Sondrae Bennett - Alpine Woods Shifters 4 (6 page)

Cody shook his head and refocused on the problem at hand. “You can change in a minute. What is that?” he asked again, pointing to the animal at her feet.

“What’s what?” She looked down, as if unaware anything abnormal was going on. Apparently in Misty’s world, playing with a fox on the living room floor was business as usual. “That’s a fox. You know, one would think the Premier of fox shifters would know that.”

The teasing tone almost brought a smile to his face, but his curiosity wouldn’t let the subject go. “I know it’s a fox. What is it doing in your living room?”

“I adopted it,” she said.

“Adopted it?” Cody looked down at the animal again. There was no humanity in its scent, but the boy was still a baby. He hadn’t been around enough newborns to know the difference between a shifter baby and a fox baby. “It’s a shifter, then?” He hadn’t realized Misty was considering adoption. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized Misty would be a great mom.

“No. It’s a fox.” She spoke slowly as if to a simpleton. “I feel like we’ve been here already.”

Closing his eyes, Cody didn’t know whether to be frustrated or entertained. Part of him wanted to laugh while the other part wanted to shake a straight answer from her. Worse, he couldn’t tell whether or not Misty was serious. Sometimes she didn’t realize when she was being evasive.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” he suggested.

“Okay. I was hunting and found him with his mother. She had already passed away, and he was sitting beside her, crying. I couldn’t leave him there.”

No, Cody wouldn’t have been able to leave him there, either. And he wasn’t surprised Misty had gone out and bought the little scamp toys to play with, but…judging by the amount of toys scattered throughout the room, this wasn’t a stop over until Misty found a better home for the kit. She intended to keep him.

He rubbed his forehead, considering his response. During their friendship, he’d occasionally have to infuse logic into one of Misty’s hair-brained plans. It always made him feel like the bad guy. The killjoy. How to explain this to her without upsetting her?

“Misty, I understand why you brought him home with you. You did a good thing. But you can’t keep him here.”

She tilted her head to the side, looking at him quizzically. “Why not?” Her tone wasn’t belligerent, merely curious. She honestly didn’t see a problem.

“It’s a wild animal. You can’t keep a wild animal as a house pet.”

Silence stretched out. He stared into her eyes, searching for the tears he expected his words to cause. When they didn’t appear, he breathed a sigh of relief. Since he’d never been comfortable with her tears, being the cause of them would have broken his heart.

“So you’re telling me, I can have a wild fox living inside me, sharing my body, but I can’t have one inside my home. Doesn’t that strike you as a bit...odd?”

Cody considered her words. Only Misty would make an argument like that. But it did make him pause. When he tried to think of a rebuttal, he realized she had a good point.

It really wasn’t his business. As long as her neighbors didn’t complain, he had no reason to force the issue. Besides, he didn’t want to see the joyful light in her eyes dim.

“Do you even know how to take care of him?”

“Sure I do. Well, okay maybe not. But I’ll learn.”

He took a deep breath, wanting to question her further, but it wasn’t his place. Tonight he was supposed to teach her self-defense. The whole afternoon, he’d researched teaching techniques and had come up with a lesson plan. But first, they needed to do something with the fox and she needed to change into clothes that didn’t cling to every curve.

“Fine, but what are you going to do with it while we practice?” he asked, looking around. The shiny new dog crate in the corner snagged his gaze. She wouldn’t…

Chapter 4

Misty didn’t see what the big deal was. The crate wasn’t too small for the baby fox. And she’d bought a soft pad for the bottom and a fox stuffed animal to put in there with him, so he could curl up and everything. But when she’d tried to usher the animal inside, Cody had acted like she committed a sacrilege.

Walking outside after changing into yoga pants and a tank top, Misty saw Cody putting the finishing touches on his makeshift fence. After seeing the crate, he had shooed her off to change, telling her he’d figure something out for her new pet. She glanced at the area he’d blocked off in the back yard by tipping her porch furniture on its side. The space in the middle wasn’t much larger than the area in the crate.

“How is that any better?”

Sweat dripped down his forehead as he glared at her where she stood by the back door.

“Because ‘crate’ is just a fancy way of saying ‘metal cage’. This way, he’ll be outside with grass beneath his feet and sky above his head. A fox needs to be free, to be one with nature.”

One with nature? She pursed her lips to hold back the giggles. He was so cute when he got all worked up. Whenever he was adamant about something, he’d emphasize his point by gesturing while he spoke. The dramatic hand movements were such a contrast from his normal personality, she always had to stifle the urge to laugh.

Years ago, she’d burst into a fit of giggles whenever he broke out in gestures. Then, one day, the laughter had pushed him over the edge. It had been one of the few times she’d seen him truly angry. The memory still made her uncomfortable. But it had taught her not to laugh at people when they were serious. Since then, she’d learned how to giggle on the inside. Now, she could tease him all she wanted just to see him get all intense. Which she did. At least once every other week. After all, someone had to keep the Premier sharp. Wouldn’t do the skulk any good to have a weak leader.

Walking over, Misty looked down at the enclosed area. The empty area.

“Where’s Oscar?” she asked, glancing around the yard before turning back to Cody.

“Oscar?” he asked.

“Small, black and red fur, baby fox.”

“He’s right…” Cody broke off as he stared at the ground behind him with a “huh.”

Panic set in. “You lost my fox?” Her voice rose to a shout, her eyes searching the small backyard. Oscar was nowhere in sight. “He’s still a baby, Cody. He can’t survive on his own, yet.” Not to mention the attachment she already felt, even though it had only been a couple hours.

A sense of failure assailed her. Oscar was hers to take care of. She hadn’t even lasted one day.

