Free Facing the Music by Andrea Laurence

tell people after their house burns down that it was fate?”
    “Of course not. But life doesn’t always work out the way you plan. Coming home to Rosewood and coaching the football team wasn’t what you had in mind. But did you ever think that you might be right where you’re meant to be? Maybe you’re meant to use your skills to help kids and train the next great football player. You can live out your dream that way.”
    Blake swallowed hard. He was trying. He’d taken the job at Rosewood High, thankful he could fall back on his secondary education degree. He enjoyed coaching the kids. Was it the same as the roar of an NFL stadium? No. But at least he was able to put his knowledge and training to good use. He wasn’t ready to get all Zen about his situation, but he was working on it. Bloom where you’re planted and all that. Contentment wouldn’t just happen overnight.
    “Okay, okay, all right. Point taken. Now go long and cut right.”

Chapter Five
    It was a relatively quiet day in Hollywood.
    And Nash Russell needed a story. His favorite gossip subjects had scattered. Some went to rehab, others to foreign film sets. A few had taken vacations or just disappeared entirely. It was the kind of day that forced him to write about a Kardashian or some singer’s new haircut.
    He hated those days. Nash might not be up for a Pulitzer anytime soon, but he did like to tell a juicy story, not just shove celebrity nonsense down readers’ throats.
    No one had gotten into a fight at a club, been seen making out with someone other than their spouse, or gotten pulled over for a DUI and played the “Do you know who I am?” card. Not even a single naked photograph of a former child star had surfaced lately. He was going to have to do a story on some celebrity kid going shopping with their nanny. That wasn’t the kind of tongue-wagging tale he liked to tell. He wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill paparazzo. He was a celebrity journalist. Though he wasn’t sure that distinction meant anything to anyone but him.
    Sitting back in his chair, he stroked his graying blond goatee thoughtfully. He needed . . . he needed Ivy Hudson to come out of hiding. That girl had been Nash’s go-to since the day she burst onto the music scene and put her ex in his place. He got a kick out of uncovering who her songs were about. Breaking that first story about Blake Chamberlain had been the highlight of his career.
    When confronted about Blake being the subject of her number one song, Ivy had smiled coquettishly and said, “No comment.” That’s why Nash loved her. She would stab a guy in the back with a song, then go on television looking all innocent and sweet. And romantic exploits aside, he always felt like there was more to Ivy’s story than anyone knew. If he dug deep enough, he had a feeling he would hit the tabloid mother lode.
    The last few weeks the blogs had been buzzing with the Ivy Hudson–Sterling Marshall story. Once again, Nash was the first to figure out who the song was about, and he’d turned it into a scandalous headline. That was the news he lived for, but even that had fizzled out. Ivy was MIA. Sterling was in his third stint of private, and very expensive, rehab, but Nash had been paid more to keep quiet about it than he’d ever make reporting it.
    Nash was happy to take the money and ignore Sterling Marshall. He’d rather focus on Ivy. Nash had made a career on her love life. Perhaps she’d found a new guy. Was there anyone stupid enough to still date Ivy Hudson? You were guaranteed to have a song written about you. And not a flattering one. But like clockwork, Ivy would be seen out and about with someone new. Nash supposed it was because she was hot. He was the first to admit that. It might be worth the embarrassment to get his hands on those curves of hers.
    But right now, he’d just be happy with tracking her down. She hadn’t been spotted at her Malibu mansion or her New York apartment for several days. Ivy