Cole Ryder's Arc

Chapter 7 of 9

The dinner sat well in Cole's mind for days. But one good night wasn't enough. Lilly came from the city, where men gave gifts and made a show of things. Cole had steady pay, and most of it went home to his family. His pockets stayed thin. He wanted to court her right, yet he had nothing worthy to offer a woman like her. Empty hands would make him look like a poor bet. He thought on it while he worked the forge. A store-bought trinket would cost money he couldn't spare. Then it came to him. He didn't need to buy something. He could make it. He'd learned metal under Martha's hard eye these past weeks. His hands knew the heat now. He stayed late at the clinic three nights running. He drew fine wire from soft rose-gold scrap. He wove the strands slow, the way he'd learned to braid a horse's mane. He set small stones of red and blue into the weave. His fingers burned more than once. He didn't quit. When it was done, it lay in his palm like something a city shop might sell. On Saturday he drove the blue Dodge to fetch her. He took Lilly to supper again, then walked her to her porch under the dark. The night was still. She turned to face him at her door. "You've been quiet all evening," she said. "Something on your mind?" Cole's heart hammered harder than it had before any wild horse. He reached into his jacket. He held out the bracelet on his open hand. "I made this," he said. "At Martha's forge. I know a man from the city would buy you something grand. I don't have that kind of money. So I made you the best thing my hands could make." Lilly went still. She lifted the bracelet to the porch light. The stones caught the glow. Her eyes shone. "You made this," she said. It wasn't a question. Her voice had gone soft. "For me." "Lilly." He took a breath. "I'd like to court you. Proper. If you'll have a poor man who works with his hands." She didn't answer with words. She stepped close and kissed him. Her lips were warm. His arms came around her waist, and he held her like she might slip away. When she pulled back, she was smiling. "Fasten it on me," she said, holding out her wrist. His rough fingers worked the clasp. It clicked shut against her skin. "Yes, Cole Ryder," she said. "You may court me." He drove home with her kiss still on his mouth. He'd won her word. But courting a woman like Lilly meant more suppers, more gifts, more standing on porches with something worthy in hand. And Spirit still limped in the barn, unridden. To keep her, he'd have to prove he could ride the horse she'd taught him to love.