Foxe Den 2: A Skyler Foxe & Friends Summer Vacation

By Haley Walsh

Just like the original FOXE DEN: A Holiday Collection, there is no mystery to solve in this novella. Skyler Foxe is a high school English teacher, now out and proud. He’s “Mr. Foxe” to his students and just plain “Skyler” to his posse of friends and his boyfriend, high school football coach Keith Fletcher. In FOXE DEN 2: Summer Vacation, Skyler and Keith offer a Beach Party for the Gay-Straight Alliance kids; Two gay teens have an intimate moment in their own story; Skyler’s friend Mike de Guzman experiences Skyler’s favorite gay bar, Trixx; And finally Skyler and Keith go on a backpacking trip. This is a book of little extras, what the characters are up to when we don’t see them between the pages of a full novel. They have so many stories to tell that a full novel cannot contain them! This novella is Volume 5.5 and falls directly between DESERT FOXE and CRAZY LIKE A FOXE. Find the rest of the series from MLR Press.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Haley Walsh
• Release date: Aug 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310210532

Haley Walsh

Haley Walsh tried acting, but decided the actor's life was not for her. Instead, she became a successful graphic designer in Los Angeles, her hometown. After fifteen years of burning money in the '80s and early '90s, she retired from the graphics industry and turned her interests toward writing novels. She became a freelance newspaper reporter, wrote articles for quirky magazines, published award-winning short stories, and writes an acclaimed series of medieval mysteries (www.JeriWesterson.com). FOXE TAIL is her first m/m mystery, followed by FOXE HUNT and OUT-FOXED. FOXE DEN, a novella of Skyler and Friends holiday stories, was followed by the next Skyler Foxe Mystery, FOXE FIRE, and then came DESERT FOXE. After this novella, watch for CRAZY LIKE A FOXE in 2016. www.SkylerFoxeMysteries.com. And don't forget to friend her on Facebook skylerfoxe.mysteries.

Book preview

The Skyler Foxe Novels by Haley Walsh

Foxe Tail

Foxe Hunt

Out-Foxed

Foxe Den: A Holiday Collection (Novella)

Foxe Fire

Desert Foxe

FOXE DEN 2

A Skyler Foxe & Friends Summer Vacation

HALEY WALSH

Foxe Press

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is

entirely coincidental.

Copyright © Haley Walsh 2015

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Cover design by Jeri Westerson

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. The eBook version cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook version can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.

Foxe Press

PO Box 799

Sun City, CA 92586

To my Long Suffering Husband

for making every day a vacation

INTRODUCTION

Just like the original FOXE DEN: A Holiday Collection, there is no mystery in this novella to solve. In fact, it might confuse you all together if you had not read the rest of the Skyler Foxe series beforehand. At least you’d be at a loss as to how the relationships came to be… You know what, just go back and read all the Skyler books, starting with FOXE TAIL and come back to this. Done? Good. Because here is Skyler’s first year as an English Lit teacher come to a close. And he finally has a little time to relax. This book should be read right after DESERT FOXE.

We start with a Beach Party for Skyler and the Gay-Straight Alliance kids. And then we move to Beach Party Part II where we see the rest of the beach trip and an intimate moment through the eyes of Rick Flores. After that we go to Trixx and experience the bar and the SFC through Mike de Guzman’s point of view, and then Skyler and Keith go on a backpacking trip together for the very first time. You can imagine how that turns out.

Again, this is a book of little extras, what the characters are up to when we aren’t viewing them between the pages of a full novel. They have so many stories to tell that a full novel cannot contain them! I hope you enjoy.

Check out all my books at my website: SkylerFoxeMysteries.com.

BEACH PARTY

SKYLER FOXE SAT AT HIS DESK IN HIS classroom and alternated looking down at the papers he was correcting and glancing out the window at the falling June sun. He was like his students in many respects. He was only about ten years older than his favorite sophomore class but he, too, was easily distracted by the coming summer vacation. This was the end of the school year in his first year as a teacher and when he thought about it, there had been more ups and downs than an elevator convention.

First there was Keith, his live-in boyfriend. He never believed he would get involved in a long-term relationship let alone a live-in one, at least not this young in life. He had been too busy hooking up to consider settling down with just one man, but when six foot six of Walking Wet Dream came into his life all bets were off. He had fallen pretty fast and pretty hard for the guy, even though he was a jock.

