Instead of going to the side door leading to the shop without a word, as I usually would have, I met the eyes of the man who had once been my closest friend. “And you rushed her over right away? Does Gemma have the afternoon free today, by any chance?”
“Shut up,” Cole said in the good-natured tone I hadn’t heard in years. “There’s no need to make fun of me just because you don’t have a girl of your own.”
Thinking of Mina, I struggled to bite back a smile. Then I realized that Cole had reacted the same way he would have before. Telika's hell. Had I spent all these years completely isolated for no reason? Sure, Cole had shown that he was as much under the influence of the magic affecting the villagers as everyone else plenty of times, but it seems it didn’t make him hate me.
“Careful,” I warned. “I’m the one who will decide if we have a horseshoe that can be fitted to Dandelion or if we need to take the time to start from scratch.”
Cole’s smile slipped. “I think that’ll be up to Master Powell.”
Of course. Anything touching on smithing would provoke the charm. Maybe I hadn’t missed out on that much these past years. Avoiding all talk of how I spent my days would have been difficult, even if I had known to do so.
“I’ll grab him,” I said. But even as I walked over to the door, I was thinking of what I could say to Cole to make him see past the charm. Mina had managed with only the necklace and ring as proof of my skill. She had been under the influence of the charm for significantly less time than Cole, but my old friend had also seen far more proof of my capability in the years before Powell came.
I opened the door only enough to poke my head through. “Cole’s brought his mare for a new shoe.”
I didn’t bother to close the door after I spoke and went back toward the forge. Powell would be out quickly. He hated leaving me alone with customers.
He walked through the forge a moment later, going directly to Cole. “Alan says you need a new horseshoe?”
Cole nodded. “Sorry I didn’t make an appointment. Dandelion threw the shoe when we were closer to the village than the barn, so I figured I’d come straight here. Can you take care of her this afternoon?”
“Of course, of course. I have a few other things to finish, though. If you want to wait at the tavern, I’m sure I can have it done in an hour.”
I rolled my eyes. Powell knew that it wouldn’t take too long to replace a single horseshoe, but he still should have given a longer estimate if he wanted to claim the delay was because he had other things to finish. Then again, he knew that his charm would make Cole accept that Powell had done the work, so long as he got rid of him while it happened.
Knowing that my old friend really had been hoping to use this as an excuse to spend the afternoon with Gemma, I decided to step in. If I handled this just right, it might even get Cole to question things.
“Wait,” I interrupted, surprising them both. I walked back over. “Which foot is it?”
Cole pointed to the mare’s left hindquarter. I walked over and ran my hand down her leg, prompting her to lift it. I gave the hoof a quick look—healthy and no tearing from losing the last shoe. Not that I expected anything different. Cole might have jumped on the excuse to visit the village, but he wouldn’t have brought Dandelion in if she needed to heal before getting re-shod.
“That’s what I thought,” I said, letting her put her foot back down. “We used the last of that size shoe and haven’t made any replacements yet.”
Cole’s brow furrowed. “So, you can’t get it done today?”
“We can, but probably not until around supper. You can leave Dandelion here; you know the sounds from the forge never phase her. I’ll walk her over to the tavern when we’re done.”
Had I said enough? I wanted Cole to remember all the times I had dealt with his mare in the past. But I didn’t want to say anything too direct. As it was, talking without prompting was probably making Powell suspicious already. He was going to wonder what I was up to.
He’d keep me from talking to any customers in the future, isolating me to the same degree he had after my mother’s death. Not that he had ever encouraged me to talk to customers, even after years of complacency. But he had started asking me how long tasks would take in front of them.
Cole probably hadn’t even noticed my attempt to remind him of the past. Powell had probably noticed too much. This had been a waste.
I turned away, not waiting for a response, not wanting to see the look Cole would surely give me. Returning to the forge, I tended the fire. Closing my eyes, I let the heat wash over me. I imagined Mina as she had looked last night. I flexed my fingers, remembering the feel of her.
Not a waste.
Even if my words did nothing to alter Cole’s opinion, trying wasn’t a waste. Once the charm was broken—I shoved an iron bar into the fire, promising myself that I would break it—I would change everyone’s minds. Planting the seeds now would only help. I had to believe that, no matter how much I wanted to give up hope.
Twelve
Mina
???
It took consciouseffort not to skip as I made my way into the village square. Sam, walking at my side, kept giving me odd looks.
Finally, when we neared the village hall, he stopped. “You seem extra happy this morning. Do you have something exciting planned with the girls?”
