Page 55 of Where the Music Grows

She cackles and shakes her head. “Behave yourself, young man. I’ve made my special potion to keep your voice good. I have a feeling it’s going to get a workout tonight.”

I take the offering, one eye involuntarily squeezing closed. “Little heavy on the lemon.”

“You’ll be fine. Got your set list planned out?”

“Yep.”

“Are we leaning into the rock or the ballads?”

“I’m going to let the audience guide me.”

She nods. “Spoken like a professional. Just remember what I told you.”

I nod. “If things get rowdy, I get my butt off stage and out of the way.”

“Exactly. The cops know you’re here playing, but if something happens, I can’t have an underage kid getting beat up.”

“Understood. I appreciate you taking a chance. I know I’m not supposed to be in here.”

She waves a hand. “It’s fine. Now, drink your tea. Get yourself together. By the way, I like this look you’ve got going.”

“Thanks. I’ll be out in a few.”

She walks back out front. I sip the tea and go over the set list in my head. I’m ready. I can do this. I grab the bottle of water and casually walk through the crowd to the new stage. The lights are on overhead. Aggie bought a microphone and two new speakers. I am still getting used to that. I was used to singing without all the bells and whistles.

The moment I step onto the new stage, a cheer goes up. I jump right into the first song. It’s a rowdy one and it gets the crowd fired up. I can’t see the back wall. The door is open, the breeze making its way to me in my little corner.

I slide right into the next song, slowing things down a little. Both seem to be a hit with the crowd. As I’m belting out the words I wrote a couple of years ago, I see a familiar face. At first, I think my head is messing with me. There’s no way Jinnie would be in the bar.

But then our eyes meet, and she smiles. There’s no sign of the awkwardness from the other night.

Something tight in my chest loosens. I see her move to the corner, standing out of the way and away from the alcohol. Her eyes stay on me.

After finishing the second song and working up a sweat. I grin at Jinnie and shake things up and go right into the song she helped me fine-tune last week. I see her face light up. She recognizes it almost immediately.

A few of the regulars who have heard it immediately shout at the ceiling, raising their hands and bouncing to the music. The bar doesn’t have a dance floor, but if it did, it would be packed. I give it my all. The song builds, the crowd clapping along, some of them singing the chorus, even though they’ve only heard it once before. I glance over at Jinnie. She’s grinning, her hands in the air as she moves to the music. It feels like it’s just the two of us for a moment, even with the bar packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

When I hit the last chord, the place erupts. Cheers, whistles, and applause fill the room. I can’t help but laugh. This is what I’ve been chasing—this feeling of connection, of being seen and heard. And somehow, having Jinnie here makes it even sweeter.

I take a step back from the mic, wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. My heart’s pounding, but not just from the music. Jinnie’s watching me with this look on her face— Pride? She’s impressed? I can’t quite read it, but it makes my stomach flip.

Aggie catches my eye from behind the bar and gives me a thumbs-up. I nod, taking a swig of water before stepping back up to the mic.

“All right,” I say, my voice a little rough from belting out the last song. “Y’all ready to keep this party going?”

The cheers are deafening.

I take a breath. “This one’s new. Little slower. I’m still ironing out the kinks, but you guys let me know if it’s a winner.”

I sit down on the stool. This is the song I didn’t think I’d ever put out. But she’s in here and I want her to hear it first. Well, her and about a hundred other people.

The opening chords of her song spill out—the one I’ve been tinkering with since that first night by the fire. I don’t say it’s about her, but the lyrics don’t hide much.

A collective sigh rises from the women near the stage. One girl actually clutches her friend’s arm. I barely notice the women all trying to make eye contact with me. I’m focused on her.

Jinnie’s cheeks are a pretty pink, but she doesn’t look away. When the song finishes, there’s a pause. Silence. I’m thinking it was not a hit.

And then the crowd starts clapping and cheering.