Epilogue - Ethan

EPILOGUE - ETHAN

It had been two weeks since everything came to a head with Lucius and my place burned down. Life was finally finding a new rhythm for me, and I'd fallen into a new kind of normal.

One with Miranda at my side.

As for today, it was special. Today I was taking Miranda to meet my little sister, Mia, who worked as a server at Mariam's Diner. I'd told Mia about my cabin and workshop, and how they'd burned down—thankfully, Dusty had helped spin it as an electrical fire worsened by the wind—but I hadn't introduced her to Miranda yet.

As we walked into the diner, my nerves were surprisingly on edge, not because of any lingering threat, but because I wanted both of the important women in my life to like each other. Miranda, on the other hand, seemed cool as a cucumber.

Mia spotted us the moment we stepped inside, and her face lit up.

"Hey!" Her gaze flickered to Miranda. "You must be the woman my brother is madly in love with. Hi."

Her warm smile was as welcoming, and I could tell right away she liked Miranda.

"Yep, that's me," Miranda replied.

She extended her hand, which Mia bypassed in favor of a hug.

"I've heard so much about you," she gushed. "All good things, of course. Honestly, I'm so happy to meet the woman who finally got this grump out of his cave," Mia teased, giving me a playful side glance.

Miranda chuckled. "He does love his cave," she said, her gaze moving to lock with mine. A mischievous look entered her stare. "But I have to say, I love his cave, too."

I knew what cave she was talking about—the one we'd gone back to more than once over the last two weeks to get primal inside again.

"Here's a table for you," Mia said, oblivious to our inside secret, while she walked us to a table. "I'll be your server."

"Still liking it here?" I asked, knowing she'd only been working here a short while.

"I love it," she said, before shifting her attention back to Miranda. "So, Ethan tells me you're into making natural skincare and stuff? That sounds amazing," she said, scribbling down our drink orders.

"Yeah, thanks. I have a small line of products I sell online. Ethan's been a big help this week, actually. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have gotten a quarter of my orders filled." She winked at me.

"Oh. You know, the little shop next to the bookstore across the street just became available. If you're interested in opening up a physical store, I bet that place would get you some good foot traffic," Mia said. "And you already know someone who can build you custom shelves and stuff."

"That's something to look into," Miranda said. I could see the excitement in her eyes. "Thank you. I didn't realize there was a space open."

Mia nodded. "It just opened up late last week." She dipped her attention to her order book. "What can I get you two to drink?"

After we gave Mia our drink orders and she left to go get them, I nudged Miranda with my elbow. "You should do it," I encouraged.

Miranda cast me a sideways glance. "Open a physical store? I can barely keep up with all the online orders as it is."

"So, you hire help."

"Like who? I can't just trust anyone. Verbena Bloom Naturals is my baby," she said.

"What about Kiera? She helps you sometimes already. Plus, she's still unemployed."

She pursed her lips, thinking. "Maybe. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask her."

"I'd help anyway I can, and I'm sure Savannah would," I added.

"It's just a scary thought. I mean, what if I can't do it? What if I can't keep up with the demand? What if I can't make enough money to cover all the store's bills?"

I draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close so I could place a kiss on her forehead. "What if you can? What if you do damn good with it all?"

"Aw, look at you two!" Mia gushed, heading our way with our drinks. "I don't think I've ever seen you display this much PDA with anyone." She grinned at me, and mouthed, you like her a lot .

I nodded, returning her cheesy grin with one of my own.

"What can I get you two to eat?" Mia asked, whipping out her order pad and pen again.

After we placed our order, lunch passed with ease. Mia swung by our table to check on us often, each time leaving with a bigger smile than before and a knowing look that said she saw how smitten I was with Miranda.

When we paid and headed for the door, I promised to have Mia over sometime for a cookout at the camper. Of course, she liked the idea. Mia loved cookouts.

"That was nice," Miranda said as we stepped onto the sidewalk and headed toward my parked truck. "I like her. She's sweet. Bubbly and sweet."

I laughed. "She's definitely bubbly. She was always full of energy, even as a kid." I flashed Miranda a crooked grin. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh? What kind of surprise?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

"You'll see. Hop in the truck."

I drove her down the street. When we pulled into the gravel lot of Dark Moon Automotive, she turned to me with a puzzled expression on her face.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"Just wait," I said, a grin playing at my lips.

This was going to be good. I couldn't wait to see her reaction.

As we climbed out of my truck and walked into the garage, I spotted Blade, the owner of the shop, wiping his hands on an old rag at a toolbox.

"Hey," he greeted. "Neo's over there." He nodded to where he was bent over the hood of a car.

"Thanks," I said, placing a hand at the small of Miranda's back and steering her toward Neo.

As we approached him, I nodded in greeting to Prospect, West, and Louis. Over the last two weeks, I'd gotten to know them while spending time here at the shop with Neo, working on Miranda's surprise. They were a cool group of guys. While I knew they were wolf shifters, my bear didn't seem to mind.

Turns out, he was way less of an asshole than I'd initially thought. Less of a curse, too.

He'd just been misunderstood.

Neo looked up as we neared him, wiping his hands on a rag. "Hey," he said, his nod acknowledging our presence.

"All set?" I asked, making sure. "Yep, all set. Turned out pretty good, too," Neo replied, gesturing for us to follow him.

Relief worked its way through me. I was glad she was ready, because I could barely contain my excitement.

"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" Miranda asked, looking from me to Neo.

We rounded the corner of the garage, and there she was—Miranda's motorcycle, completely rebuilt. It looked even better than before the fire, with a fresh coat of paint and polished chrome that gleamed under the fluorescent lights.

Miranda gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "My bike! But how? It was burned to a crisp in that fire."

"Her frame wasn't compromised," I said. "I went back shortly after the fire and grabbed her. Neo's been helping me fix her up for you again. Well, I haven't done much. I'm good with woodworking, but not the best when it comes to motorcycle repairs." I smoothed a hand along the back of my neck.

"You did good," Neo said, giving me a nod of approval.

"I can't believe it," Miranda gushed as she stepped closer, soaking in the restoration.

"I knew how much she meant to you," I said.

"You're amazing." Her voice was thick with emotion, and when she turned to look at me, her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"We did a few upgrades," Neo chimed in, a proud smile on his face. "She's got better handling and should ride smoother. Ready to test her out?"

"Definitely." She nodded, a wide grin stretched onto her face.

Miranda ran her fingers along the seat before swinging her leg over. She settled into it, her posture naturally confident as she gripped the handlebars.

"I can't believe this," she whispered. "I didn't think I'd ever get to ride her again."

"Give her a go," I encouraged, my heart swelling at the sight of her happiness.

She kicked the engine to life, and the sweet rumble of it filled the garage. With a thankful glance my way, she rolled the bike out of the garage and onto the open road. I watched her go, my bear and I feeling satisfied we'd made her so happy. It was something we strived to do daily, and today, we'd knocked it out of the fucking park. It would be hard to top this, but we'd still try.

"You're good to her," Neo said, his gaze still fixed on Miranda cruising down the street. "I like that. She deserves it."

"Yes, she does."

When Miranda came back, pulling up with a wide grin, she parked and climbed off looking like a damn goddess, and then made her way to me. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and then she pulled me into a kiss.

"Thank you, Ethan," she said between kisses. "This means more to me than you could know."

"Seeing you happy is all the thanks I need," I replied, knowing that all the effort to bring the bike back to life was worth it just to see her smile.

I loved this wild, motorcycle riding, witchy woman with every fiber of my being, and I would until the day I died.