The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) (15 page)

“Danielle, exactly what do you think you’re doing?” a sleepy voice asked.

Turning back, Dani saw Emma propped up on one elbow, trying to keep her eyes open.

“I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d just go for a run.”

Emma yawned. “That’s what I thought; if you want to go for a run, call Stevie and ask her to come meet you.”

Dani huffed and crossed her arms in front of her, “Never mind, I don’t need to go for a run.” Crossing the room, she sat on the edge of the bed. “When can I go running alone again?”

“I thought you enjoyed running with Stevie,” Emma mumbled.

“Not anymore. When can I run alone again?” Dani demanded.

Emma raised a sleepy eyebrow. “When I tell you,” Emma replied evenly, before closing her eyes one more time.

“So what am I supposed to do now?” Dani returned with a hint of a whine.

“Go read in the study, watch some TV, I don’t care. Just do it quietly, and without violating your grounding.”

Dani stood and glared at Emma. “Whatever,” she muttered before heading to the other room.

* * *

Opening her eyes again, Emma groaned. She hated being woken too early, especially by Dani trying to pull some kind of stunt as she had this morning. Stretching, she looked at the clock. 7:35 was a much more reasonable time to get up. Sliding out of bed, she rubbed her bottom gently and slowly walked down the hallway. Hearing nothing, she noticed the study door was open and the room empty.

Searching the living room and the kitchen gave her similar results; no Dani. Fearing that she had run again, Emma was just about to get dressed when she noticed a note on the coffee table:

Went for coffee with Anna, be back later.

* * *

Dani slid into the booth across from Anna, wincing slightly as the hard wood came in contact with her still tender backside. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

Anna waved her hand. “Don’t mention it. I was up to let Roxy out anyway.”

“Stevie wasn’t up early?”

Anna shook her head. “No, she decided to go for a later run since you weren’t going this morning.”

“Hey, Danielle, haven’t seen you for a while, what gives?” the smiling waitress greeted as she put a large soda in front of Dani and then put her hands on her hips.

“Sorry about that, Rosa, but I’ve been busy.” Dani paused and took a long drink. “That hits the spot though. Rosa, this is my friend Anna; Anna, meet Rosa.”

Anna smiled and turned over her coffee cup. “Unlike my friend here, I prefer coffee; strong coffee.”

The waitress smiled, her dark waves bouncing. “Got it. So you need a few minutes to decide?”

Dani shook her head after looking at Anna. “Tell Luis to surprise me with one of his burger creations this morning.”

Rosa nodded before turning to Anna. “And for you?”

“I think I’ll have the oatmeal and fruit plate.”

Taking their menus, Rosa smiled, “Got it, be back shortly.”

Anna shook her head at Dani. “I can’t believe you’re having a burger this early.”

“Well, I didn’t eat dinner last night and I’m hungry, besides, Luis makes the best burgers in Ft. Strymon,” Dani smiled.

Anna looked around the nondescript diner. Its worn booths and stool-lined counter reminded her of something from a past age. “How on earth did you find this place anyway?”

Dani shrugged. “I like to change up my running pattern occasionally.”

“Really?”

“Well, I do, at least until I find a great place for a diet soda and junk food.”

Anna chuckled. “That’s what I thought.” Taking a sip of the coffee Rosa had just brought, Anna eyed Dani. “So, why the early morning meeting?”

Dani shrugged and looked out the window before turning back to Anna. “Emma doesn’t trust me,” she blurted out.

“What do you mean, Emma doesn’t trust you?” Watching Dani shift uncomfortably and take another sip of her soda, she pressed, “This is about yesterday, isn’t it?”

“Yes, she wouldn’t tell me what it was about. She wouldn’t even let me see the damage.”

“You have to trust her, Dani. Maybe this was something she just can’t share yet.”

Dani wiped a sudden tear away. “Trust
her
? When she can’t trust
me
?” She sat back, turning her head as Rosa arrived with their food.

“One pizza burger for you, Danielle, and one oatmeal and fruit plate for your friend.”

“Pizza burger?” Dani asked, distracted by the cheese and meat concoction on her plate.

Rosa nodded. “Yep, Luis wants to try it as a special, but needed an expert’s opinion on it. Let us know what you think.”

“Will do,” Dani held up her now empty glass. “Could I get a refill too?”

