Free Saving Grace (Madison Falls) by Lesley Ann McDaniel

sometimes needs a corkscrew.
    Pitiable as it seemed to drink wine out of a mug, she poured to the brim and slunk out to the sun porch. She dropped into the camp chair, disappointment racing through her weary body. Hadn’t the chair been cozier that morning? She slumped down, taking a welcome sip of the heady liquid. Her lips tingled, and her muscles relaxed a little.
    Leaning back as much as the seat would comfortably allow, she looked out at the crisp black sky jeweled with stars, and let the emotion she’d been holding in bubble to the surface. Her eyes stung with unwanted sentiment. It was time she faced up to the hardest part of this whole situation—she missed her life.
    She made a mental list of who might report her missing. Her manager, maybe? Surely Lana, her vocal coach, would find it odd when she failed to show up for her lesson. Anybody else? Maybe a neighbor in her building, but that seemed unlikely. She was gone so much as it was that no one would take notice.
    Her agent would at least notice if she didn’t return his calls, but she wasn’t one of his star clients. She was still just a baby principal in his book, and his efforts on her behalf had done little to change that.
    She pinched back tears, but the pain in her chest grew fiercer. What was wrong with her life that she hadn’t bothered to make any real friends? Obviously, if she didn’t care about anybody in a meaningful way, that meant nobody cared about her.
    There was her mother, of course. A tear trickled down Grace’s cheek as she remembered how difficult it had been to tell her she was fleeing. Her mother was still so caught up in mourning that it had been hard to tell if she’d understood. Regret and worry strummed at Grace’s heart. If only she could be with her mother without endangering her too.
    Emotion caught in her belly. The only other person who would wonder where she had gone was the one person she didn’t want to find her. Ever.
    A gulp of wine warmed her throat but chilled her heart. Her mom would disapprove of her drinking alone, but what other choice did she have? She was alone. Without plan or purpose. Tipping back her head, she gazed that the crystal stars above and wanted to shout at God for abandoning her. If He was up there somewhere, why would He create the stratosphere and then leave her down here on her own?
    She let out a helpless wail, like an animal caught in a trap. All she wanted was to go home, but she couldn’t. Nothing had changed. Rocking gently forward, she shut her eyes. She was waiting for home to be safe again, but with no idea what would make it so.
    Pulling her knees up to her chest, she allowed the tears to flow like Niagara. What was she doing in a nothing town with a job that she was incapable of executing? It was so unfair that Kirk had unlimited funds and infinite time and she had to sell Oreos to keep herself afloat while hiding from him. Where was the justice in that?
    Blowing despondency out between clenched teeth, she thought about the theatre. There was no way she could quit, not now. It would be downright mean to do that to Nancy. Besides, she needed the income.
    She took a consoling swig. Her life had been going so well. How could it possibly have come to this…and what was she going to do to change it?

Chapter 12
    “This is the best play I’ve seen in years.”
    Grace peered up at the grey-bearded patron as she knelt, digging around the fridge for a diet cola. The sport coat he wore over a plaid work shirt must have looked stylish in about 1973. This was apparently the local dress code for an evening at the theatre.
    “They always do such a good job here,” the woman next to him raved. “Any one of these people could make it in New York if they wanted to.”
    “Broadway quality.” The man’s head bobbed. “I’ve always said it.”
    Grace rolled her lips between her teeth to suppress a laugh as she stood and handed him the can. Clearly these people had never actually been to New