Chapter Twelve Grace #2
“Because I want something that’s mine,” Grace said. “Because I’m tired of building someone else’s dream. Because I’m thirty-two years old and if I don’t take this chance now, I never will.”
Her mother didn’t say anything. Then she sighed. “I know, darling. But let’s be realistic, you have a billionaire as competition. I did some more goggling—”
“GOOgling, Mom.”
“Googling on Reese Spencer. Forbes did a whole profile on him last year. They called him The Untamed Tycoon. Said he goes after remote places the way other men chase yachts or skyscrapers. When he wants a deal, he doesn’t blink, doesn’t break stride, just keeps coming until he’s got it. Apparently, he’s never lost one yet.”
“Well, I’m a single mom who once fixed Zach’s science project volcano while unclogging the sink. No tycoon can match that.”
Mabel sighed. “Oh, darling.”
Grace heard everything in that sigh. The doubt. The worry. The unspoken you’re reaching too high and I don’t want to watch you fall. Her mother didn’t believe she could pull this off, not really.
Maybe she was right.
“I’d better go check on Zach. You’d better get some help in as I won’t be able to do my shift tomorrow.”
“Already sorted.”
“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow when the weather clears,” Grace said. “Love you.”
“Love you too, darling, and you know that’s where this all comes from: a place of love.”
“Yep, I know. Bye, Mom.”
She hung up and stared at her reflection in the antique mirror above the dresser. Her hair was coming loose from its bun. Her blazer was wrinkled. She looked tired.
She looked like someone who was in over her head.
Sixty percent occupancy in winter is optimistic.
What happens when you need a new roof?
You can’t run a place like this on hopes, dreams, and rainbows.
Why would you throw away something stable for something so uncertain?
The doubts circled like vultures, picking at every weak point in her plan.
Maybe her mom was right. Maybe this was too big. Maybe she should just stay at Blossoms & Brew, keep serving her mother’s vision, keep playing it safe—
Grace pulled out her phone, needing…something. Reassurance. A lifeline. Someone who believed in her. So she messaged WildTrailGuide.
AutumnDreams87: You there?
The reply came almost immediately.
WildTrailGuide: I’m here. Was hoping to hear from you. Last night was…kinda crazy.
Grace’s cheeks flushed.
AutumnDreams87: I know. Sorry, I was drunk.
WildTrailGuide: You don’t have to apologize. I…enjoyed it.
AutumnDreams87: I did too. But now I feel super awkward, especially as I have a business question to ask.
WildTrailGuide: Go for it.
AutumnDreams87: I did the pitch. For the garden center.
WildTrailGuide: And?
AutumnDreams87: I think it went well. I had sketches, plans, talked about honoring the history of the place. The owners seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.
WildTrailGuide: That’s great. So why do I sense a “but” coming?
AutumnDreams87: The woman wanting the place too started asking questions.
Financial projections, contingency plans, all this stuff that made my carefully prepared numbers look like wishful thinking.
And she wasn’t even being mean about it—she was just being…
right. And I’m starting to think maybe I don’t actually know what I’m doing at all.
WildTrailGuide: Stop.
AutumnDreams87: Stop what?
WildTrailGuide: Stop letting one person’s questions make you doubt months of work. She poked holes in your projections? Good. That means you know what to fix. She asked tough questions? That means you’re getting the hard part out of the way now instead of being blindsided later.
AutumnDreams87: Easy for you to say from wherever you are, not stuck in this situation.
WildTrailGuide: You’re right. It is easier for me to say. But that doesn’t make it less true.
AutumnDreams87: My own family thinks I’m reaching too high. That I should stick with what I know instead of taking this kind of risk. That luck isn’t enough.
There was a pause. Then:
WildTrailGuide: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. My mom worked herself until her knees gave out, figured wanting more was selfish. Like decent was all she was allowed. You know what I learned from watching that?
AutumnDreams87: What?
WildTrailGuide: That the folk who love us hardest are the ones most scared to watch us fall.
Grace felt something loosen in her chest.
AutumnDreams87: How do you always know the right thing to say?
WildTrailGuide: I don’t. I just know what I needed to hear when I was where you are now. Scared. Doubting myself. Wondering if I had any right to want something bigger.
AutumnDreams87: And what happened?
WildTrailGuide: I went for it anyway. Scared the hell out of everyone who cared about me. Almost failed more times than I can count. But I did it. And you will too.
AutumnDreams87: God, I needed to hear that. Thank you.
WildTrailGuide: Anytime. I gotta go. But don’t overthink last night. It was good. Don’t feel embarrassed. Talk soon, yeah?
Grace closed the app and nodded to herself. “I can do this.”
She smoothed back her hair and straightened her shoulders.
She’d raised a kid alone. She’d put herself through community college while working full time. She’d turned her mother’s failing catering side business into something profitable. She’d survived every curveball life had thrown at her and come out standing.
She could handle an old inn and whatever challenges came with it.
And she could definitely handle one smug billionaire in a cook-off.
Grace looked at herself in the mirror one more time, lifting her chin.
“I’m going to win this place,” she said firmly. “And that starts with making a great meal.”
She headed for the door, ready to show Reese Spencer exactly what she was capable of.