Memory Hunted (19 page)

She shook her head. "Staying here would still be
hiding."

"Then I will go with you."
He approached her,
backing her into the door.

"No..." She thrust out a hand and hit him right in the
wound. Pain slashed, driving him to his knee.

She knelt beside him. "I’m sorry. Are you okay? Can you
breathe?"

"Fine." Timothy grimaced. "Hurting me never worried you
before."

"Let me take a look." She hauled him to his feet and
dragged him to the chair. She tugged at his shirt buttons, exposing his bandaged
torso. "It’s not bleeding."

"In a hurry to get my clothes off now, are you? What
happened to leaving?"

Kit paused. "You wouldn’t have died if I’d never asked
for your help."

"You may have asked, but it was my choice. Just as
it is my choice to go with you now." Timothy felt the cold air pebble his skin.

Her hands fiddled with the bandage’s knot. "I—I can’t
have you get hurt again."

"Watch where you punch me next time."

She met his gaze. Timothy’s grin faded.
She’s worried.
"I…this is the end. If I…leave you won’t get hurt again," she said.

He grabbed her tail. "Not if I have you by the tail."

She stiffened. Her eyes widened, and she drove her fist
into him. "Don’t grab it like that." She tugged her tail free, stood, and turned
away.

Timothy grabbed her shoulder, whirling her around. "If
it wasn’t for you I would have died. You breathed life into me in more ways than
one."

She rolled her eyes. "Can you put more theater into your
line?"

"Pardon me, mine princess. But thou dost play a bad theater
role thyself."

"I’ll miss this. Our banter, not your white chest."

"I will follow you."

She frowned. "Dying made you blunter."

"I realized what is important to me."

"Ugh, if you keep that up—you’re serious."

"Deadly serious."

"Funny." She sighed. Her tail caressed his cheek. "What
am I going to do with you?"

"Clean and comb your tail, to start. Maybe a bath."

Kit blushed and looked away. "You….you will follow me,
wouldn’t you?"

"To the bath? Maybe." Timothy felt proud that he managed
to keep a straight face.

She glared at him. "You know what I mean."

He nodded. "A shepherd never gives up on a lost sheep."

"I knew I should have just left, but I had to see you
one last time." She groaned. "Your scent addles my brain."

Might as well go for broke.
He
stepped closer. "Did I ever tell you how much I like your ears and tail?" He pulled
her into his arms, and she wilted against him.

"Your weapons are so unfair." She hugged him back. "I
was afraid when you didn’t breathe. All the blood. I can’t do that again. It was
worse than when you were sick."

"Promise you won’t leave. If I have to chase you, I’m
sure I’ll end up in more trouble."

She shook her head against his good shoulder. "That’s
a pretty bad marriage proposal."

"Whatever it takes. Now promise."

"Like a burr on my tail." She pushed back. Her hair mussed
around her face. She closed her eyes. "Fine. I am an idiot to give in. Fine already.
I promise." She stepped back, crossed her arms, and muttered to herself.

"Tomorrow we will leave for Belafonte." He worked at
the buttons on his shirt as he yawned.

"I said there is nothing for me there."

"I refuse to have come all this way and not at least
look at it. Besides, don’t you want to stay at least a little while? In case
you remember something else."

She chuckled. "I’ve already spent nearly a week
there. You’ve been…sleeping for a while."

"Well several more days won’t hurt then."

She chewed on her lower lip and watched him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I…I want to sleep with you."

He froze.
What?

"Not like that. Geez. I can’t have you getting sick after…everything.
Seriously, muttonhead. I was going to leave after I saw you one last time but now…"
She sighed. "You are a lot of trouble."

"You shall have the whole of my trouble."

She muttered something, grabbed his hand, and pulled
him across the room and into the next.

"Don’t get ideas, and keep your hands to yourself." She
nestled beside him under the sheets. Her tail twined around his legs.

"No—" He yawned. "Promises." His eyes felt heavy. "It’s
a little crowded."

"I’ll leave then." Kit moved as if to leave.

He grabbed her hand. "It wasn’t a complaint."

She cuddled next to him. "Let’s make our lie a truth.
Your aunt can do it, right?"

He hesitated.
Might as well, woolhead. You are in
this deep. If Kyle could ring Henrietta, you can Kit.
"She may not be allowed,
but that won’t stop her."

"Grammie was right."

"About what?"

"That I would know the man meant for me, and I wouldn’t
be able to get away when I did. I never guessed it’d be someone like you."

"Thanks." He rolled his eyes.

"I meant that as a compliment. How do you do that to
me?"

"Do what?"

"I came to tell you good-bye, and now we are talking
about marriage."

"My boyish charm?"

She chuckled. "Not too long ago you’d be crawling out
of the bed to get away from me, blushing the entire time. Even just a few days ago
you wouldn’t be so blunt. Not that I am complaining." Her breath touched his ear.
"It just means I will have to try harder."

He blushed.

"A lot of trouble for ruined houses and trees," Kyle
said.

Timothy breathed into his scarf. The journey to Belafonte
had taken longer than two days with the pace they’d set. Perhaps it wasn’t wise
for him to travel after only two weeks of rest, but he wanted to see Kit’s home.
After everything I didn’t want to go back without seeing it.

The ruins spoke to Timothy.
People had lived and died
here.
He wondered who had lived in that building. Did children play in that
street? Yuzu and Tell wandered among the crumbled stone walls that sectioned off
a block.
Why was that block walled away from the others?
Kit stood in front
of a pile of rubble. Her tail wagged beneath her cloak.

Kyle shifted his knapsack. "I hate to go, but I am going
to end up in a stew if I don’t."

Timothy grabbed his friend’s outstretched hand. "It was
nice seeing you, Kyle. Thanks for everything. I mean that."

