“What?”
“First off, you’re not worth a damn right now. You’re too freaked. Second, you can’t hide it. Mom will notice the minute she steps out for coffee. Dad will be on it eventually because even he isn’t that blind.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. The first thing he’ll ask is about his research. Then you’ll have to tell him?—”
“Why I couldn’t find his tablet, blah blah blah.”
“And the whole thing will come out.” She paused to wink at her sister. “No pun intended.”
“Ew!”
“Last—and this is most important—you’ve been without a date for how many years now? Don’t mention how long since Dickwad.”
“Stop it. His name was?—”
“I don’t care. He was a jerk. You deserve better.”
She sighed, wishing she had more doughnuts at hand. “I’m not going back there to get laid.”
“No, you’re not,” Ellen said sternly. “You’re going back there to receive delivery of the hospital bed and stock the kitchen. Plus bleach the entire damned house because you know Dad hasn’t done that since ever. And if by chance, you happen to run into Mark, then that is purely coincidence. And I hope you two coincidence like rabbits until Dad gets there.”
Julie looked away, her gut twisting high in her throat. “It’s not that easy.”
Ellen stood and gently wrapped her sister in her arms. “It never has been, at least not for you. But that’s okay. Take the fun while you can. It’s going to be hard enough to keep your sanity when Dad gets there.”
Well, that was certainly true. Meanwhile, another voice interrupted their discussion. It was their mother, her voice sounding tried and strained.
“Don’t worry, honey. Your dad is going to be fine.”
Julie separated from her sister and reached out to give her mother a kiss. “I know. We were just having a moment of sister bonding, that’s all.”
“Guess what?” Ellen said, her voice suspiciously perky. “Julie just agreed to go back to the cabin and clean it up for Dad. She’s going to stay with him while he recuperates.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed with concern. “Are you sure? Can you take that much time off from work?”
“She took two weeks,” Ellen answered before Julie could. “And I have to get back to the lab. You’re doing great, but we both know you’re barely keeping yourself from strangling the man as it is.”
Julie’s mom nodded her agreement. Their divorce had been the best thing for both of them. A week in the same cabin would have them at each other’s throats. So that left Julie as nursemaid.
“Are you sure, honey?”
“Yes,” she finally said. It made sense even if that meant she had to face the whole Mark issue. Magic and all. “I’ll go back tonight. I just have to ask Dad a few question about his research.”
“Well, he’s awake. Best to do it now before he gets too tired. Though be prepared for an earful.”
Didn’t she know it? One question about his research and her father could talk the ears off a bushel of corn. But Julie was counting on that. She wanted to know exactly what kind of fairy tale her father had been working on. All she knew was that they were particular to the Gladwin area. Was it possible that he knew about shifters, too? If so, then they had a lot to talk about. But only if her mom and Ellen weren’t around.
“How about you two go out for lunch? I’ll hang with Dad for a while here.”
Her mother gave her a grateful hug. “Thanks, honey.”
Her sister, on the other hand, gave her a lascivious grin. “Make sure you get back to Gladwin well before dark. You should plan on eating dinner at that café where everyone goes. Who knows who you might hook up with while you’re there?”
Julie shot her sister a glare, but Ellen just waggled her eyebrows at her. Then the two were gone, leaving Julie to find a delicate way to ask her father if he believed in magical were-bears.
A couple hours later, Julie was back in Gladwin and wondering exactly who was in on the secret and who wasn’t. Unable to face her father’s cabin, she headed instead to the Lucky Latte Café. Ten years ago, it had been Lucky Lucy’s Diner, but the newest owner put in an espresso machine and changed the name to grab onto the yuppie coffee craze. It worked. And since the menu also included burgers and onion rings, Julie was all too happy to settle down to some greasy delight.