“Sure thing, Danielle; enjoy, you two.”

Taking a bite of the hamburger, Dani grinned. “This is great; sure you don’t want a bite?”

Anna grimaced and shook her head. “Maybe at lunch, but not now.”

Dani shrugged and took another bite. “Suit yourself.”

The women ate in silence for a bit before Anna spoke once again. “So, why does it bother you so much that Emma won’t tell you what the session with Stevie was about?”

Putting down her hamburger, Dani looked at her friend. “Because it feels like she doesn’t trust me to understand.” Dani ran her hand through her hair. “And maybe I won’t understand, but she could at least give me the chance.”

Anna nodded as her eyes went wide. “Hey, guys,” she greeted as Stevie scooted into the booth next to her and Emma joined Dani.

Scowling, Dani ignored the women and returned to her hamburger. Finally looking up, she addressed Emma. “Checking up on me?”

Emma frowned briefly before shaking her head. “No, I just wanted to join you for breakfast. Since you didn’t tell me where you were going, I called to ask Stevie if she knew where you’d gone.”

Stevie interrupted. “I did, and here we are. Thought you two wouldn’t mind if we joined you.”

Anna shook her head. “It’s fine with me.”

Dani glared at Stevie before mumbling, “If I’d wanted you here, I’d have asked you.”

“What was that, Dani?” Emma asked as Rosa set down a coffee cup for her and brought Stevie a large glass of water.

“Nothing.” Turning to the waitress, she grinned. “Rosa, tell Luis the pizza burger is a go. It’s perfect.”

Rosa laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell him. He’ll be thrilled to hear you liked it.”

“Pizza burger?” Stevie asked.

“Yeah, pizza stuff in the meat, topped with sauce and Italian cheeses, served on a garlic roll,” Rosa explained.

“Sounds good, can I have one?”

Anna giggled. “Leave it to you to try the unexpected.”

“What? It sounds good and Dani says it is, so why not?” Stevie defended.

Rosa grinned. “One pizza burger coming up and for you?” She turned to Emma.

“I’ll have the same as Anna.”

“Sure thing,” Rosa said before turning toward the kitchen. “Hey, Luis, we need another one of those pizza burger specials and an actual healthy breakfast,” she called, placing the ticket on the ledge in front of him.

“So, what’s up?” Stevie asked, filling the silence as they waited for the new orders.

“Not much,” Anna answered as Dani continued to ignore the group.

“You could have woken me up, you know,” Emma mentioned to Dani. “I would have driven you over here.”

Dani looked at Emma and gave her a half-hearted shrug. “Whatever,” she responded before staring out the window again.

Emma blinked, but turned her attention to their friends. As they engaged in small talk, Dani continued to ignore them. She wasn’t in the talking mood, at least not with Emma and Stevie at the table.

“Breakfast is served,” Rosa announced, breaking the tension at the table as she returned with the rest of the meals. “Let me know if you need anything else,” she added as she replaced Dani’s empty soda glass with a full one.

“Thanks, Rosa,” Dani smiled before once again turning toward the window.

“So Dani, what have you and Anna been talking about?” Stevie asked.

Dani slowly turned her head and narrowed her eyes. “If I’d wanted you to know, I would have invited you to come with us, Stevie.”

Stevie’s dark eyes flashed. “Danielle.”

“Don’t you Danielle me, Stefanie. You aren’t my girlfriend or my top,” she hissed. “You don’t have the right.”

“But I am and I do.” Emma placed a hand on Dani’s arm. “That’s enough, you need to apologize.”

“Screw you, Emma,” Dani spat, pulling her hand away from Emma’s touch.

Anna took in a deep breath as Emma’s eyes narrowed. Slowly sliding from the booth, she motioned for Dani to join her. “Now, Danielle,” she hissed when Dani blatantly ignored her. Leaning over the booth, Emma grabbed Dani’s ear and tugged once. “Now,” she repeated.

Dani huffed and slid from the booth. Throwing a couple of bills on the table, she clearly addressed Anna, “Sorry, I’ll see you later.”

Smiling, she then waved to Rosa. “Thanks for everything, Rosa. See you soon.”

“You know it, Danielle,” the waitress responded as Dani followed Emma to the car.

* * *

“Corner now,” Emma directed, leading Dani into the apartment.

