Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(105)

“You’ve thought about this.”

“I have. I’m learning a lot from Elliot and I hate to leave CK, but with Grandma selling the house and my mom throwing me out, this seems like maybe the right time to go.”

“I agree.” Sophie’s voice was soft. “Heather, I know you’re scared. You want to go but you feel guilty about it. Here’s the thing. There will never be the perfect time. You have an opportunity. If you don’t take it, if you don’t make it happen, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Your mother will suck you back in and you will be trapped. It’s going to come down to whether or not you have the courage to just go.”

“I know. I’m scared, but I don’t want to be like her. I don’t want to be trapped and blame everyone else for being disappointed.”

She wanted to get away and experience life on her own terms.

“But?” Sophie asked.

“But it’s hard to think about,” she admitted. “I’ve never been on my own. I’ve never lived anywhere but here. What if I’m not as smart as I think I am? What if I can’t make friends or be successful in college or... What if I fail?”

“Remember your quilt idea?”

The change in topic caught her off guard. “Yes.” But what did that have to do with anything?

“We presented it to the distributor.”

“Did he like it? Are we going to develop it? I think the customers will love it and—”

“He said no.”

Heather’s shoulders slumped. “Really? I’m sorry, Sophie. I thought it was a great idea.” How could she have been so wrong?

“It wasn’t the idea, it was me. I screwed up the meeting. I did everything Maggie told me not to do. I turned what should have been a great success into a total disaster. It was all me. We lost the chance and the account.”

Heather stared at her. “But you’re perfect. You know everything.”

Sophie grinned. “If only that were true. And I’m not, but you’re sweet to say it. Heather, you’re going to mess up. You’re going to fail. That isn’t the point. Life is about trying and moving forward and doing what terrifies us. It might work out and it might not, but at least you’re moving forward. At least you’re making the effort.”

“What are you going to do about the distributor?”

“I’ve already called and apologized. He’s willing to see Maggie as long as I’m not there. So I’m going to trust my sales director to do her job and I’m going to do mine and we’ll see how it ends up. What are you going to do about your life?”

Heather wanted to point out she was only twenty. That all she knew was the island. But she also knew those were only excuses—like blaming a lack of a career on getting pregnant. She could either play it safe and trap herself forever or she could stop dreaming and start doing.

“I’m going to leave Blackberry Island.”

“Do you promise?”

Fear threatened. There were thousands of unknowns and yet Heather knew if she didn’t go now, she never would.

“Yes, Sophie. I promise.”

“Okay, then. You need a plan. A place to stay and a job. Give yourself a deadline and start working on them. Get your car into the mechanic and get it serviced. I’ll pay for that. Then pack your things and go. Still sure?”

Heather thought about the impossibly expensive apartment her mother wanted. If she stayed, she would sign that lease and that would be that. If she stayed, she would become Amber.

“I’m sure. I’ll start looking for a room to rent tonight.”

Sophie smiled. “That’s my girl. You’re making the right decision, Heather. I’m sure of it.”

“Me, too.”

  Saturday morning Kristine stared at the stacked boxes in the middle of her gleaming kitchen. While she already had the big-ticket items such as the oven, the refrigerator and the cooling racks, she needed tons of supplies to make her business a success. To that end, she’d bought industrial-size cookie sheets, measuring cups, spoons, spatulas, and dozens of other items necessary to produce her cookies and brownies. There were also shipping supplies: boxes, tissue paper, labels, a postage meter and tape. The costs had nearly sent her screaming into the night, but she hadn’t had a choice. Without a way to bake cookies and brownies or ship them, she wasn’t going to be very successful.

Monday she would have her health inspection. Once she’d passed that final hurdle, she would order all the ingredients and start baking, which was both exciting and terrifying. Her business was really happening. She was only a few weeks away from the new custom awning and window sign being installed. After that she would pick a day for her official grand opening. Until then she would be baking for the wineries and the inn and for the few mail-order customers she had. She’d also taken Bear’s advice and had bought a mailing list. With the help of a graphics company in Everett, she’d designed a postcard mailer with a coupon. That would be finished by the end of next week and go out in the mail. It had been pricey and not in her budget, but worth it in the end, she told herself. Or so she hoped.

At least her website was done, although that had also been more expensive than she’d anticipated. Money out, she thought. That was the theme of the last month. Monday or Tuesday she was going to have to sit down and figure out how much she’d burned through already and how much more she was going to need. She had a bad feeling she was going to come up short.