4. Ethan

FOUR

ETHAN

The wind kicked up, causing the canopy above my booth to flap heavily. A storm was blowing in, and I wondered how long it would be before it was directly upon us. My gaze drifted to Miranda—exactly where it had been glued for the better part of the day. The woman felt familiar, almost like we were kindred spirits was the only way to describe it.

A couple approached my booth, snapping me out of my thoughts. "These are fantastic carvings," the woman commented, picking up one of my handcrafted figures. "How long does it take you to make one?"

I forced a smile, pulling myself back to the present, and attempting to pretend I wasn't harboring a beast that could shred her and her husband in two within seconds inside me.

"Thanks. Depends on the complexity, but usually a few hours," I replied, my tone sounding off even to my own ears. I sounded robotic and stiff. "Two or three at most."

The woman nodded, impressed. After a few more questions, the couple walked away with one of my larger pieces, and I was fifty-five dollars richer.

My mind veered back to Miranda as soon as they stepped away. This fixation my beast and I had on someone we barely knew should be unsettling, yet whenever I allowed myself to think about her, a strange calmness settled over my beast. It was an unfamiliar peace that made the constant agitation of his presence ease some. She soothed him.

It made me wonder if she could be the key to my curse.

Another customer, a middle-aged man with a keen eye, stopped at my booth. "How much for this one?" he asked, jolting me from my thoughts as he held up a piece I was particularly proud of.

"For you, twenty," I said, trying to muster enthusiasm.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he retrieved his wallet and passed me a crisp bill before moving on. Another gust of wind kicked up, sending everyone's canopies flapping. My gaze drifted to Miranda. Her long sleek, dark hair blew around her face. The sight of her, so serene and beautiful amid the chaos of the windy market, sent a wave of something I couldn't quite identify through me.

This woman had me and the beast inside me under a spell.

The notion that she could be a witch, someone with the power to affect my beast so drastically, lingered in the back of my head. I knew it was a wild idea—her being a witch—but nothing else made sense. No one had ever had this type of effect on the beast within me.

No one.

As much as the rational part of me thought I was succumbing to an overactive imagination, another more instinctual part recognized something in her. It wasn't just her calming effect on my inner beast; something else about her stood out to me.

She was different.

For whatever reason, when she'd been close, I didn't feel so alone. It was almost as though she understood me—as though she understood my beast without knowing about him. The notion was absurd. Yet, as I watched her from across the way, soaking in her easy smile and gentle nature, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something.

Fat raindrops fell from the sky, sending the market into disarray. The wind kicked up once more and everyone around me jumped into action, packing up their booths. I moved to pack my things up too, but not as quickly or as panicked as some of the others.

When I finished gathering everything up into the crates Mia had brought them in, my attention anchored across the way on Miranda. She struggled to gather her things, her hair whipping around her face. Despite the chaos surrounding us, I couldn't pull my eyes away from her.

Never had I seen a more gorgeous woman.

The logical part of my brain urged me to gather my crates and head to my truck, ready to get back home before the storm fully descended. However, another, more primal part roared with a different demand—to get over there and help her.

That part won.

I started toward her. My beast, usually as prickly as a damn porcupine, calmed the closer I got. Crossing the distance between our booths with strong strides, I made my way to her as another gust of wind kicked up and more fat raindrops fell from the sky.

"Let me help," I said, grabbing hold of the loose end of her canopy.

She jolted and glanced up at me. Clearly, she hadn't noticed me walking toward her.

"Thanks," she said, flashing me a smile.

I dismantled the top of her canopy while she gathered the rest of the products, tucking them inside a few cardboard boxes. When I was finished, I folded the canopy in half and tucked it into a large bag just as thunder rumbled through the sky above us. Miranda jumped and placed a hand on her heart, another kilowatt smile stretching across her face as she locked eyes with me.

"That was loud," she said seconds before another clap of thunder hit.

I laughed, nodding. "So was that one." I bent to pull the pins out of the stakes for the canopy. "This should do it," I said when I reached the last one.

"Good. It's starting to come down now."

She rushed around, stacking up the cardboard boxes she'd packed her products inside.

The one near the top tipped, about to topple over, and we both reached to catch it at the same time. Our hands touched, and another jolt of electricity ran through me. Time seemed to still again. My gaze lifted to lock with hers, and I noticed an echo of my surprise mirrored there.

"You felt that?" she asked, her voice a whisper nearly lost to the storm.

"Yeah," I replied, nodding my head. "Static?"

"Miranda!" someone shouted, drawing her attention away.

I shifted my gaze to the woman approaching. She was drenched from the rain and looked concerned as her gaze bounced between Miranda and me.

"Hey," she said when she reached us. "Are you okay? That storm came out of nowhere." She panted, her eyes scanning the remnants of Miranda's booth.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Miranda replied before shifting her attention back to me.

"Thanks for coming over and helping me."

"No problem. Need any help carrying your stuff to your car?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," her friend insisted with a wave of her hand. "Our friend is pulling her car around so we can load up quickly before this storm gets any worse. Did you need help with anything?"

I shook my head. "I'm good." My gaze drifted back to Miranda. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Monday."

I turned and headed back to my stuff.

Grabbing my crates, I started toward my truck. As I walked through the rain, all I could think about was the spark when our fingers had touched. As crazy as it might sound, that electric charge had seemed to reset my entire world. Tossing my crates into the back of my truck and covering them with an old tarp I had on hand, I drove away from Main Street, reliving that moment in my head.

Monday couldn't come soon enough.