Scott sat on his bed his fists clenched in anger. If that bitch wasn't rotting in prison he would go choke her to death himself. It wasn't bad enough she had broke him and Amber up. She had ruined his kids life too, kept her away from him. Mark had said Amber had wanted him to raise their child, but Betty had deliberately kept her from him. Scott thought about how different his life might be if he had be given the chance to raise his child. His and Amber's baby. Maybe he wouldn't have sunk into the bottle like he did. Scott ran his hand through his hair. There was a knock at his door. "Yea come in." he said. It was Mark. Mark came over and sat down. "Scott I know this is a big shock to ya man. Tyger needs you her life has been so fucked up. She deserves a chance to have one good parent. That's why I went looking for her father." Mark said. "What exactly is between you and her?" Scott asked. Mark looked at him. "We are really close. All you need to know is that if anyone ever hurt her I would kill them." Mark said. Scott looked at him. Ill be damned he thought Mark's in love with her. "Mark I don't know what to think or do right now." Scott said. "I can't tell you that Scott you have to make up your mind if you want to be in Tyger's life or not. Kev is going to stay here with you for a while. I'm going back to Texas to tell Tyger about you. If you want to see her you know where we're at. Just call first. Give her some time to prepare." Mark said. "What if she doesn't want to see me?" Scott said. "She will. This will probably be hard for both of you but believe me Tyger wants to know who her father is." Mark said. Mark stood up. "I gotta go, call me when you make up your mind." He said. "Thanks Mark." Scott said shaking his hand. Mark nodded and left.
Scott came out. Kevin had fixed them some dinner. "You alright man?" Kevin asked. "I don't know, I guess I'm still in shock." Scott said. They sat down to eat. "Scott this kid really needs you." Kevin said. "I know. I'm going to give her a couple days to get used to the idea then I'm going to see her." Scott said. "Don't worry Kev I'm not going to start drinking again." Scott said. "Do you want to see a picture of her?" Kevin asked. "Mark left it for you." Kevin said handing it to Scott. Scott took the picture and looked at it. God she was beautiful. She looked like Amber but not completely she had his looks too a perfect combination of them both. Scott felt the tears running down his face before he could stop them. "Hey man it will be okay. Things will work out." Kevin said. "Kev if I would have had a chance to raise her I would have been good to her loved her ya know." Scott said. "I know you would have Scott, you still have a chance to be a father you know." Kevin said. Scott nodded. He was determined this was one thing he wasn't going to blow.
Mark stumbled in the door and dropped his luggage in the hallway. Tyger was probably still at work. He needed some sleep, jet lag was killing him. He went up to his room and took a quick shower. He pulled on some sweats and climbed into bed and fell right to sleep.
Tyger came in and saw Marks luggage in the hallway. She ran up the stairs to his room. Sure enough he was asleep. She ran and jumped on the bed and pounced on him. "Wake up sleepy head." She said. Mark jumped up she had scared the shit out of him. "Girl ya ever scare me like that again I'm going bust your ass." He grumbled. "I'm trying to sleep if ya haven't noticed." He said. Tyger sat back on her heels. "Hmm somebody got up on the grumpy side of the bed today." She said. Mark just ignored her trying to go back to sleep. She climbed on him and straddled his chest. "Wake up Lurch." She said tickling his stomach. "Hello wake up!" she said. "Girl you're pushing your luck." Mark warned with one eye open. "Oh I'm so scared, please don't hurt me." She said laughing. Mark suddenly sat up and flipped her to her back and pinned her. "I'm trying to sleep ya brat." He said. "I missed you." She said grinning up at him. Mark felt himself melting. He bent down and kissed her on the fore head. "I missed ya too ya little pain in the ass." He said smiling. He lay back down and Tyger cuddled up beside him. "Go back to sleep grumpy, I'm just going to lay here with ya a few minutes." She said. She lay beside him and watched him drift back to sleep. God but she had missed him. She got up and pulled the covers back over him and went downstairs to make some dinner.
Tyger was going over some invoices and waiting for dinner to get done when Marks cell phone rang. He must have left it down here she thought. She went over and picked it up. "Hello." She said. "Can I speak to Mark?" someone said. "Uh He's asleep right now. He's suffering from sever jetlag. He's threatened to tombstone me if I bother him again." She said Laughing. "Well in that case don't bother him." The voice said laughing. "Can I take a message?" She asked. "Yea, just tell him Scott called." He said. "Okay Scott, I'll be sure and tell him when he wakes up." She said. "Okay thanks." He said. "Bye." She said. Must be business Tyger thought.
