Chapter 2
Chase
Chase stretched out in the passenger seat of Izzy’s car, only to have his knees bump against the dashboard. With his head skimming the roof, he was like a prisoner in a clown car. After two hours on a full flight, however, squeezing into this two-door sedan was a minor blip in his travel plans. Now that he was here, he was one step closer to achieving his goal, and he couldn’t be happier.
He recalled the phone conversation he had with his manager that morning.
I called in a favor with a music publisher. The songwriter you’ve been looking for, I found her. Well, not her exactly, but I know where she lives. Up in Oregon in a town called Romance.
With that one piece of information to go on, he’d booked the next flight out. Getting here was the easy part; now he had to find the woman who’d written his hit song and make sure she handed over the rest of her work from the past year.
“Sorry about the tight squeeze.” Izzy glanced over at him as they waited at a red light. “You can move the seat back if you like. The lever’s on the bottom.”
Chase reached down and pulled the bar, scooting his seat backwards at the same time. His body welcomed the extra two inches, and he offered Izzy a grateful smile. “Ah, much better. The feeling’s returning in my legs.”
“If I’d known I’d be driving a giant around today, I would’ve borrowed a truck.”
The grin she gave him made his mind go blank. Chase struggled for a witty comeback, but could only stare through his shades at the beautiful woman beside him. Izzy had grabbed his attention from the start with her strawberry blonde locks and sexy smile. The vulnerability, bordering on sadness, in her hazel eyes captivated him. She was unlike any woman he’d ever met.
For a moment, he felt like a teenager on his first date, tongue-tied and unsure, which was the farthest thing from the truth. At twenty-five, he was a grown man, not to mention a pop star. And pop stars were confident, creative, and in control ... or at least they were supposed to be.
Lately, he wasn’t so sure he fit his new role. Uploading videos of himself covering hit songs had been something he’d done on a whim. He never imagined he’d amass over a million subscribers his first year or sign a record deal the year after. Fame and fortune had fallen into his lap like a hundred Christmas mornings rolled into one, and though he was grateful, he’d never been under so much pressure. Pressure from his manager to get another album out. And pressure from himself to not disappoint his fans. It was all weighing down on him. He couldn’t write a single verse, much less an entire song. He’d been trying for the past month, but trying wasn’t cutting it anymore.
“That was a joke.”
His ears picked up on the concern in Izzy’s voice. “Oh, yeah, I knew that,” he assured her. “I guess the blood hasn’t reached my funny bone yet. The circulation takes a little longer for us giants.”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry. It seems to be working now.”
At least he hadn’t lost his sense of humor. “I’m glad you think so.”
The light turned green, and Izzy faced forward. She drove for a minute in silence before asking, “So, um, what brings you to town? Are you here for the Fall Festival?”
“No, not for the festival. I’m actually here to look for someone.” Now that he was saying the words out loud, he had no idea how he was going to locate an anonymous person. The only thing he had to go on was a pen name. “You wouldn’t happen to know a Grace Bella, would you?”
The car screeched to a stop, nearly hitting the bumper of the van ahead of them. Izzy yelped and threw her right arm in front of Chase, shielding his upper body. “Sorry, I didn’t see the stop sign. Are you okay?”
Half of him wanted to laugh at the idea that such a petite woman thought she could protect him. The other half, however, was enjoying the feel of her skin on his. The fingers that gripped his bicep were surprisingly strong and callused, but oh-so warm. Traces of a floral perfume filled his senses, making him aware of how close she was. He covered her hand with his and gave it a light squeeze. “I’m fine, thanks. I’m so tightly packed in here, there’s no chance of my head hitting the dashboard even if I tried.”
She pulled away as if she’d been burned. There was no fire, but something was making her cheeks flush. She cleared her throat and murmured, “That’s good.”
He grinned. So, he wasn’t the only one experiencing sparks. “You’ve got quite a reflex there. Reminds me of my mom. She used to do that to me and my brother when we were small.”
“Uh, yeah, it’s a mom thing, I guess,” she murmured as she stepped on the gas.
“So, I was asking if you know anyone by the name of Grace Bella?”
“Come again?”
“Grace Bella. At least that’s what she goes by as a songwriter. I don’t know much about her, except that she lives here in Romance and she wrote a song that’s currently number ten on the Billboard chart.”
“Oh yeah?”
“It’s called ‘The Best Thing’. Have you heard of it?”
A few seconds passed as Izzy seemed to ponder his question. She chewed on her lower lip and snuck a look at him. “I think so.”
“The chorus goes, It’s not lost on me that without the gray there wouldn’t be the blue. The love in your eyes keeps pulling me through. And no matter how dark the nights were that brought you here. The best thing to happen to me—”
“Was you, my dear,” she finished for him.
