“DNA strands,” her sister ground out.
“Science sh—” Julie almost cursed, but belatedly remembered to moderate her language. Her mother had the sharpest ears and hated crudity in any form. Wonder what she’d say about a daughter who didn’t say “shit” but had allowed a bear to lick her into a mind-blowing orgasm.
“Julie Ann!” her sister snapped, shifting into her most pompous tone. “Tell me what is going on this second or so help me God?—”
“You’ll what?” Julie said, rounding on her sister. “You’ll tell Mom that I didn’t listen to you blather about your research? You’ll say I’m pacing and stuffing my face? Like any of that is new!”
Ellen’s expression tightened into hurt, immediately making Julie feel guilty. “I’m trying to help here. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing. I’m anxious about Dad.”
“Bull. You weren’t this insane when he was in surgery. It’s just a minor fever. Dad will be fine.” She leveled her with a hard stare. “So what’s really going on?”
Well hell, give her sister points for being observant. “It’s no big deal, okay? I’ve got it under control.” How was that for a big, fat lie? Her sister didn’t even bother arguing. She just reached over and grabbed the last doughnut, popping it into her mouth before Julie could take it back.
“Quit hiding behind food,” Ellen said between dainty bites while powdered sugar floated to the floor around them.
Julie glared at her sister, killed a few more seconds by throwing out the empty doughnut box, then she shrugged. “Don’t tell Dad, but there was an attack at the cabin.”
“An attack? Like bears or something?”
Good thing she’d stopped eating because Julie would have choked at that. Instead, she managed a weak, “Or something. The police think it was burglary. Dad’s tablet is gone and his computer has been messed with.”
“What was it? A burglary or an attack?”
“I— Both. Burglary first. Attack second. I…uh…I came here rather than watch the ME deal with the bodies.”
“Bodies?” The word came out as a high-pitched squeak that drew the attention of at least one steely-eyed nurse.
Julie nodded. “Three. Or maybe four. I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”
Ellen grabbed for the nearest chair and dropped down into it. “What happened?”
“I don’t really know. Gunshots. Dead bodies. Me, screaming.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah. Mega holy shit.” So much for watching their language. “I’m still really freaked. I’ll have to go back and give a statement and stuff. It’s actually lucky Dad can’t go home just yet. I…Ellen, it was terrifying. Real blood isn’t anything like TV blood.”
“What exactly happened?”
Julie started to speak. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell her sister everything. Were-grizzlies. Things with muzzles and fur shooting at her. But instead, entirely different words came out of her mouth. “I don’t want to think about it again.”
“But—”
“I was upstairs. Bang bang. Dead people. Cops everywhere.” There was so much more than that, but the words just wouldn’t come.
“At Dad’s cabin?”
She nodded. “All in the backyard.”
“But how did the cops know to be there?”
“You remember Mark Robertson?”
Her sister frowned as she licked the powdered sugar off her fingers. “The summer hottie, star linebacker that looked like he could go NFL? Yeah, I vaguely remember fantasizing about him every night for a decade.”
Ellen hadn’t spent as much time at Dad’s cabin as Julie had, but apparently her few weekends there had left an impression.
