Vixen Hunted by Christopher Kincaid Page A

quivered with lust. You think bad things about my tail, do you not?"
    "Quivering with a
sneeze."
    Kit frowned. "You
are no fun at all." She shoved him off the bed.
    "Oof."
Timothy landed in a heap.
    Kit leaned over the
bed. "You need a bath anyway. I don't want to catch any fleas from
you!"
    She pulled the sheet over
her head. "Good night, Timmy."
    Timothy rubbed his
back. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he sat at the small table
and finished the food. Kit had left most of it.
    In a few days Timothy
would have to face his mother. He guessed Aunt Mae and the fox would get along.
Maybe Aunt Mae could straighten the vixen. Fewer verbal jabs would be nice.
     

    Orange light lanced
across the desk. Timothy stirred. He did not remember falling asleep.
    Kit shrieked.
    Timothy upended his
chair.
    She bounced on the bed
with her shift pulled high. Small red bumps flecked her legs and thighs. Her
tail and ears bristled.
    "Fleas! I have
fleas!"
    "You know, I would
like to wake up just once without losing a year from my life." Timothy
rubbed the back of his head. If this kept up, he would have more gray hairs
than Kyle.
    Kit danced on the bed.
She grabbed her tail and preened, smashing something between her fingers.
"They are everywhere!" She fell into Timothy, sending him back to the
floor. "Get them off me!"
    "Ugh. Get off me
first," Timothy said.
    Timothy yanked a small
bug from her hair. "Bed lice. They are not fleas. Looks like turnabout has
decided to come about."
    "This is not a
joke!"
    "You will be fine
as long as you avoid beds." Timothy said. "Next time we stay at an inn,
we will cover the bed in bean leaves and burn them in the morning."
    Kit pushed against his
chest. "So they are not fleas?"
    Timothy laughed,
earning a dark glare. "They are not fleas. Annoying, but they like to keep
to beds. Now will you get off me?"
    "I thought you
would like me all shaking and helpless."
    "Not that I
don't." He kept his eyes on her face. A few angry bumps stood out on her
neck and cheeks. A glance said the bugs were busy under her shift too.
"But, I think we should get some breakfast and find an apothecary for your
bites." So much for sleeping late.
    "You surprise me.
Two things I cannot disagree with! It is still your fault though!"

    Philip slopped a soapy
rag on the bar and scrubbed at a stubborn stain as he had for the past five
years. He couldn't remember what caused the stain, but a good barkeeper made
sure his bar was clean. Farmers were a dirty enough lot without him adding to
the mix. He had to cuff Beth after seeing the redhead covered in louse bites.
Beth never was worth a lick for cleaning, but she was his sister's daughter and
a looker besides. Philip refused to have an inn with louse problems. Too many
merchants who fancied themselves something passed through his town. Reputation
made a man and a man's business.
    The spirited lady who
had arrived last night was the first redhead he'd ever seen. Looker did not
describe that lass. Philip grinned to himself. Her poor lad had his hands full.
    "Took all I had in
me to not laugh," he told the bar counter.
    The door swung open,
letting in a whiff of cool air. Philip hoped the heat had finally broken for
the year. The days heated and cooled faster and more often than Alice did. Cool
weather meant harvest. Harvest meant winter was closer. Winter brought hot ale
and stories. The money was fair, but Philip enjoyed an inn full of stories
best.
    A muscular man with a
single scar running down his cheek tracked across the just-cleaned common room.
He wore forest-colored clothing designed for traveling. The man settled into a
stool at the bar.
    "What will it
be?" Philip asked.
    "Information and
apple ale." The man laid several coins on the table.
    Philip took a shilling
and left the rest. He thumped a mug of ale beside the coins. "Depends on
the information."
    "I was supposed to
meet a couple of friends, but I missed them. I heard they came this way."
The man took a pull of his