Sondrae Bennett - Worth Fighting For

The text he’d received earlier had said to come right in, but his confident steps faltered as he saw the cause of her giggles. Misty in human form, sat on the floor with a beaver puppet, playing with a fox. The kit’s eyes were open, but he still possessed his black baby fluff. It couldn’t be older than a couple weeks.

“What is that?”

Apparently unaware of his presence until he spoke, she jumped at the sound of his voice.

“Oh, hi Cody.” She looked at her wrist as if expecting a watch to be there. Why she did that when he could count the times she’d worn a watch in the past two years on one hand, he’d never understand. “Is it time for training already? I’m not dressed, yet.”

Cody looked down at her clothes. Skin tight jeans that looked way too appealing and a black t-shirt with the words Foxy Lady spelled in big pink letters across her breasts. Perky breasts that would fill his hands perfectly.

Way too tempting. Those clothes had to go. Wait. He mentally back-pedaled, rephrasing his last thought. She had to change into different clothes, more clothes. Some nice baggy sweats would be perfect. Something to hide her figure. And tennis shoes, he thought as he watched her bare toes curl into the carpet, the bubble gum pink polish peeking out from under her jeans.

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…

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.