Page 5 of Tiger's Little Waif

Her nearly forgotten Little side jumped up and down with excitement at meeting a man who understood what being Little was all about. She grinned as she picked up a carrot. “Cute.”

“Would you like some dressing to dunk them in?”

“No thank you. I’m fine,” she responded automatically.

Between her parents and her ex, she kept her Little side locked down tight and never made requests -- for anything.

Besides, the vegetables were so fresh and crispy, they did not need dressing.

Marshall used two fingers under her chin to raise her head until she once again looked deep into his eyes. “Remember what we just talked about? If you want dressing, don’t say you don’t.”

Shaw nodded. “I remember. But they’re really good naked. So fresh and full of flavor.”

Marshall chuckled, but Shaw had a feeling from the sound of it that he did not laugh often. “Naked vegetables. Well, they taste fresh because I picked most of them from the garden an hour ago.”

“Wow. Really? I’ve always wanted to learn to garden, but …” she trailed off, stopping herself midsentence.

With her arrival at Bratburg, she was starting a new phase of her life and needed to stop dwelling on the past. Especially when it seemed that Marshall was determined to be her future.

“Waif?”

She shook her head. “Never mind. It’s not important.”

Marshall looked like he did not believe her, but released her chin and her gaze as he crossed the kitchen to an open pantry on the opposite wall. “I’ll be happy to teach you about gardening, and let you play in our gardens,” he said in a tone that Shaw did not understand. But, between the aches and pains that were throbbing with each heartbeat, and exhaustion of the past few days catching up with her, she admitted her tracking capabilities were not that great.

She turned her attention to the veggie plate, savoring each quickly eaten bite. Just as she finished the last slice of cucumber, Marshall took the empty plate away and slid another into its place.

She smiled even as tears welled in her eyes. She blinked them back as she looked up at the man who sat down in the chair across from her. He had made her two sandwiches. Not only had he cut the crusts off the bread, but he also used some kind of press to seal the edges together and give the bread a face.

“You made me a kitty face sandwich,” she whispered as she wiped her eyes.

He shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “I thought it would make you smile. Why are you crying?”

Shaw couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re happy tears. No one has ever made me a kitty face sandwich before.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a fucking shame. I’ll make you kitty face sandwiches any time you want. I also have a teddy bear press, a star, and dinosaurs.”

“Really? That’s so cool. I wonder if they could be used to make pastries,” Shaw’s baker side popped out and began to brainstorm ideas.

“You can play them … after you’re recovered,” Marshall said.

“Yes, Chef,” Shaw said in her softer, Little voice. Taking a deep breath, she tried to push her inner Little back into the box she normally kept her in. Problem was the box seemed to be falling apart.

Picking up her sandwich, she took a bite and chewed. When the flavors hit her tongue, she stopped. There was something different about this sandwich. Something that made it so much more than a simple peanut butter and banana on white bread combination.

“Something wrong?”

“You added something else. What did you add?”

He smiled, appearing impressed that she had tasted the difference. “I sprinkled the peanut butter with some cinnamon sugar before adding the banana. You have a sensitive palate.”

Shaw took another bite and nodded as she was now able to discern the different flavors. “It’s good. No, it’s great. And it’s a kitty face which makes it even better.”

She quickly finished the first sandwich and was able to manage about half the second before she set it down and pushed the plate away. “I’m full, but it was delicious,” she said as she settled back in her chair.

“Good girl,” he praised. “Now, we need to talk.”

His last four words sent a shiver of dread through her, but she tried not to show her fear as she nodded.