The Art of Discipline: Running Toward Trouble (The Mockingbird Chronicles) (17 page)

Opening the door to her room, she walked down the stairs and managed to find her way to the kitchen. Seeing Frankie and Toni at the table, she entered slowly and joined them. “Morning,” she mumbled.

“Morning,
bambina
,” Frankie stood and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s get you some breakfast and then we are going to talk, Danielle.”

Dani merely nodded her head and stared blankly out the window.

“Here you are,” Toni announced, putting a BLT in front of her along with a glass of milk.

Dani wrinkled her nose. “Milk,
Zia
Toni? Couldn’t I have a soda instead?” Her blue eyes looked pitiful and she moved to turn toward the refrigerator when Toni’s voice sounded.

“No, Dani, soda is not an appropriate breakfast beverage. You drink that milk, your body needs the nutrients,” Toni scolded.

“But my head hurts,” Dani pouted, looking back and forth between her godparents. Suddenly wishing she were at home, she frowned. At least Emma let her have soda in the morning.

Toni smiled and shook her head. “Oh, my
piccolina
, you haven’t changed much since you were six.” She pointed to her plate. ”Now eat.”

Sighing, Dani picked the lettuce and tomato from her sandwich before slowly managing to choke the bacon and toasted bread down, ignoring the milk entirely. Noticing
Zio
Frankie watching her, she gave in and took a sip. Making a face, she whined, “Do I have to?”

Toni laughed, cutting off any argument that Frankie was prepared to make. “Still don’t like the stuff, huh? Okay, go empty it and get a glass of water and put your plate in the dishwasher.”

Nodding, Dani quickly followed Toni’s instructions before sitting down again at the table. “Thanks for the ride and letting me come here.”

Frankie held up his hand and shook his head. “You’re family, no need for thanks,
bambina
.” He sat back in his chair and studied her for a minute. “So,” he began, “what was so bad that you had to run away from Emma?”

Dani suddenly found her fingers very interesting. “It’s complicated,” she started slowly. “I felt like she didn’t trust me and then my feelings kind of spiraled out of control and I did a few other things and ended up here.”

Toni took her hands and locked blue eyes with her brown. “Is she cheating on you?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“Are you cheating on her?”

“
Zia
Toni, come on, I love her. I’d never do that to her.”

“Is she abusive?” Frankie interjected.

Dani slowly shook her head. “No,
Zio
Frankie, she’s not, she’s wonderful.”

“Then why didn’t you stay to work this out with her?” Toni asked, releasing Dani’s hand and sitting back as well.

Dani shrugged. “I don’t know, I always run.”

Standing, Frankie held out his hand. “Come with me,
bambina
, there’s something I want you to see.”

Taking the man’s large hand, Dani followed him back upstairs. Opening a closed door, he moved aside and allowed Dani to see into the room; lying on the bed was Emma, still in her clothes, sound asleep.

“What, when?” Dani began to ask as Frankie motioned for her to return downstairs. Following him into the family room, she sat on a large overstuffed loveseat next to Toni.

“I can’t believe it. No one has ever run after me before,” Dani mumbled, before turning on her godparents. “When did she get here and why didn’t you tell me?”

“She pulled up around three this morning. Told us she wasn’t going to let you run away again,” Toni explained as she turned to face Dani. “We wanted to talk to you first, make sure you weren’t running because you were scared.”

Dani shook her head. “How could you think such a thing? She loves me, she’d never hurt me.”

Frankie smiled. “So why did you run?”

Dani shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

Toni’s brown eyes narrowed. “You don’t anymore,” she said simply. “Now, we’re going to sit here and have a nice talk until Emma wakes up, then we’ll all sit down and help you work everything out.”

Toni hugged Dani before pushing her back and looking at her sternly. “And believe you me, young lady, you are going to work this out.”

Dani swallowed hard. It was the same kind of look that Emma gave her when she was in trouble, and it made her nervous. Shifting, she looked back and forth between her godparents. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Well,
mia
bambina
, I think it’s time that you know a little bit more about your past. Perhaps you will come to understand why you run…” Frankie started.

