Miracle in Music City

by Natalie Grant

  THIRTY-ONE

  The minute they got home, Lulu wanted to hear the whole story. It wasn’t the usual kind of story, the kind that felt finished when the telling was over. The guitar was back—sure—but the mess was still just as messy.

  “I know it’s hard, Maddie,” Mia said. “But, we raised $150,000 for the shelter last night. Plus, Ruby came to the concert. And Ruby’s dad didn’t have to go to jail or anything. That’s better than it could have been, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Maddie felt like a gray cloud in the middle of everyone else’s happiness. “I think I’ll go draw for a little while.”

  “You sure?” Mia asked. “We could make up another dance, or go play in the backyard.”

  “You’re tired.” Mom rubbed Maddie’s back. “I don’t think you slept well last night.”

  “Play with me!!” Lulu begged Mia. “I want to go in the backyard.”

  Maddie dragged her exhausted body upstairs, but she didn’t think she could sleep. Not right away, anyway. She took out her sketchbook and started to draw. After a few strokes, she realized she was drawing her room. Sometimes, especially when she was tired, she didn’t try to come up with anything interesting to draw. Instead, she drew what was right there, in front of her eyes. She drew her nightstand, and on it the lamp, and the pile of books. On top of the books, she drew her quarter from their performance on Monday. She worked on the quarter’s round lines, and then started shading it in silver. Then, she stopped, pencil in midair, as her thoughts clicked into place.

  Ruby’s dad needed a guitar, but even more than that, he needed to feel valued. He wanted to take care of himself and his family. He wouldn’t want someone giving him a guitar, especially after he’d been caught stealing one. But, if Ruby gave her dad a guitar, surely he’d take it. At least he would if she’d earned it fair and square. What if they put on a concert—with Ruby—and charged people an entrance fee? Could they earn enough to buy a guitar? Maddie set her pencil down and climbed off the bed, so excited she forgot to be tired. She stopped halfway to the door. Plus, they could invite Annabeth and Emily to be in the concert—her friends would definitely want to help. And maybe if they worked together on the performance, whatever had been broken between them could be fixed. Emily had sent flowers last night, after all.

  “I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” she shouted, running downstairs.

  “Whoa!” Mom caught her before she barreled into the kitchen island. “You’ve got what?”

  “You always say music is like medicine,” Maddie began. “I think Ruby’s dad needs a guitar, but it won’t work for us to give him one.”

  “No, probably not,” Mom said.

  “But if we put on a concert and charge a quarter—or a dollar—we can raise money and buy him one. I mean, I know you and Dad could buy him a guitar, but I want to make my own difference. And I think it’s important that Ruby has a chance to be part of this. For her and her dad’s sake. So, we can invite her to be in our concert, and invite Annabeth and Emily too, and—”

  “Maddie, that’s a lot of ands,” Mom said. “Honey, I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high. We may not be able to make all that—”

  “But don’t you see, Mom?” Maddie interrupted. “I have to try. Ruby is my friend.”

  “What’s going on?” Dad asked, coming up from the downstairs studio.

  “Maddie wants to invite Ruby and some of the girls to put on a concert to raise money. She’d like to buy a guitar for Ruby’s dad.”

  “It’s not impossible, is it, Dad?” Maddie asked. “How much is a guitar, anyway?”

  “We can probably find a solid used one for $200 or so,” Dad said.

  Maddie quickly did the calculations in her mind. “So, maybe we charge $5 for the concert. People would pay extra if they know the money is going to a good cause, right?”

  She looked first at Mom and then at Dad. “Please?”

  Dad was the first to start nodding. “I think it’s a great idea, Mads. Rick is truly a fantastic guitarist, and I do think having his own guitar would make a difference for him. I was just downstairs thinking about how I might try to hook him up with a possible job, but . . .” He shook his head. “I think he has to do some work first. He has the skills to play, but his head and his heart have to be in the right place.”

  “Do you think he’d take the guitar, if it came from the kids—from Ruby?” Mom asked.

  Dad winked at Maddie. “It’s pretty difficult to turn down a gift from your daughter, that’s for sure.”

  “So, we can call the shelter and invite Ruby over?” Maddie asked.

  Mom took a deep breath. “And here I thought today was going to be a low-key, restful Saturday after the concert.”

  “So, yes?” Maddie pressed.

  “Call in your sisters,” Mom said. “They’ll want to be in on the plan.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  Everyone launched into motion. Mom got in touch with Ruby’s mom and made arrangements to pick Ruby up and have her spend the night with the Glimmers. The concert would be tomorrow on the back lawn. Maddie went out to the backyard to explain her plan to Lulu and Mia. Lulu went to collect possible costumes, while Maddie and Mia walked up the street to do the hard part.

  “Emily first,” Maddie said. “She sent flowers last night.”

  “Agreed,” Mia said.

  Their friends both lived in the Glimmers’ neighborhood. Emily’s house was about halfway up the street, and Annabeth lived two houses past Emily. Most of the time, the girls were in and out of one another’s houses, which had made this past week—and the space—all the more difficult.

