License to Shift (9 page)

“Uh, sure,” she said, her voice quiet. “Go on upstairs.”

“I won't take long,” he said, easing around her. Maybe if he could catch her eye. Maybe if she would look at him, things would be okay. But she stepped away from him into her father's office.

“Take as long as you like,” she said, keeping her back to him.

He waited a moment, hoping she would turn around. He wanted to grab her and force her to face him. He wanted to beg her to not shut him out. Everything would be okay if she just gave it a little time. If they talked it through like human beings.

Except he wasn't a normal human being and even people who had been raised inside the shifter community didn't want to date him. He was too volatile and too close to feral. Which meant he really ought to just go.

He didn't.

He went upstairs and dove into the shower. He scrubbed himself three times, making sure to clean away anything and everything he could. He didn't worry about her safety. There were scores of police handling the mess in the backyard. That meant he could linger a while in the bathroom just to give her a little more time to process what had happened. And while he scrubbed, he mentally went through a dozen different scenarios of how he might approach her.

Should he start with facts? Give her the history of shifters as they knew it? Or how about silence? He could sit and wait for her questions, then answer them as best he could. Maybe he should feed her? They hadn't had breakfast and it was already lunchtime. He could handle her core needs, starting with a honey-cream latte at his house. He could make her another steak or order a pizza if that's what she preferred. Whatever she wanted, he would be there for her.

Eventually, his skin was rubbed raw and he couldn't lie to himself anymore. He was delaying facing Julie because he had no idea what to say to her. But he wouldn't find any answers until they were face-to-face. So he stepped out of the cold shower and toweled off. He delayed a few seconds longer while he buried his nose in her towel. He gloried in her scent on the fabric and then he walked to her bed. The scent of sex was still thick here, and it nearly brought him to his knees thinking that it was all over so quickly.

Eventually, he dressed and went downstairs to find her. He tried to scent her, but she wasn't in the den and with so many people tromping through the house, it was hard to isolate her. Maybe she was outside?

Five minutes later, the ME shook her head as she zipped a body into a bag. “Sorry, Mark. Julie drove off twenty minutes ago. Something about seeing her father in the hospital.”

J
ulie was jumping out of her skin. She thought leaving Gladwin would settle her brain and her stomach. Not so much. Her mind had jumped around so much that she'd had trouble driving straight. Her stomach had rebelled at the first smell of coffee, and only a chamomile tea and a chocolate chip cookie had stayed down. The first because it truly was soothing. The second because, damn it, she was not going to throw up chocolate no matter what she'd seen this morning.

Eventually, she made it to the hospital, but far from helping, that only made everything worse. She could barely concentrate on what was going on. Her thoughts kept shoving their way in between her sister's words.

“An infection…”

I had sex with a were-bear.

“Not uncommon.”

I had
great
sex with a creature that shouldn't exist.

“A few more days.”

Mark is a grizzly bear.

“Nothing to worry about.”

Magical creatures existed and they gave really good head. Or at least Mark had.

Oh my God, I'm losing it.

Normally, when she was freaking out, she called her sister and received a good talking to. The girl was a science geek and deep into her PhD research into some miracle plant that destabilized cellular structure. Sounded lethal to her, but what did she know? She was just a legal secretary. Either way, her geek sis would spout all sorts of science facts with absolute authority, secure in the knowledge that she was the smartest person in the family. Whatever the topic, science and Ellen had the answer.

Except the woman obviously didn't know about grizzly bear–shifters. Or werewolves. Or magic. And if Julie broke her promise to keep this secret, her sister would likely have her checked into the psych ward. So as soon as she got to the hospital, Julie kept her mouth shut by eating everything in sight.

Not the best choice, but for some reason, powdered vending machine doughnuts also managed to stay down.

“What the hell is wrong with you today?” her sister finally demanded. “I thought a day away would help you relax, but you're not hearing anything. And would you please sit down?”

They were in the corridor outside of her father's room. With all the medical equipment, there was only one seat inside at a time, right now being occupied by their mother. Which left Julie pacing while her sister leaned against the sliding glass partition and glared at her.

“I heard every word you said,” Julie lied. “Cell wall, blah blah blah. Telomeres, science stuff, science stuff.”

“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.

“Well, he…um…we kinda connected. And he was staying.”

Her sister quickly muffled her squeal of surprise behind both her hands. But her eyes said a lot more as they danced in delight.

“Stop it,” Julie said, her voice low.

Ellen peeled her hands down and whispered. “Spending the night as in on the couch? Or—”

“On the front porch.”

Her sister's shoulders dropped. “Oh.”

“It was this morning in the bed.”

“Oh, yummy!” She leaned forward. “Well, if it couldn't have been me jumping his bones, I'm glad it was you. So tell me the truth, was it good?”

Julie felt her face heat. “It was great. Right up until—you know.”

“Oh, yuck. How awful. Did you at least get to the good part? Or was it all interrupted?”

“Afterglow was really short.”

Her sister squeaked, this time an abbreviated giggle of delight. “Awesome?”

“Beyond awesome. And he's the one who heard the noise. He rushed out to…” Julie's insides softened at the memory. “He ran out to protect me.”

“Ooooh. Protecting his woman, huh?”

Julie nodded. “You have no idea.”

“Oh, God, I'd like to.”

“No. No, no, no. After that it was awful and horrible and…”
Bizarrely magical.
Julie shuddered, the words caught in her throat.

“Wow, no wonder you're jumpy.”

“It's not just that,” she said, surprising herself with her words. “I don't know what to do about this. I mean, I live in Chicago. He's in Gladwin. And he's got…issues.”

Ellen rolled her eyes. “Who doesn't? Look, you're worried about the wrong things here. With Dad sick, everything's in upheaval. So why not blow off steam with the hottie from high school?”

“I usually just ride my bike.”

“Well, now you can ride him.”

Julie huffed out a breath, wishing she could explain that sex with Mark wasn't the usual kind of sex. Well, it was, but he wasn't the usual kind of guy. In any respect. And her brain just couldn't process any of it. Bear-shifters? So ridiculously not possible. And yet it was true. Meanwhile, her sister grabbed her hand.

“Look, you've got reason to be freaked, but don't link him with the…crime thing. Did you have a good time with him?”

Julie nodded. “It was great.” Right up until he changed into a freaking bear.

“Then don't look further than that. Not everything is about long-term thinking or life plans.”

“Says the woman in a seven-year PhD program.”

“Which means I know exactly what I'm doing long term and what is an of-the-moment kind of thing. Hottie from summer loving? Of the moment. Promotion at the law firm? Long term. Don't make it any more complicated than that.”

Good advice, but it didn't even begin to address the whole magical creatures thing. Julie took a deep breath—in and out—as she tried to work out exactly what to say. As usual, her sister didn't give her the chance to talk.

“Julie, you gotta go back there.”

“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.

Except five minutes after being shown to a booth, Julie began to realize that something significant had changed while she was away.

People knew her. People she'd never met greeted her by name. They smiled at her and patted her shoulder as they passed by. They waved from across the room before sitting down to their meals. And then, a too-perky blonde dropped into the opposite side of the booth and pushed a cupcake toward her. It was mega large and decorated with a grizzly bear face, complete with chocolate drops for eyes and a long icing nose.