And then Skyler had gotten himself in the thick of it, solving crimes with danger at every turn, having his life threatened. He’d done a lot of that this year, and his friend Jamie proudly called him Sherlock Homo.

He’d even been publicly outed this year. But now that his mom finally found out, it hadn’t been as horrible as he thought it might be. Maybe at first, but she had come around quickly and adopted all the lost boys of the Skyler Fuck Club, his former hook-ups who were now his posse.

Yup. It had been a full year.

He looked down at his students’ homework papers again and sighed. He had a bad case of senioritis. And he hadn’t been a high school senior for eight years. Checking his watch he startled at how late it was. Quickly, he gathered his papers and stuffed them into his leather satchel. He’d finish these at home. Tomorrow was the last day of school and a Friday to boot. And the last session of the year for the Gay-Straight Alliance. He had surprise to offer those kids.

But right now, he had an appointment with Mr. Sherman. The school principal had told him earlier to meet him in his office at four and it was coming up on that now.

He turned off the light, locked the door, and strolled down the corridor to the stairs. He trotted downward and made it to the administration offices, swinging his satchel. The rest of the personnel seemed to have left for the day except for Pauline, the office manager. She usually gave Skyler a bright smile and a chirpy greeting, but today she only looked up slightly and gave him a quick nod.

That was weird. He hoped everything was all right with her. He’d have to ask once he got done with the principal.

And there was the man in his glass-walled office. Mr. Sherman was somewhat of a throwback to an earlier era. All he needed was a crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses and he would be right at home in his short sleeve dress shirts and nondescript ties. Skyler knocked on the jamb of the open door. Sherman looked up.

Mr. Foxe, please come in.

Skyler walked through and sat in the chair before his principal’s desk, setting his satchel down beside him. What’s up, Mr. Sherman?

The man shuffled papers. I want you to know, Mr. Foxe, that I’ve given you an exceptional evaluation for your first year as a teacher. Many of your students have improved under your care not only since the beginning of the year but from previous years. It has been noted how you have gone out of your way to promote extracurricular activities for your students and have mentored in…well, unusual ways.

Skyler preened. On the one hand he was slightly embarrassed by the praise from the man—who didn’t seem to offer praise lightly—but on the other hand, after all the things he had been through at the school, it was nice to have his good work recognized.

Sherman cleared his throat. So it is with some reservations that I give you this. He slid a form from his stack of papers and handed it to Skyler. Skyler leaned over the desk and took it…and his heart froze.

Breathlessly, he asked, Is this a…

A pink slip, yes. But don’t worry, Mr. Foxe. Surely you must have heard during your schooling and student teaching days that most new teachers receive a pink slip at the end of the year. It only means that the district budgets have yet to be worked out and that some teachers won’t be getting a renewal of their contracts till the last minute.

Skyler stared at the paper, unable to read it. His hand trembled. After all he’d been through this year, to have it end like this!

Mr. Foxe, let me assure you that I have every hope that your contract will be renewed.

I’m out of a job?

Mr. Sherman adjusted himself in his seat. It only looks that way now, Mr. Foxe, but as I said…

It looks that way from where I’m sitting.

Rising, Mr. Sherman came around the other side of the desk and sat on the edge of it. Mr. Foxe…Skyler. Do you think for one second after all you’ve done for this school…and for me, he added quietly, that I would allow the district to let you go? There is no way in heck that you will not be re-hired. Trust me. Mr. Sherman even leaned over and rested a hand on Skyler’s shoulder.

Skyler looked up at Sherman’s determined face. Skyler had found the killer of the principal’s son, after all, and he had learned a lot about the man himself, had even grown closer to the usually stoic Wesley Sherman. He swallowed down a portion of his anxiety and nodded.

Mr. Sherman nodded once and got up and moved around to his seat again, settling into the chair. So though it may look bleak right now believe me, Mr. Foxe, there is a…rainbow at the end of it.

Skyler gave a nervous laugh at Sherman’s smile. The man just made a joke. He never made jokes. I do want to stay. You know I do.

"And you will. Trust me, Mr. Foxe. There isn’t