The man hit the mouse on his computer. “Did he buy the Seagull recently?”
“It looked pretty new, but he’s been on the road for five months, so it would have been before then. It’s such a rare guitar, I thought he might be easy to spot.”
He scrolled through pages. “You play?” he asked.
“Oh, no, I have zero talent for any of it. But he was — wonderful. I have some friends who want to hire him. I work in the movie industry.” Hopefully, I thought.
“Okay, I see him. He picked this up literally five months ago. I guess for this tour you’re talking about.”
I leaned on the counter. “Makes sense. I had his phone number. I hate that cell phones mean we don’t write anything down!”
“He didn’t give me that, but he lives just a few streets down from here.” The man looked me over, head to toe.
“Great,” I said. “Although I hate to pop in. Maybe I can just leave a little note with how to reach me. He’s probably calling my missing phone, thinking I’m blowing him off.” I put on my best distressed look.
“He’s across from the middle school,” he said, and gave me the address and rough directions. “Tell him I said hello.”
I couldn’t believe I did it.
I had an address.
I thanked him and dragged my suitcase out of the store. I really wanted to get rid of the suitcase as soon as possible, so as soon as I was certain I was out of view, I pulled out my phone to call the taxi service.
I hadn’t been gone long, so the same driver picked up the fare. I was sort of glad to see his friendly face again.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked as I got in.
“Yes. Are there any hotels near here?”
“Sure. We can drive by and you can take a look-see.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I stayed by the window to really take in all the places Chance once knew. I felt like I was getting to know him a little, seeing the shop where he got his guitar, and now going to where he lived. Or did. I wasn’t sure if he’d pulled out completely when he left town. It might be a dead end. But if nothing else, I had a place I could send a letter and ask to be forwarded. It was something.
We drove by two nondescript chain hotels. “This one’s fine,” I said. “I really appreciate your help.” I handed him the fare.
“Have a nice time here in Chattanooga,” he said. “If you want me for anything, you can call and ask for Dan. They’ll tell you if I’m on duty.”
“Thank you,” I said. It was nice to feel like I knew someone here, even if it was a taxi driver.
I checked into the hotel and called my mom to let her know I had an address for Chance, even if it was an old one. She told me to be careful and asked if I was feeling sick.
I told her as long as I stayed calm, I wasn’t nauseated. After we hung up, I sat on the bed with the phone against my heart, glad at least somebody in the world knew everything. I appreciated her more in that moment than I think I ever had in my life.
I went in the bathroom to survey my appearance. I figured there were three possibilities for what I would find.
1. Chance himself.
2. Chance’s family.
3. A new oblivious occupant.
The last seemed the most likely. But I had to brace myself for any of the others.
I took a second to Google the address to see if I could drum anything up. I found a rental listing from two years ago. Judging from the lack of lawn and family-friendliness, I assumed this had been where Chance had lived, not his parents.
It hadn’t been listed since, so maybe he had roommates that were still there.
That might be the easiest scenario. His friends would tell me where he was. Surely.
Just in case it WAS his mother, though, I smoothed my dreads back into a ponytail and hid them under the hat again. Not to mention, it would be a dead giveaway to anyone who might have seen the video that I was the naked girl.
I felt prepared to face all the eventualities.
Maybe.
Chapter 35: Jenny
The house didn’t look a whole lot different from the listing two years ago. Brown scraggly yard. Three trucks crammed into the driveway. So Chance had called this place home.
I gripped my purse strap tightly and headed up the walk. This was the worst part, hands down. But when I stepped on the porch, a buff cowboy in jeans, a plaid shirt, and a Stetson came out the front door.
“Oh, hey there,” he said, his expression lighting up. “Who brought you here?”
My voice caught. Could this be a brother? Or just someone who knew Chance? I couldn’t find any words.
His eyes were light blue and danced with amusement. “Quiet one, eh? You Redmond’s new girl? You look kinda pretty for that scoundrel.”
I took a deep breath. “Actually, I was wondering if Chance was back yet.”
He took a step back. “You know Chance?”
“I met him” — I decided not to mention LA — “while he was traveling.”