  Maddie knocked on Emily’s door.

  Emily’s mom answered with her usual warm smile, an encouraging sign. “Hi there, girls. How was the concert last night?”

  “We had a lot of fun,” Mia said.

  “But we missed Emily,” Maddie added. “Is she home?”

  “She’s in the backyard with Annabeth. Would you girls like to go on through and see them?”

  Maddie exchanged looks with Mia. It might have been easier to talk to their friends one at a time, but maybe it was better to get it over with all at once.

  “Sure.” Maddie let Mia lead the way, but caught her sister’s arm before they went out onto the porch. “Let’s not say anything about last night, unless they ask. Well—besides thanking Emily for the flowers.”

  “Right,” Mia said, sliding open the glass door.

  Emily and Annabeth sat side by side on swings. They glanced at one another when they saw the twins. For a second, Maddie wondered whether everything would go wrong again.

  But then, Emily smiled. “Hey, we were just talking about you.”

  Maddie felt Mia tensing up beside her, but she decided to push ahead, ignoring her own worries, and the ones she knew Mia was having too. “Thank you for the sunflowers, Emily. They were beautiful.”

  “You liked them?” Emily’s smile brightened, but then she looked at her feet. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there last night. We called about tickets a couple hours before the show, but it was too late.”

  By now, Maddie and Mia had closed the distance between themselves and their friends. Annabeth stood up from her swing, took a deep breath, and blew it out.

  Then she said, “I’m sorry too. What was it like, standing on the Opry circle? Was the show really sold out?”

  Mia nodded, but held back from telling the girls every last detail. “We’re actually here to see if you’d sing with us tomorrow.”

  “Sing? Tomorrow?” Emily asked.

  “And maybe dance too,” Maddie said. “We’re putting on our own miniature benefit—in our backyard.”

  “What’s it for?” Annabeth asked.

  Maddie and Mia explained what had happened with the guitar, with Ruby’s dad, and with Ruby herself.

  “So what do you think?” Maddie asked.

  “We could do our dance!” Emily said. “And we could all sing tog
ether—it would be so much fun, don’t you think, Annabeth?”

  “I’d love to help,” Annabeth said. “And yes, it does sound fun.”

  “Before we go, though,” Mia said. “I owe you both an apology. I was so excited to tell you about our summer and everything that I didn’t stop to think about how you might feel. I didn’t mean to leave you out, but I see how you could have felt that way.”

  “I’m sorry too,” Maddie said. “I could see you were upset, and even though I wanted to, I couldn’t figure out a way to make things better. At the very least, I should have said sorry right away.”

  Annabeth and Emily exchanged another of their looks, but this time they turned back to Maddie and Mia with matching smiles on their faces. Relief flooded through Maddie.

  “When is Ruby coming over?” Annabeth asked.

  “Any minute now,” Mia answered.

  “Should we go rehearse, then?” Annabeth asked.

  Emily threw her arms around Maddie, and then around Mia, making things finally feel back to normal. Hugs from Emily, plans from Annabeth—everything the way it was supposed to be. They hurried home to introduce Annabeth and Emily to Ruby. With Ruby’s help, the girls put together the most spectacular concert any of them could imagine. They worked up a couple instrumental songs. Mia played piano and Emily and Maddie played bongo drums. Ruby’s dad had taught her how to play guitar, so she played some background chords. Lulu and Annabeth played harmonicas. Then, on other songs, Annabeth played the piano while everyone else sang. Annabeth and Emily’s dance came midway through the show. Mia, Maddie, and Lulu added Ruby to their dance, which they used as the finale.

  “Do you think people will actually pay $5 each for our concert?” Ruby wanted to know.

  “I’m sure they will!” Annabeth showed the girls the flyer she’d made in between rehearsing the musical and dance numbers. “Let’s copy these, and we can take them door to door.”

  By the time the sun was painting the clouds pink and orange, they’d invited everyone in the neighborhood, plus anyone else they could think of.

  “I think we’ll have at least 40 in the audience,” Annabeth said.

  “My dad is going to be so surprised,” Ruby said. “I don’t know how to thank you!”

  “No need to thank us,” Emily said. “This is fun!”

  THIRTY-THREE

  The sleepover with Ruby was hands down the most fun sleepover Maddie had ever had. The girls pitched a tent in the playroom and slept in sleeping bags so no one would be left out of the fun. Ruby played some of her favorite songs on the guitar—which were all Sunday school songs—and everyone sang along. They pretended a pile of red and orange pillows was a campfire, and Mom and Dad even let them make s’mores in the microwave to bring upstairs and eat as a late-night snack.

  “But after your snack, lights out,” Mom said. “You want to be rested for your concert tomorrow. What a musical weekend you girls have had!”

  They snuggled into their sleeping bags and tried to go to sleep. But falling asleep wasn’t easy, because whenever they started settling in, someone would whisper something. Then, they’d all start giggling and have to start quieting down all over again. Maddie’s eyes felt dry as sandpaper when she finally let them close and drifted off to sleep.