“As if,” Dani spat and walked down the hallway, slamming the study door in her wake.

Shaking her head, Emma debated on going after her, but decided that maybe they both needed a little time to cool off. Instead, she headed to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of juice. Noticing Atticus already curled up on the sofa, she gingerly sat down next to him. As she stroked behind his ears, he began to purr and rolled over, affectionately rubbing against her hand.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the study Dani was fighting tears when she noticed a ball of fluff curled up on Uncle Sean’s chair. Grinning, she picked up the furball before resettling her on her lap. Stroking the kitten gently, she let the tears quietly fall down her cheeks.

Dani knew she had overreacted at the diner, but she was angry that Stevie and Emma had shown up unannounced. She really needed to talk with Anna and having that interrupted before she could figure things out had turned her mild anger into a full-blown temper tantrum.

Sighing, she continued to stroke the kitten, enjoying the loud purr. “You are so lucky, Tilly. All you have to do is sit there and look cute, and you get all the love and affection that you can handle. I just can’t seem to do anything right.” Pausing as the kitten stretched and pushed her head against Dani’s hand, Dani shook her head and smirked. “You know pushing isn’t always the best way to get what you want. Oh, Tilly, I am so dead,” she muttered with a groan.

* * *

Back out in the living room, Emma glanced at her watch. She’d given Dani almost half an hour. If Dani wasn’t ready to talk now, she’d never be. Sighing, Emma pushed Atticus off her lap and stood. She padded down the hallway to the study. Knocking gently, she entered the room to find Danielle curled up in Sean’s leather chair, Tilly on her lap, purring loudly.

“We need to talk, Danielle,” she said softly before gingerly taking a seat on the ottoman in front of the chair. Now almost knee to knee with Dani, Emma scratched Tilly’s forehead before looking up once again. “Ready to tell me what this morning’s tantrum was all about?”

Dani shrugged.

Emma sighed. “Is this about last night?”

Dani looked up. “Which part of last night? The part where you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s going on, or the part where you wouldn’t let me make love to you?”

Emma took a deep breath. “This is not about not trusting you, Danielle, this is about me doing something stupid and having to pay the price for it.”

“And I can’t know this because…? You don’t think I’d understand?”

Emma stopped Dani’s hand from petting Tilly and took it in hers. “I love you, Danielle, but I was not ready to make love last night. I was a little sore.”

“You seemed all for it until I tried to take things a step further,” Dani pouted.

“I was.” Emma met Dani’s eyes. “I was, until you actually got to that point and then I realized that I wasn’t ready.”

“So instead of explaining that to me, you kick me out to do the dishes?”

“Maybe I could have done a better job telling you how I was feeling, but I really did need that shower. Plus,” Emma added with a smirk, “you did volunteer.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “But you still aren’t going to tell me why Stevie caned you?”

Emma let go of Dani’s hand and sat back. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you were going to tell me why Stevie caned you,” Dani repeated.

“How did you know she used a cane?” Emma almost squeaked.

Dani bit her cheek for a moment, realizing she might have just made things worse. “I saw something on the video surveillance and then persuaded Anna into telling me.”

Emma’s features hardened as her green eyes flashed. “You did what, persuaded?”

Flinching under the look, Dani elaborated. “I told her I wanted cupcakes, and she could either close the store to babysit me, or I’d go alone unless she told me.”

Emma reached across Dani, and snatched Dani’s cell off the side table. Glaring at Dani, she took several deep breaths as she dialed. “Stevie, are you still at the diner? Yeah, okay. Can you come in a little early? I’d like you and Anna to come up to the apartment right away.”

Hanging up the phone, Emma stood and pointed toward the door. “Living room, now.”

Dani shook her head and watched as Tilly jumped off her lap, obviously too smart to get in the middle of her and Emma’s wrath. “I’m fine where I am, thanks.”

Growling, Emma grabbed Dani’s ear, forcing her to her feet. Using the leverage to her advantage, she angled Dani against the arm of the wingback, before peppering Dani’s behind with a half a dozen hard swats. Releasing her, she ordered, “March, young lady.”

Dani had been in the corner close to fifteen minutes before the knock interrupted the quiet of the apartment. Opening the door, Emma invited Stevie and Anna in. The sound of a loud sniffle drew their attention to the far corner where Dani stood, her head against the wall.