He straightened in his seat, as much as the tight space allowed. Izzy must be a fan to know the lyrics by heart. Perhaps she knew the songwriter, too. It was a small town, after all. “You know the song.”
“It's on the radio a lot,” she nodded, “sometimes playing on two stations at once, which is kinda insane.”
Drawing his brows together, he asked, “Why is that?”
“We only have a handful of stations in the area that play Top 40 songs. To have two playing the same song at the same time says to me you’ve made it.”
He assumed her comment was a general one and not directed at him. He could be wrong, but it didn’t seem like she recognized him as a singer. The sunglasses probably helped, as well as not revealing his last name. Now that privacy was a rare commodity in his life, he preferred to keep a low profile when possible.
“So, uh, why are you looking for her?” Izzy continued. “Does it have something to do with the song she wrote?”
“For sure. It changed my life.”
She eyed him with a skeptical smile. “Changed your life? Isn’t that taking it a bit far? It’s just a song.”
“It’s so much more than that. It’s the beauty and power in the song. The notes come together to create the perfect melody. Then there are the lyrics—they’re from someplace raw and real. The first time I heard the chorus, it touched me in a way I couldn’t explain. I get emotional whenever I hear it.” Afraid he’d said too much already, Chase shrugged nonchalantly. “I was just hoping to tell her these things in person. I wanted to thank her for writing the song. I also have a favor to ask of her.”
“You came all the way here to thank her? You could’ve sent her a card or flowers. Maybe even chocolate. I’m sure she’d love chocolate—I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate?”
“Those are all great ideas.” Although such gifts would never be able to express the fullness of his gratitude. How did you thank someone who changed your life? “If I ever get her address, I’ll be sure to do that and more.”
“That’s right.” She wrinkled her nose in chagrin. “You don’t know where she is, other than the fact that she lives in this town.”
“I guess it was foolish of me to think I could find someone based on a name. I don’t even know what she looks like or how old she is.”
“Hm. You really don’t have much to go on.”
Chase sighed. He gazed out the window as they drove through the downtown district. They passed a fountain in what appeared to be the town square and many businesses that reminded him of home, including a cafe and a movie theater. The rolling hills in the distance, however, were a new sight to him, as well as the clear, unpolluted sky. If only he could get some clarity about this songwriter. Who else could he ask—wait, of course! “Would your neighbor be able to help me? You said she knows everything about everyone.”
“Mrs. Cooper?” Izzy balked. “I doubt it. She only listens to the Oldies and calls everything else noise.”
“Well, I guess I could walk around town and talk to the store owners. Someone’s bound to have heard of her.”
Izzy made an indiscernible sound as if she didn’t know what else to say.
They drove out of the downtown area and approached a residential neighborhood. Quaint houses lined the street where a school bus was parked, dropping off children after school. Bright red, orange and gold leaves decked the trees on both sides of the road.
Chase marveled at the scene before him. He’d always felt cheated out of the fall season where he lived. The best Southern California offered were steel buildings and smog, not the vibrant foliage of the Pacific Northwest. To be in such a beautiful place as Romance woke something up inside him. The first words of a chorus ran through his mind and his fingers itched to strum the accompanying chords on his guitar.
He took his cell phone from his jacket pocket and opened the notes app. Before his inspiration disappeared, he typed in some words and saved the file. It was a small step to writing a full song, but it was still a step. A big grin overtook his face. Perhaps his dry spell was finally over.
Chase sensed Izzy’s eyes on him. He looked up and realized the car had stopped. “Are we here?”
“This is it. Your home away from home.”
They were parked in front of a blue two-story house, the vibrant shade matching the cloudless sky above it. It was the only one of its color on the block. A newly-painted white fence surrounded the home and a small front yard. At one end of the lawn stood a large maple tree, its leaves bold and colorful. A sign that read Interlude Inn hung from a wooden post on the porch.
“Wow,” he breathed in awe. “This place is like a haven, a musical one. It’s perfect.”
It really was. Especially the treble clef that had been transformed into the letter I in the word Interlude. This Bed and Breakfast was the resting stop he needed to finish his next album.
Izzy smiled. “A musical haven. I like that. Would you mind if I put it in the inn’s brochure?”
“Be my guest.” He opened the car door, ready to step out when Izzy stopped him with a question.
“Hey, Chase?”
“Yeah?”
“I hope you don’t mind me asking. What was the favor you wanted to ask Grace Bella for, assuming you find her?”
Funny she brought that up. Because all the plans he’d had to locate the illusive songwriter disappeared. He had other priorities now. He turned to Izzy with a firm shake of his head. “Actually, I’m good. I don’t need her anymore.”