* * *

Dani slowly tiptoed up the stairs. She’d excused herself to use the bathroom, but didn’t really have to go. She was desperate to see Emma, and with the new information that her godparents just shared with her, she needed Emma’s touch now more than ever. Entering the bedroom, she closed the door quietly and crawled onto the bed next to her girlfriend. Wrapping her arm around her, she sighed in contentment as Emma unconsciously shifted so that they could both get more comfortable. Smiling, she couldn’t help but feel her eyelids suddenly become heavy, as she fell back into a light sleep.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Emma groaned. She was in a strange place, but it had a familiar feel. Noticing the arm wrapped around her, she smiled before kissing Dani’s arm. Rolling over, she then kissed Dani’s forehead. “Hey sweetie, wake up,” she encouraged.

Smiling a little, Dani opened her eyes as well. “Hey there,” she said shyly. “I hear you got in this morning.”

Emma propped herself on her elbow and pushed a piece of Dani’s hair from her face. “Yeah. Nothing like a middle of the night drive to wear you out.”

Looking at the comforter, Dani frowned. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

Sitting up rather gingerly, Emma leaned over to kiss her once again. “It’s okay, Dani. I knew where to find you.”

Dani sat up and crossed her legs as well. “Can we talk? I have some things I need to tell you, and then we can talk about everything else. Okay?”

“Sure, sweetie,” Emma agreed. Shifting again, she leaned her back against the headboard and invited Dani to curl up next to her. “What do you need to tell me?”

Dani took a deep breath. “I had a really long talk with Frankie and Toni this morning and they told me a little more about my parents, and how they died.”

Emma pulled Dani toward her in a one-armed hug. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I was there, Emma. I was in the house when they were killed.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Frankie said they found me hiding in the playhouse between our houses.”

“What do you mean, between your houses?”

“Back then, my parents were neighbors with Frankie and Toni. They put a big playhouse right on the property line. Apparently Nick and I liked to play there, and it was enough of a walk that my mom and Toni felt like they were getting some exercise.”

“How long were you missing?” Emma asked quietly.

“They aren’t really sure; they found me still in my pajamas wearing bloody socks and carrying Mr. Cuddles. Apparently I was hiding in a corner crying for my parents. All I could tell
Zio
Frankie was that the bad man hurt them.”

Holding Dani close, Emma rocked her as she crumbled and started to sob. “I don’t remember,” she confessed. “Why would I forget? It wasn’t my grandparents who hid them from me, it was me. I did it.”

Not knowing what to say, Emma just let Dani get it out. She rocked her gently, letting the tears flow as long and as hard as Dani needed. After a long time, Dani was able to settle down as the sobs turned to sniffles and hiccups. “I’m a chicken,” she confessed. “I betrayed them. It’s why I run, Emma. I get scared and I run.”

“Oh, honey, you were a child. You’re not a chicken. There was nothing you could have done. If you hadn’t run, you could have been killed too.”

“I wish I had been,” Dani admitted in a whisper.

Emma sat up, startled. “Danielle Elizabeth Ryan, do you want me to pull you over my lap right now?”

Dani blinked. “No…” She started to cry again.

“Danielle, you listen to me and you listen good, young lady. I love you. I love you so much that it hurts. My life was empty before I met you. If whoever took your parents’ lives, also took yours, that would have never happened. And I never would have realized what it really means to love. So, young lady, I better not ever hear you say anything like that again. Or I swear, you won’t be sitting for a month of Sundays!”

Dani chewed her lip for a moment before sniffling. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked.

“You better be,” Emma scolded, her stern face melting into a smile as she gently tapped Dani on the end of her nose. “I’m sorry too, Dani. I’m sorry you’ve been through so much. It’s more than any one person should have to bear, but you need to know, there’s no more reason to run. I won’t let anybody hurt you again.”

“I know.” Dani could only nod as she relaxed into her girlfriend as deeply as possible.

* * *

Entering the kitchen, Emma smiled as Dani took her hand. “
Zia
Toni?”

Turning, Toni waved her wooden spoon. “You, young lady, disappeared on us,” she said sternly to Dani before breaking into a grin, her dark eyes sparkling. “But I guess I can forgive you; have a seat and I’ll get your lunch.”

Walking to Toni, Emma gave her a hug. “Thanks for everything and I’m sorry I just showed up on your doorstep like that.”