  When she woke up, she leapt out of her sleeping bag. The concert was at ten, and they had to set up chairs, put on costumes, eat breakfast, and get everything else set up. All the girls worked at a dead run until just before ten, when they found themselves standing near a tree in the backyard with Annabeth and Emily, watching the crowd gather.

  They sang and danced their hearts out, and when the show was over, the crowd kept shouting for an encore. The girls decided to sing an impromptu version of “This Little Light of Mine” with Annabeth playing piano and Ruby on guitar. Then, the girls all took their final bows. The backyard audience gave them a whoop-filled standing ovation. Once the crowd had gone, the girls sat on the back porch and counted their earnings. $275—plenty to buy a guitar.

  Mom and Dad took all the girls to the music store so they could pick out the guitar together. Ruby pointed out one that was black around the edges with red near the opening.

  “What’s that opening called, anyway?” Lulu wanted to know.

  “It’s called a sound hole,” Dad said.

  “That guitar looks just like the one my dad used to have,” Ruby said.

  “Then, that’s the one we should buy.” Dad lifted it down off the wall.

  Ruby strummed a couple chords, and then nodded. “This one okay?” she asked the girls.

  “Yes!” It was unanimous.

  Ruby slid the pile of five-dollar bills across the counter. The guitar came with a case, and cost $223, so they had enough to buy two extra sets of strings and a tuner too.

  Then they drove Ruby back to Third Street. As she climbed out of the car, the guitar hugged to her chest, she said, “You know where to find Dad most days. You’ll come and listen sometime, won’t you?”

  “Can we go tomorrow night?” Maddie asked.

  “Let’s plan to go on Saturday,” Mom said. “That way we give Rick a chance to settle in with his guitar. Plus, you girls could use a few quiet evenings. It’s been an exciting week.”

  “I’ll make sure to be there on Saturday then, too,” Ruby said.

  Maddie was relieved to not have to say good-bye to Ruby forever. She gave her new friend a hug. “See you soon!”

  When Saturday finally came, the girls loaded up in the car with Mom, Dad, and Miss Julia.

  “What if he’s not there?” Lulu asked.

  “I called the shelter,” Mom said. “Denise said that Ruby and her family went out to the Opry today, so I’m guessing he’ll be there.”

  Sure enough, Ruby’s dad had set up his guitar and case on the steps, and was playing for a gathering crowd.

  “He’s so good!” Maddie said, as they crossed the courtyard. “Don’t you think, Dad?”

  “Yes,” Dad said. “I think helping him get the guitar was the exact right thing to do, Maddie. Soon, I’m sure he’ll be ready to take on more, maybe even a job. I have a few ideas about how to help out with that when he’s ready.”

  When Ruby spotted them, she ran over and gave everyone hugs. “He loves the guitar,” she told them. “At first, I was worried. He wanted to know how I got it and whether I paid for it. Once I told him I’d earned the money with your help, he took the case into his arms and held it tight.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she smiled through them. “And then, he started to play.”

  Maddie linked her arm through Ruby’s. Ruby linked hers through Lulu’s, and Lulu linked hers through Mia’s. Then they all stood, listening, watching.

  “I think he’s back for good,” Ruby whispered.

  The happiness that had been growing inside Maddie ballooned, filling her from head to toe. This. This was the happy ending she’d been waiting for. She breathed deep, taking in the crisp fall air, the feel of her new friend by her side, and the bright notes of the guitar.

  Ruby’s dad kept right on playing.

  JOIN TWINS MIA AND MADDIE and their little sister, Lulu, as they travel the country finding adventure, mystery, and mischief along the way. Together with their father, their famous mother, singer Gloria Glimmer, and their slightly wacky nanny, Miss Julia, the smart and sassy sisters learn lessons about being good friends, telling the truth, and a whole lot more.

  The Glimmer Girls are at it again—this time with a musical mystery to solve.

  Gloria wants her daughters to learn they are never too young to make a difference, so she gets them involved in her annual benefit and auction in their beloved hometown of Nashville. But as things often do with the trio of smart and sassy sisters, they get themselves and their nanny, Miss Julia, involved in a lot more than just helping Mom raise money for a worthy and wonderful cause.

  Four-time Grammy nominated Natalie Grant is a top-selling Christian & Gospel artist with over 3 million in career sal
es. The Gospel Music Association has named her Female Vocalist of the Year 5 times and she has had multiple number ones on the Billboard charts. Beyond music, in 2005 Natalie co-founded Hope for Justice International, an organization that identifies, rescues, and restores victims of human trafficking. Natalie resides in Nashville, TN, with her husband, producer/songwriter Bernie Herms, and their three children: twins Grace and Bella, and their youngest, Sadie.

  /Faithgirlz

  Illustrations: Cathi Mingus

  Author photo: Dan Davis Photography

  Cover design: Cindy Davis