“Oscar,” she called, knowing how futile it was. She hadn’t owned him long enough for him to learn his name. But her brain refused to come up with a better option. How would she find him? All she could think to do was stand by the woods and call his name. But what if he’d gone in the other direction? He would run into the road and get hit by a car. Oh God.

“Calm down, we’ll find him,” Cody said beside her.

“But what if we don’t? What if we never know what happens to him? I brought him here to try and protect him and now–”

“Wait, there he is.” Cody cut into her rant, pointing under a bush in her garden where Oscar slept. With his black fur, he blended into the dark soil underneath.

Misty ran over, picked up the fluff ball and cuddled him against her cheek, the soft fur reassuring her he was safe. Oscar let out a small squeak, and tried to wiggle out of her arms. Reluctantly, she set him down in the makeshift playpen. She watched as he circled first one way, then the other, before finally curling up and going back to sleep.

* * * *

Staring at Misty as she gazed at Oscar with such love, Cody felt…jealous. Which was ridiculous. Misty was his friend but nothing more. He’d never wanted anything more. But lately, for some reason, he’d started questioning their relationship. Whenever he looked at her, he felt a strange heat, almost like desire.

It was crazy. He didn’t desire Misty. He didn’t. But deep down, he knew it was a lie. His eyes lowered to her butt as she leaned down to place a stuffed animal in the pen with her fox. The yoga pants clung to her curves worse than the jeans had, leaving everything and nothing to the imagination at the same time.

A flash of Misty, her eyes sparkling down at him as she leaned in for a kiss, ran through his mind. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear it was a memory. But he’d never kissed her. Not even during a childhood game of Spin the Bottle.

He needed to get a grip. Even if she would be open to something more than friendship with him, he would never do it. There weren’t many girls he considered friends. Acquaintances maybe, but not friends. What they had was too special to ruin just to scratch an itch, which was all they would ever have.

If she was a potential mate, things would be different, but she wasn’t. With all the time they’d spent together over the years, he would have sensed the connection a long time ago. Best for everyone to ignore these sudden urges and keep things light. Which would be a lot easier if she’d put on sweats instead of the clingy…

Cody jerked his gaze away from her butt. Clearing his throat, he tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Self-defense lessons.

“Come on, let’s go over here to get some room.” He put his hand on her elbow and led her away from the makeshift pen. The longing sigh she made as she cast one last look at Oscar sounded almost like a sigh of pleasure. He gritted his teeth and ruthlessly pushed down the images threatening to rise.

“What’s first, chief? Karate, Jujitsu, maybe a little Tai Kwon Do?” Misty jumped away from him and started hopping back and forth like a boxer, reminding him of a little bunny. The image made him smile.

“Easy tiger. Why don’t you show me what you’ve got, first, so I know where to start.”

The hopping stopped. She stared at him with a blank look on her face.

“Come on, you can fight me.” He raised his hands and assumed a fighting stance, having no doubt he could block whatever she threw at him.

“Um…what I’ve got. Okay.” She pulled up her pants and shrugged her shoulders a couple times. Then she did something–he didn’t think he could describe it if he tried–a drawn out “Wwaaa” escaped as her hands circled wildly around her head. Every now and then, one of her legs would lift up in what he had to assume was supposed to be a kick.

Without a word, he gaped at her display for a minute, dropping his hands from their defensive position around his face. It had to be a joke. But even as the thought came to him, he knew without a doubt, she wasn’t kidding. This was Misty’s interpretation of a badass fighter.

His lips twitched as she spun, her hands still chopping through the air in wide, erratic circles. Before she’d gotten her balance back, one foot rose into the air in an imitation kick. She stumbled, catching herself before she fell.
Barely.

He tried to contain the laughter. He really did. But a snort slipped past his guard, and that was all it took. Laughter rolled through him, bursting out in a long bellow. Clutching his stomach, he doubled over, unable to stop.

“Hey!” Misty complained, shoving him to the ground. The impact did nothing to stop the roars of laughter. Before long, his stomach and sides ached. He pulled air into his lungs, struggling for control. He blew out a breath, as his chuckles tapered off.

Glancing up, he took one look at Misty, arms crossed and toe tapping as she glared down at him with a furious expression, and burst into renewed cackles. It was as if she’d learned her moves from old Bruce Lee movies. Which, considering who he was thinking about, she probably did.

Once he’d regained control, he sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed that hard. Actually, he could. No surprise, it had been with Misty.

Almost scared to discover her reaction, he stood and turned to her. She certainly looked angry, but the laughter shining out of her eyes told a different story. One of the things he loved about Misty was her ability to laugh at herself. He grinned and gave her a helpless shrug. No one would have resisted laughing at her display, not even a saint, and the twitch of her lips told him she understood.

“I know, I know. Hopeless, right?” she asked.

“Not hopeless.” He weighed his words carefully. “But I don’t think we’ll be able to cover everything in one or two or twenty lessons. Let’s just start at the beginning.”

“Okay.” She dropped her hands to her side. “Teach me, sensei.”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “The first thing you need to learn is to stay–” He broke off and stared at her, remembering her ‘moves’ from before. “Actually, in your case, the first thing you have to learn is to never do what you just did. Unless you intend to crack them up and run away while they’re on the ground laughing.”

The glare she threw him told him she didn’t appreciate his humor. “Ha ha ha. Can you quit joking around and get serious?”

“You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. Seriously, the first thing you need to learn is nothing fancy. I’m not going to teach you how to be Jet Li. I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself. No judo chops or breaking cement blocks. Your objective is not to win, it’s to get away.” Disappointment shone from her eyes as her lip poked out in a pout. A pout that made her lips look far too enticing. He found himself unconsciously leaning forward for a kiss, and tightened his resolve. What was wrong with him?