Finally after what seemed like forever Mark saw a small cabin ahead in a clearing. He was leaning heavily on Tyger which had slowed them down to a crawl. "Come on ya big jerk, were almost there." Tyger said. Mark was really getting sick of her smart mouth. They climbed up the few stairs and Tger let go of him he leaned on the door jamb for support. Tyger opened the door and grabbed his arm again and led him in. Mark could have cried at the moment. There was a fire going and it was wonderfully warm. He could smell something wonderful cooking. Tyger led him to a chair in front of the fire and pushed him down in it. She left the room. Mark tried to take off his shoes but his fingers wouldn't work. Finally he just sat back in frustration. She had a pan of water and towels and a robe. She sat down at his feet and pulled off his shoes. "Ya know, winter, snow, boots might have been a good choice." She said sarcastically. "Shut up." He mumbled. "Wow snappy comeback, your mental sills really are impressive." She said. She pulled his socks off and started rubbing his feet with a towel. "This water is lukewarm but it's still gong to hurt like hell." She said. Mark nodded he figured as much. She put his feet in the water and she was right it hurt like hell. "Let me see your hands." She said. He put his hands out and she took a towel and started rubbing them. He could feel them tingling. "Tingling good means the feelings coming back." She said. She then took his feet out and rubbed them until she had some circulation going in them. "Can you get your clothes off?" she said. "Yea." He said. She helped him up and led him to the back to a bed room. "The bathroom is through that door. I ran you a hot bath." She said then turned around and left. Mark went into the bathroom and fumbled to get his clothes off. He finally got them off and sank into the water. God it felt good. He still wondered why she had helped him. Well it didn't really matter, he had her now and she wasn't going to get away this time.
Tyger was in the kitchen making coffee, god knows she needed some. She pulled the stew off the burner it was done. She was hungry too. She berated herself for bringing him here, but what else could she have done. Tyger all of sudden was spun around. Mark was standing there in the robe. He tightened his grasp on her arm. "Girl don't even think about going anywhere. I been tracking you six months and you aint going no where. Tyger pulled back her other arm and punched him right in the gut. It must have been pure instinct and frustration; before Mark knew what he was doing he had pulled his hand back and slapped her hard in the face. Tyger fell back to the floor with the force of the blow. Mark felt horrible, he was supposed to track her and bring her back, not abuse her. Tyger stood up and got right in front of him. "You ever do that again I will gut you in your sleep asshole. This is my place. If you got to take me back when the roads clear so be it. But you will not hit me." She said in a deadly voice. She turned away from him and started filling bowls with stew. She set them on the table and got two cups of coffee and set them down. "Well set down and eat, I know if I'm starving you are." She said. Mark sat down and begin to eat, it was delicious. They sat and ate in silence. Tyger finished and got up to wash her bowl. "Get more if your hungry." She said. He got more and sat down again. "Why did you help me?" he asked again. Tyger sighed. "Look I couldn't leave you there to die; I'm not a murderer in spite of what you think about me." She said. "But you had no problems blowing someone's brains out." He said. "Your going to believe what you want to, go ahead I don't give a rats ass what you think about me." She said. She turned and left the room. Mark was having a hard time getting a handle on her. She was a murderer but she was so different than what he had imagined. He sighed and finished eating.
Tyger was on the floor listening to her headphones. Mark sat down on the couch. She looked up and took the headphones off. "We don't have a washing machine or a dryer so you'll have to wash your clothes out by hand and hang them in front of the fire at night." She said. "Damn I got my luggage in my car, not that's its going to do me any good there." He said. "Well you will have to wash that one out every night." She said. "I'm going to bed." She said and went to the bedroom. Tyger got undressed and put on a t-shirt. She climbed into bed. She heard the door open. "What the hell are you doing in here?" she asked. "Well you can't expect me to sleep on that little couch." He said. "I don't give a damn where you sleep, but it won't be in here." she said. "That bed has plenty room for the both of us he said climbing in, besides I know how you like wild sex, so why not let me in on the fun." He said pinning her on her back. Tyger froze. Her one fear in the world and he had found it. Mark had no intention of doing anything to her, he didn't think she would take him serious he just wanted to shut that smart mouth of hers. Tyger suddenly snapped out of it. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" she yelled and started struggling. Mark jumped off of her. She got and ran to the bathroom. Mark followed her and found her over the toilet throwing up. What the hell he thought. She finally got up and rinsed her mouth out. She looked up at him. "Don't ever touch me again." She said in a quite voice. She went and got a pillow and blanket. "I'll sleep on the couch." She said. "Hey no, I will." He said. She held up her hand. "Just go to bed and leave me alone." She said leaving the room. Mark plopped back on the bed. He had scared her to death just now. Something about this whole thing just didn't seem right. If she was such a big slut like her aunt said why did she react that way? Of course it could be a big act on her part. He shrugged and turned over and went to sleep.
Mark awoke and looked at the clock. It was 8:00 am. He wondered if Tyger was up yet. He got up and went into the living room. Her blanket was folded on the end of the couch. He put on his clothes since they were dry. He wondered into the kitchen. No sign of Tyger. He went back and looked in the bathroom. He was getting pissed. He opened the front door and a blast of cold air about knocked him over. It was practically a blizzard outside. He slammed the door. Her coat and boots were gone. "Damn." He cursed. That little bitch had tricked him. There was no way he could follow her, he didn't have the right clothes. He would end of dead if he tried to. He couldn't believe she had outsmarted him again.