight there was a man dressed in a crisp black suit and holding up a sign that said Grace Trey . It if had been written in lights, she wouldn’t have been one bit happier.
    “I’m Grace Trey,” she told him.
    “Welcome to LA, Miss Trey.” He reached for her bag and guitar.
    “Thank you!” She beamed at him.
    “Right this way.”
    He led her out to where a sleek black limo was parked near the taxis. She tried not to feel too smug as she walked past grown-ups waiting in line for taxis. And she could feel them looking at her, probably wondering who she was, as her driver opened the door for her. Holding her head high, she slipped into the limo. She felt like a million bucks.
    As the limo pulled out of the airport, Grace looked out the windows. It seemed that palm trees were growing everywhere. A nice touch though. She stared in awe as they traveled