Chapter Sixteen #2
“No. The clients were happy with me, but it wasn’t like they were buying new wardrobes every week.
I still had to try to hustle to find clients.
Not to mention, I found I didn’t like living in such a busy city.
The roads scared me. I hated driving there.
I was also really homesick. I’d never been away from my family before.
I don’t know how Chrissy was able to live on the opposite side of the country and be happy.
Maybe it was because she had Beau, her first husband.
I was lonely. I hadn’t made any friends.
My phone wasn’t ringing with clients wanting consultations.
I didn’t know what to do. It all became too hard.
Too overwhelming. In the end I packed up my bags and headed home.
I told everyone the job didn’t work out, and no one questioned me.
I think they were happy to see me back.”
They were getting closer to the lake again, and Tilly’s feet were aching. Her face was numb from the cold night air.
Zach pulled her tight, and she rested her cheek against his chest. “Thank you for telling me. I understand how difficult that time was, but you need to be proud of yourself for taking that leap. So what if it didn’t work out? It doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dream totally.”
She sighed. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. “I don’t know. I’m happy with my life. I’ve got my own place, and a steady income from a job I don’t mind doing.”
“I don’t think you should totally give up on it.
You’re older now. You know what you did wrong the first time.
You created a business plan for the poinsettia idea for the farm.
You can do that with this personal shopper business.
Start out with the stores in Marietta. They’ve seen what you can do with their customers.
Or if you don’t want to start here, go to Livingston or Bozeman.
Grow slowly and with purpose. Build your reputation, and then you can expand to other places. ”
“You make it all sound so easy, but it’s not.
What if I did do all that work? All the research?
Created a business plan, and it still doesn’t work out?
That would mean I’ve failed twice.” This was the first time she’d ever talked out loud about her dream.
Being vulnerable and saying her fears out loud wasn’t something she normally did.
With Zach, she felt safe doing so. Tilly could be vulnerable, and he wouldn’t make fun of her.
“I won’t lie and say that’s not going to happen, because when it comes to everything in life, there are always risks.
But the way you lit up when you told me about helping people was breathtaking.
You’re older now and know what not to do.
Edison failed over one thousand times while inventing the lightbulb.
” He held up his hand when she went to interrupt.
“I’m not saying that you’re going to fail that many times, but you owe it to yourself to try again.
You wouldn’t have to give up your current job to give this a go, would you?
You work from home. You said you have flexible hours.
Is there any reason why you can’t do both? ”
Everything Zach was saying made sense. She knew that, but it was like there was a big wall in her brain that she couldn’t knock down. A barrier that had always stopped her when things had gotten too hard, and so she’d always taken the easy way out.
The Christmas show was different, though.
She’d managed to find a small crack that enabled her to follow through on her promise for this particular project.
Was it because of Zach, or because belief in her abilities had started to bloom within herself?
A tiny strand of hope that, with more time, would grow into something stronger.
Something that would knock down that wall and give her the freedom to chase the dreams.
You owe it to yourself to try again.
You owe it to yourself to try again.
Out of everything that Zach said, those few words resonated with her the most. Would it be any different from anything else she’d done if she did try to start her personal stylist business again?
And he was absolutely right. Nothing had to change with her current employment situation.
Weekends would be the perfect time to book people in.
Or maybe she could take one day a week off as well and do it.
The more she thought about it, the more everything seemed to fall into place. The spark of confidence that this time was going to be different ignited. “You’re right. I should give it another try. I can do it differently. Do it better,” she announced.
“Damn straight you can do it.” Zach’s face lit up with a smile. A smile that reached his eyes and crinkled the corners of his mouth. A smile just for her.
“Thank you.” She didn’t need his belief in her that she could do it, but it certainly helped.
Zach curled his hand around the back of her head, his pinky brushing the exposed line of flesh from the bottom of her beanie to the top of her jacket. “No thanks necessary. You’re going to be amazing, Tulip Bloom. Because that’s who you are.”