Mark wondered down to the kitchen. He smelled dinner cooking. Tyger was in there getting a pot roast out of the oven. "You ready to eat?" she asked. "Yea I'm starved." He said. She fixed him a plate and sat down with him to eat. "Mark some guy named Scott called for you while you was asleep." She said. Mark got up and got his cell phone and made a call. "Tyger couldn't really hear what he was saying. He wasn't on the phone long and came and sat back down. "Tyger The reason I took off is because I was looking for you father." Mark said. Tyger's eyes got wide. "Did you find him?" she asked. "Yes." Mark said. "That was who called earlier. He wants to meet you." He said. "Tyger I think you should know, he was very much in love with your mother. It wasn't a one night stand. Your aunt had him arrested for statutory rape since your mother was only 17. He came back to get her when she was 18 but he couldn't find her. He didn't know she was dead so all this has been a big shock to him." Mark said. Tyger was in shock, all the lies her aunt had told her. That bitch had really screwed up some lives. "Who is he?" Tyger asked. "Scott Hall." Mark said. "Scott Hall as in the Outsiders, the NWO, That Scott Hall?" Tyger asked in shock. "Yep the one and the same. Tyger couldn't believe it. "Tyger I know this is a shock for you. He is going to be here tomorrow evening. Are you okay with this?" Mark asked. "Yes, I mean I want to meet him. It's just so weird. I mean I been watching him on TV forever and I never even imagined." Tyger said. "I've heard he has some drinking problems." Tyger said. "Well he been sober for a while. He's doing really good." Mark said. "I'm going up and shower and go to bed." Tyger said suddenly. Mark watched her go. H e knew this was a shock to her. All he could do was be there for her if she needed him.
Tyger lay in the bed thinking about tomorrow. She was still blown away that Scott Hall was her father. She hated her aunt for keeping them apart. How different her life would have been if she had been raised by him instead of her aunt. You can't go back and change things Tyger she thought to herself. Her door opened and Mark came in and set down on her bed. "You okay?" he asked. "Yea I'm fine." She said. Mark looked at her. He could see the turmoil in her eyes. "Mark thank you finding him." She said. "You're welcome Honey." Mark said. "So tell me how your shop is coming along?" Mark asked. Tyger sat up. "It's going good. I finally got enough people hired. I should be able to open in a week." Tyger said. "That's great. You excited?" he asked. "Yea, I can't wait. I think this place is going to be great. But one problem, I haven't come up with a name for it yet." She said. "You better get busy if you're going to open in a week." Mark said. "I know. I just can't think of the right name. Nothing has hit me so far." She said. "You will, don't worry about it. You want me to come help you out tomorrow?" he asked. "You want to?" she asked looking up at him. "Nothing I would rather be doing than helping you brat." He said grinning at her and throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Now get some sleep. You go a busy day tomorrow." Mark said. Mark leaned over and kissed her and laid her back on the bed. "Goodnight." He said. "Night." Tyger said. Mark got up and left. Tyger rolled over. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. She just hoped meeting Scott went well.
Scott was a nervous wreck. He sat in the airport with Kevin fidgeting in his seat. "Calm down Scott. You're making me a nervous wreck." Kevin said. "Kev what if she can't stand me or something?" Scott asked. "Scott you haven't even met her yet, you worry to much. Why would she not like you?" Kevin asked. "A lot of people don't like me Kev, in case you haven't noticed." Scott said. "Listen I'll be the first to admit you can be an ass sometimes." Kevin said grinning. "But after a while ya get used to it." Kevin said. "Thanks buddy you always know how to make me feel better." Scott said sarcastically. Kevin laughed. "Stop worrying." Kevin said. "Thanks for coming with me Kev." Scott said. "No problem." Kevin said. Just then there flight was called. "Come on, let's get going." Kevin said. Scott got his bag and headed for there gate.
Tyger and mark spent the day working in her shop. Tyger introduced Mark to her employees. He liked them all. Tyger had done a good job in picking her employees. The man she had hired to co- manage, Josh Verdon Had good managerial experience. He and Tyger seemed to get along good. Mark was proud of everything Tyger had accomplished in a short period of time. He spent the day helping Tyger unpack books and CD's. They took a lunch break about 1:00 Pm. They sat at one of the tables eating. "Tyger came up with a name yet?" Mark asked. "Well I came up with 'Tyger's Den.' what do you think?" Tyger asked. "That's catchy I like it." Mark said. "Good then that's one problem solved." Tyger said. "I'll call the sign company after lunch, hopefully I can get tem out here tomorrow." She said. They finished there lunch and went back to work. Mark watched her as she worked. She was an awesome person. She was so strong after everything she had been through she still managed to go on. He couldn't imagine not having her in his life. He shook off his thoughts and turned back to unpacking boxes.