Cole Ryder's Arc

Chapter 5 of 9

The deal with Lilly was done, but a new bill was waiting. Cole owed Martha Ironwood for fixing Spirit's leg. He was working it off at her forge. Tomorrow she expected him at the clinic in town. But tomorrow he'd promised Lilly a lesson at the barn. He couldn't be in both places. He sat on the corral fence and rubbed his beard. The debt wouldn't wait, and neither would the horse. He found Lilly brushing Spirit at dawn. Her long blonde hair caught the light. She hummed low, and the horse stood easy under her hand. "I can't train tomorrow," Cole said. "I owe Martha forge work. She's counting on me." Lilly kept brushing. She didn't frown. "The blacksmith woman? The one who saved his leg?" "Same one. I gave my word I'd pay her back with work. I can't break it." "Good," Lilly said. She set the brush down. "A man who pays his debts is a man worth teaching." She looked at him with those blue eyes. "Go work for her. Every day she needs you, go. Spirit's healing. There's no rush." Cole felt the knot in his chest loosen. "You'd wait?" "I'll wait." She smiled. "When you're done at the forge, you teach me to ride. That was the deal." He rode into town that afternoon to square it with Martha. The Vet & Farrier clinic sat clean and tidy, horseshoes nailed above the door. Martha stood at her anvil, small and quick, her dark hair tied back under a wrap. She swung her hammer once, twice, then dunked the iron. Steam hissed. "You're early," she said, not looking up. "I said tomorrow." "Came to make sure of tomorrow." Cole took off his hat. "I'm good for it. Full day. Whatever you need." Martha wiped her hands on her leather apron and studied him. "The city girl let you loose, did she?" "She understands. Debt comes first." That earned him a short nod. "Smart girl." She jerked her chin at the forge. "Bank the coals, then. Six horses need shoes this week. You'll learn the hammer or you'll bruise every finger you've got." Cole hung his hat on a peg. He worked the bellows till the coals glowed. Martha showed him how to hold the iron, how to strike true. His arms burned by dusk. But the debt shrank with every shoe he set. Before he left, Lilly was waiting outside the clinic. She'd ridden in on her own mare. "You'll be at the forge all week," she said. "So tonight isn't a lesson." She tilted her head. "Take me to supper instead." Cole grinned through the soot on his face. "You asking me on a date?" "I'm telling you." She turned her mare toward the eatery down the road. He followed. The debt was set to be paid, the lessons still waiting, and the wild horse a little closer to being his to ride. And a woman who he might start falling for.