“It’s no problem,” she answered, shooing Emma toward the table. “You do anything for family.”

Taking a seat at the table next to Dani, Emma yawned. “I still can’t believe it’s already lunch time.”

“Where is everyone,
Zia
Toni?” Dani asked as a platter of sandwiches and a bowl of chips were placed on the table.

“Frankie had to go to work, Nick has his own place, but is probably at the restaurant, Vinnie lives on campus, and Giuliana is at school.” Putting a can of diet soda in front of Dani, she grinned. “Now eat your lunch,” she added, placing a small plate of raw vegetables and dip on the table as well.

Dani looked down at her plate, blinking in surprise.

“Something wrong,
piccolina
?”

“No,
Zia
Toni,” Dani began. “I just didn’t expect a soda after that milk you gave me for breakfast.”

Emma smirked. “Milk? Did you drink the milk, Dani?”

Dani wrinkled her nose. “No, I had water instead.”

Emma looked at Toni and grinned. “Next time, just add some chocolate syrup; she’ll manage to drink it that way.”

Toni laughed. “Still loves chocolate, huh?” She smiled at her goddaughter. “And still needing to use tricks to get you to eat. Really, Dani, I’d hoped you’d have grown out of that.”

Dani blushed as she filled her plate. Catching Emma’s eye, she motioned toward the soda, grinning when Emma gave her permission by returning the gesture.

Toni paused, looking between the two women who were now eating in silence. “Why do I get the feeling that there’s more to this soda thing than meets the eye?” Toni asked.

“Probably because there is,” Emma answered before focusing back on her lunch.

* * *

Hugging her godparents once more, Dani got into the car. “Thanks again and we’ll see you in a few weeks for Sunday dinner.” Waving, the women pulled out and settled in for the long drive. The car was quiet until Emma pulled onto the Indiana toll road. “Emma?”

“Hmm?”

“Just how much trouble am I in?” Dani asked quietly.

“We’ll talk about it later, Dani,” Emma answered.

“Fine, but I think it’s only fair to point out that this really is all your fault,” Dani said matter-of-factly.

“Excuse me, how is this
my
fault?” Emma took her eyes off the road for a second to glance at her lover.

“Well, if you just would have told me why Stevie caned you, then I wouldn’t have gotten upset, or blackmailed Anna, or been rude to Stevie, or run off.”

Emma unsuccessfully tried to hide a smirk. “So everything you did is because I wouldn’t tell why I was caned?”

“Yup, glad you’re seeing it my way.”

Emma started to chuckle and took a quick glance at her partner. “I lost a bet, Dani,” she announced.

“What?”

“I lost a bet; the cane strokes were the penalty.”

Dani shook her head. “So all of this was because of some stupid bet? I swear, Emma, I should paddle you myself,” Dani threatened.

“Actually that thought crossed my mind,” Emma admitted, “but I don’t think we can go there, not yet. I’m sure Stevie will act well as your proxy in that department, though,” she winced.

“Good,” Dani couldn’t help but add. She then grimaced. “Sorry, that was a little harsh. I love you, Emma, but I think I’m starting to understand why you’re so hard on me.”

Emma couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m glad my backside could serve as such an object lesson for you.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “So, what exactly was this ‘stupid’ bet about anyway?”

Emma blushed. “Nothing.”

“Still not going to tell me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Dani, I just…”

“Emma, maybe it’s time we added a few new rules to our relationship.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Oh, like what?” she said stealing another glance at her girlfriend.

“Like if you get spanked, I get to know why.”

“Danielle,” Emma warned.

“I’m serious, Emma Renee.”

“Hey, you don’t get to use my middle name,” Emma scolded.

“Why not? After all, it’s part of you. And I love every part, from your name to the bruises on your backside.”

“Dani,” Emma scolded again as she blushed and Dani smirked. “Okay, I must be lightheaded from lack of sleep or something. I give. From now on, I’ll confess the reasons, if I’m spanked as a punishment.”

Dani narrowed her eyes at Emma’s wording, but for the moment decided to let it go. For now, at least, she was comfortable enough knowing that Emma wouldn’t shut her out again. “So, what was it then?”