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Chapter

Twelve

K elby packed up her toiletries and threw them into her purse.

She and West were headed to Dallas this morning, and she wasn’t taking any clothes with her.

They would be staying at her apartment for a couple of days before she terminated the lease and moved all her possessions to Hawthorne permanently.

The last three weeks had been some of the best of her life.

She had spent hours in West’s company, getting to know him all over again.

He still had parts of him which were familiar to her from years ago, but it was fun discovering things about him now that he was an adult.

His taste in movies and music. His politics.

The charity work he did and never took credit for.

In addition, she had spent hours working on Social Synergy Creations, designing a website for her new business, making certain she paid for her domain, as well as starting up an LLC.

Kelby had spent hours polishing her new business’ website and then creating examples for it, regarding the various services she would offer.

She had completely redesigned the Blackstone Ranch website, as well, using different colors and creating a compelling new logo, completely rebranding everything about her family’s business.

Chance had turned over a portion of the business to her, as well as taking on more responsibilities himself.

It was obvious to both of them now that their father would never recover enough to run Blackstone Ranch the way he had for the past forty years.

They wanted Big Jim’s legacy to continue, and so they each now handled various parts of Blackstone Ranch.

She went down to the kitchen, bringing her purse and laptop bag with her, finding Tammy sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee.

“You have everything you need?” Tammy asked.

“I do. I hate that I’m having to leave Dad for a couple of days, but I do have a few clients I’m meeting with, as well as packing up everything to move back to Hawthorne permanently.”

Tammy stood and embraced Kelby. “I know this is hard, baby girl, but I think this is the right decision.” She grinned mischievously. “Especially with that handsome West Sutherland in the picture again. I always did like that boy. He was here so much, I thought of him as one of my own.”

Tammy moved to the coffee maker and asked, “Do you want coffees for the road for the both of you?”

“That would be terrific,” she replied.

While Tammy prepared the hot beverages, Kelby downed a quick bowl of cereal, wanting something in her belly before leaving the house. West arrived soon after, and Tammy handed the coffees to them, wishing Kelby good luck on her presentations.

They got into the truck West had purchased, and he asked, “You have everything you need for today?”

She patted her laptop bag. “As ready as I’ll ever be. And if I don’t land these clients, I’ll just keep going. I know I can’t bat a thousand all the time. I’ll have more turn me down than sign with me, but I’m confident I’ll pull in my fair share of business.”

As they cruised through the gates to the ranch, he asked, “Why don’t you run through one of your presentations with me? It would give me a better idea what your business is all about.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Mind?” He took her hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a tender kiss against her knuckles. “I’m eager to see what you’re up to.”

“I’ll do the one for the athleisurewear company first,” she said, pulling out her laptop and running through her notes.

The company was small but beginning to grow, and the two owners, close friends in their mid-thirties, were eager to get their brand out there and raise their social media profile.

As she spoke, she felt her confidence growing. West asked a few questions, and Kelby easily answered them.

When she finished, she said, “I think I’ll work the answers to your questions into my pitch. I know they’ll still have some of their own, but I feel really prepared now. Thanks for letting me practice on you.”

“I found it fascinating, honey,” he said, and she melted at the sweet endearment. “Would you like to do the other one for me?”

“No, I’m good. I want to save my voice and not be all talked out by the time we get to Dallas.”

“Tell me how your writer clients are going,” he urged.

“Better than I’d ever hoped. Summer has proved to be a great resource. I’m glad you connected us.”

West had helped Kelby get in touch with his younger sister, who had worked her way up to being an editor at a traditional publishing house in New York.

They had FaceTimed for a couple of hours, with Kelby sharing all the services her new company would offer clients.

On the flip side, Summer had told her what authors needed, explaining how traditional publishing would always exist, but it was becoming the province of an elite few.

More authors were going the indie route, either learning how to do their own formatting and creating websites and book covers or farming out those kinds of tasks to others.

Summer had shared with Kelby that she knew of three of her publishing house’s former authors who had gone indie or were about to, and she got Kelby’s contact information to pass along to the trio.

All three authors had been in touch with her within a few days.

She offered each a free, one-hour consultation, and two of them signed with her right away, with the other one coming back a day later and asking to become a client of Social Synergy Creations.

Kelby had totally revamped one author’s website and created brand-new websites for the other two writers.

She had taken over all their social media accounts, reading a book by each of them so she could get a flavor for what they wrote and their style.

Already, she had received two more referrals from these three authors and signed them, realizing clients from the indie publishing world might very well turn out to be her bread and butter.

She had created TikToks for all of them and had taken over everything from their Instagram to Threads accounts and was already posting daily.

She was now working on teaching herself how to design book covers, and she was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed it.

They hit Dallas and the subsequent traffic, Thankfully, she had built in enough time for them to reach her first appointment, scheduled for eight-thirty. She stopped by the restroom and even brushed her teeth to get rid of the coffee aftertaste in her mouth, quickly applying new lipstick.

Kelby entered the small office of Motion Mates athleisurewear, where Carol Cummings greeted her.

“Hi, Kelby. I’m Carol. Elaine is on the phone with a client right now. Come into the conference room. We’ve just signed a lease on this space. It’s got the reception area, two small offices, and a conference room. It’s nice to not be working out of Elaine’s dining room.”

They entered the conference room, which had a table and six chairs around it, and Kelby opened her laptop, setting up for her presentation.

“Would you like anything to drink?” Carol asked.

“A water if you have it,” she replied. “Thank you.”

“Be right back,” Carol said. “Hopefully, I’ll have Elaine in tow with me.”

Two minutes later, both women returned. Elaine introduced herself, and Kelby said, “I like how you’re both wearing items from your line. The fit is flattering, and I love the color palette for each.”

“With so many people working from home, we believe athleisurewear is the way to go,” Elaine said. “It’s comfortable. Not sloppy like a sweatshirt or sweatpants. It’s more fitted. You can wear our clothing to work out in, as well as work from home or run errands.”

“Keep talking,” Kelby encouraged, and she wound up learning the backstory of these two housewives and how they’d landed upon a way to stay at home with their kids and still have a part-time income, which was now growing.

After she finished asking a few more questions, Kelby said, “You’re both walking advertisements for your clothing. I hope you’re wearing it to everything from soccer games to casual lunches with friends.”

She then launched into her presentation, seeing them nod in agreement with various points she made, and then watched the excitement light both their faces.

She showed examples of what other athleisurewear companies were doing and how she wanted to distinguish Motion Mates from other lines available.

Concluding her pitch, she said, “I believe I can help raise your social media profile considerably. I also want to revamp your website entirely. The font and colors are all wrong, for your product, and it’s too difficult to navigate.

I’d like to use both of you as models on the site, as well as your family and friends.

I don’t want a high, glossy look. I’m going for the everyday.

How your clothing can take people from their morning gym routine through their various activities during the day. ”

Not wanting to press too hard, she finished with, “I know you’ll need time to discuss things with one another. I would appreciate if you would get back to me in the next week or so, however.”

The two women exchange glances, and Carol said, “There’s nothing to discuss, Kelby.

You’re exactly who we’ve been looking for.

We don’t have any experience in what you do, but we believe you’re a perfect fit for us, and your pricing is so affordable.

With Elaine handling the accounting and all the business aspects of Motion Mates and me working on designs, fabrics, and the manufacturing, we haven’t had time—much less the know-how—of how to truly market us. That’s where you come in.”

“If that’s the case, can we do a photo shoot tomorrow?” she asked. “I would love to take pictures of the two of you, along with other friends and family members wearing your lines.”