Chapter 16
Maggie’s feet seemed rooted to the ground. Her breaths stuffed into iron lungs.
Ethan.
He took tickets from a boy who settled on a stool with the others. The guy spoke through his headset. “All right, folks. Squeeze the trigger and aim for the hole to make the minions rise. This is a race—first minion to the top wins a prize. Ready, set, and... go!”
A bell sounded. In her peripheral vision the minions quickly rose.
Seconds later the guy called out, “And seven is our lucky winner. Come claim your prize, young lady.”
Someone bumped Maggie from behind, pushing her forward, but her attention never wavered from the guy.
Josh steered her from the crowd, stopping near the game as the players left their stools. The carny assisted the winner with her prize.
“We found him,” Maggie said numbly.
“He’s younger than Ethan would’ve been.”
Maggie nodded. Her mind spun in dizzy circles like the swing ride, making her stomach churn.
The guy handed the girl a small furry turtle, then called through his headset, “Step right up! It’s easy-breezy. Aim the gun and win a prize!”
“What should we do?” Maggie asked. “I can’t think.”
“Let’s play the game so we can get a closer look.”
As they headed over, Maggie was unable to tear her eyes from that familiar face. He looked so much like Ethan had at that age. Those deep-set blue eyes and strong jawline. His mouth was a little different. His lower lip thicker, his smile different—not tilted up more on one side like Ethan’s had been. Not his twin, but close enough.
“Two?” the guy asked as Maggie and Josh approached.
“Yes, please.”
“That’ll be two tickets.”
Maggie looked at Josh. They hadn’t bought tickets tonight.
But Josh must’ve had some left over from last time because he pulled the tickets from his wallet and handed them over. “You look an awful lot like someone I used to know. Ethan Reynolds?”
The guy shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“The resemblance is uncanny.”
“Really?” He flashed a smile. “Well, they say everyone has a twin out there somewhere.”
Another customer approached and he diverted his attention to the newcomer.
Josh tugged Maggie to the stools farthest from the young man and they took their seats.
Maggie squeezed Josh’s arm. “He even sounds like Ethan, don’t you think?”
“He does. But there are some differences too, up close.”
“I noticed.” Her attention swung back to the boy. “How old do you think he is?”
“Eighteen to twenty-one maybe?”
“He looked older in the photo.”
