Vixen Hunted by Christopher Kincaid

stall and happily pranced around
its legs. The donkey brayed. Timothy shook his head, gave a coin to the young
stableman, and returned to the common room.
    Kit stood at the bar,
speaking with the innkeeper. Men watched her over their mugs, and Timothy felt
his shoulders knot. Could any of them be Kit's hunters? Timothy did not
recognize any of the faces. Conversations swirled around the hot common room.
    Kit grabbed Timothy's
arm. "One bed will do just fine." A grin split her face. A few
farmers at the nearby tables gave Timothy a knowing look.
    "Two would be more
comfortable," Timothy said.
    The balding innkeeper
put a heavy iron key on the bar, a smile pulling at his mouth. "Four
shillings for the room and meal." Timothy dug out the coins and dropped
them into the thick hand. The man released the reins on his grin once the coins
were in his palm. "Last room on the right."
    She swiped the key from
the smooth wooden bar, "I will go on ahead while you get dinner." She
smiled at Timothy. More than a few heads swiveled to watch her climb the stairs
to the inn rooms.
    The innkeeper clapped
Timothy on the shoulder. "Looks like the stories about reds are true. She
looks to have fire between her legs. Lucky lad and poor bastard!"
    Timothy cleared his
throat. "Dinner?"
    "Oh, right! Can't
leave your lass waiting for too long. Alice!"
    A young girl in a
greasy apron came out of the kitchen behind the bar. A tray heaped with meat, a
loaf of crusty bread, a pitcher of ale, and a pair of apples filled her thin
arms. Timothy took the tray from the girl. She glanced at his face, reddened,
and hurried off without a word. The innkeeper went back to pouring drinks and
conversing with the locals.
    "Have fun,
lad!"
    "Lucky
bastard."
    Timothy rushed up the
stairs and away from the well-meaning, crude jests. The conversations fell to a
buzz. He shifted the tray to open the door to the room.
    Kit lay on her side in
the bed. She had wasted no time stripping to her shift. Did she find clothes
that uncomfortable?
    The room held a single
chair, a rough desk with an oil lantern, the bed, and little else. A small
window let in the fading sunlight. Timothy placed the tray on the desk. Her
ruddy tail wagged.
    "Comfortable
already, I see. You do know we may need to escape in the middle of the night,
right?"
    "You are not one with a tail confined in
hot clothing all day. My tail is stiff from so many hours under that cursed
dress. And my ears." She stroked one. "They hurt from being tied down
so!" She pointed to the wall. "Turn around. You are not allowed to
see my tail." She frowned when Timothy ignored her. "I guess we are a
little even. The look on your face!" She laughed. "I have decided it
is okay for you to look at my tail. I can be gracious, can I not?"
    "The goddess of
graciousness," Timothy said.
    She lunged from the bed
to the tray of food. "Rabbit!"
    Timothy slumped into
the chair and removed his boots. "Must you always make a fuss everywhere
we go?"
    Kit bounced on the bed,
tail dancing behind her. "It is just too fun not to! Besides, you owe me
for earlier," she said around a mouthful of rabbit. Timothy reached for
the loaf, and Kit grabbed at the escaping bread with a free hand. "Putting
up with many antics is just one way to pay off your debt to me."
    Timothy managed to tear
most of the bread away from her. "It will be about another three or four
days of travel to get to Ciaran."
    "You really should
visit your home more."
    Timothy looked into the
distance. "Mother can be…difficult."
    "She cannot be any
more difficult than you, shepherd."
    "You will
see." Timothy yawned.
    Kit echoed him and
stretched down to her tail. "Those are quite contagious." She yawned
again. "So we have only a single bed." She smiled. "You are
welcome to share it with me! I promise to be quiet."
    "And be smothered
by your tail? I think not. I will take the floor."
    She giggled behind a
hand. "This is much better than being angry. A good try if your voice had
not