"Bah, that’s what heroes do." He scratched his beard.
"Besides, you’ve always been like a kid brother to me. Never could figure out why
you spent time with my old bones." He held up a finger. "Don’t go traveling until
spring. Not with your wound. Old Jake told me winter was the worst for him. Couldn’t
breathe. There’s plenty of food left at the camp. The boys didn’t carry all of it
away. Besides, Tell could give me a run with hunting."

"Spring." Timothy frowned.

"Don’t be glum. Your ladylove will keep you warm and
busy." He smirked. "What do you plan to do after it thaws, anyway?"

"Kit wants me to ring her. Officially. And have Aunt
Mae do it."

"What do you mean, ring her? I thought you were already—"

"We—we aren’t married. It was just a story to keep people
from asking too many questions about Kit. You know, her being a fox."

"Wait. So you mean all this time I was thinking you…I
didn’t have to ring Henrietta?"

Timothy smiled. "She was going to ring you upside the
head if you waited much longer."

Kyle rubbed his chin. "That’s dirty, Timothy. Here you
had me thinking my kid brother had taken the lead." He laughed. "Ah well, just means
I blazed the trail yet again. Henrietta’s going to want to see your future
kids, you know."

Timothy blushed.

Kyle clapped him on the back. "Don’t fret. You’d be a
fine father. Henrietta won’t pay their little tails any mind when you bring them
to visit Uncle Kyle. No frets about that. Though she may have them all bowed up
and braided. She threatens to do that to my beard. That’s why I keep it short."
He looked at the clear sky. "Well, I’d best get going. Take care of yourself." He
called out to Kit. "And be sure to take care of him too, foxy."

Kit turned and flashed a smile. "He is quite helpless
without me."

"You two make a good pair. Be sure to visit." Kyle waved
and strolled away.

Timothy watched his friend until he disappeared into
the forest.

Kit grabbed Timothy’s arm. "He’s a good friend."

"The best."

"Oh? And I’m not?"

"Nope." He walked toward the house. Kit watched, and
she followed. "I feel…different inside, since dying."

She frowned up at him. "Kyle said you will probably have
problems breathing from now on. And you shouldn’t be out here. I never would have
guessed he knew about wounds."

"Kyle’s smarter than he lets people know. And it’s not
that. Everything feels more intense. Everything looks different. Brighter."

"Hmph. I don’t think dying had much to do with it."

"What could it be then?"

"You are a woolbrain."

He stared at her.

She sighed. "It’s because you—don’t make me say it."

"What?"

"You are in l-love with…me."

"Hmm. I still think dying is the reason."

She growled and punched him lightly in his side.

"So this was your house?"

"I think so. At least, I remember living here."

"What do you remember?"

She told him. While she spoke about her mother and father,
her gaze became distant. Timothy knew she was seeing them. Her soft voice held awe
and sadness.
I understand what it’s like to not have real parents, other than
Aunt Mae.

It was deep into the afternoon when Kit finished. She
slouched on the stone wall, looking exhausted. Timothy sat beside her and laid his
gloved hand over hers. Tell and Yuzu threw balled snow at each other a few houses
away. They ducked behind the stone jumbles and jumped out. Tell took one of the
balls to his face.

"Thank you for telling me. How do you feel?"

She shook her head. "I thought I’d feel different, but
I don’t. I thought there would be more. I just don’t remember much. It’s funny.
I felt hunted by my memories, and now…" She shrugged. "I don’t know what I was expecting."

"I don’t know. You remember your parents’ faces, don’t
you?"

She nodded. "Not clearly. I remember Mom’s eyes and Dad’s
strong hands."

"That makes it all worth it."

She frowned at him. "How can you say that after all I—"

"It was my choice. You didn’t put me through anything.
Well, you did, but I don’t count this." He touched his chest. "Or what happened
in Honheim."

She jabbed a finger at him. "You are still a woolhead,
sheepbrain, and frustratingly dense man."

"I think those all mean the same thing."

She glared at him from under her eyelashes. "I can make
this a long winter for you. We aren’t going anywhere until spring."

"I am not opposed to staying here, you know. You
still haven’t given me a good reason why we shouldn’t. We can clean out
Daeric’s lodge. I think I could even raise sheep in some of the clearings out
here."

Kit sighed. "I’ve looked toward the past too long."

"And what’s that have to do with staying here? We
could carve out a future."

"And hide away from everyone and everything?" Kit
gestured. "I don’t want to hide. I want to move forward. I want to have friends
who accept me as I am."

"Yuzu and Tell don’t count?"

Kit glared at him. "I want to live a normal life.
One where I can go into town and enjoy a festival. Out here I will still have
to worry. Out here you are also more likely to get yourself hurt."

Timothy stretched his legs and ignored her verbal
jab. "That may take a long time."

"If it does, it does. At least our future children
will have a better place to live."

Timothy cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks heat.
"I don’t know how you will pull any of that off, but I am willing to help."

"I supposed since I am stuck with you following me
where ever I go, I will just have to accept your…
help
someday
."

Timothy rubbed his forehead. "And just when I
thought I could finally match your wit."

Only a month and a half passed before spring began to
green the forest. Timothy was glad poor Tell became the target of the women’s attention.
Kit decided to resume Yuzu’s lessons. The boy’s decision to try to grow a beard
didn’t help his situation. A pair of scraggly, patchy tufts sprouted on his cheeks,
much to the women’s constant enjoyment. Timothy had to give the young man credit.
He was stubborn. Timothy would have shaved those tufts off after the first time
the women wagered how long it would take for the next patch to sprout.

Under Kit’s watchful gaze, Timothy recovered,
although the puckered scar remained on his left breast. Luckily, his shoulder loosened
up enough for him to use it normally. His breathing became easier, but he became
winded with even light work.