The Art of Discipline: Dani’s Discovery (The Mockingbird Chronicles) Read online

  Sighing, Emma watched Dani for a moment as she ran the conversation back in her head. Frowning as she realized there was something much more going on with Dani then just being sick, she decided to probe a little deeper. “Turn over and sit up, Danielle, we need to talk.”

  “I don’t feel like talking,” Dani muttered.

  “And I don’t really feel like getting the hairbrush, but if you’d rather…” Emma trailed off, seeing blue eyes look over Dani’s shoulder. “Please, Dani. I just want to talk to you about this. I don’t want to fight with you.”

  Dani rolled back over, crossing her arms once again and quickly averting her eyes back to the bedspread.

  Emma crawled up on the bed, kneeling next to Dani. “Look at me, Danielle,” she commanded.

  Slowly looking up, Dani bit her lower lip in nervousness for a moment before feeling Emma take her hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth, understand?”

  Dani nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “When you were little and got sick, who took care of you?”

  Dani shrugged and looked back at her hands, now intertwined with Emma’s.

  “Danielle, answer me, please,” Emma’s pleaded with a gentle but firm voice.

  “My nanny, or another member of the staff, or myself,” Dani admitted. She looked up with tears in her eyes. “My grandparents would check on me occasionally, if I was sick enough to stay in bed. Maybe bring me a toy, but they never stayed when I asked them to. They were always too busy with other things.”

  “What about Uncle Sean?”

  Dani shrugged again. “You know how he was. I mean he tried, but well, he wasn’t really the type to cuddle.”

  Emma bent over and kissed Dani’s forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t stay with you earlier. I didn’t know it meant so much to you.” She paused. “I needed to make a phone call and thought you could use the time to sleep.”

  “I didn’t sleep at all,” Dani whined. “I thought you didn’t want to be bothered with me.” The tears came, and Emma released Dani’s hands and held her arms open, gladly accepting Dani into them. “Let it out, Dani, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  Sniffing, Dani pulled out of Emma’s embrace. “I got you all wet,” she commented as she saw the state of Emma’s shirt.

  Emma smiled. “I think I’ll live. You, however,” she winked as Dani cringed, “may not,” she teased. “And since you’re not hungry, you might as well get into that bath. Maybe your appetite will be better afterwards.”

  Dani stiffened again. “I don’t wanna take a bath,” she whined and kicked a leg in protest.

  “Two and a half,” Emma half-kidded. “But you don’t have a choice. You are going to take a bath.” Pausing for a moment, she tapped Dani’s leg. “Let me start the water. I’ll be right back.”

  Hearing the water run, Dani’s lip slipped into a small pout. She knew she’d get the bath whether she wanted it or not. Laying her head back on the pillow, she closed her eyes and waited for Emma to come and get her. Feeling Emma above her, Dani opened one eye and quickly closed it again. “Can’t I just sleep?”

  “No. Come on, young lady, bath time for you,” Emma instructed as she helped Dani out of the bed and to the bathroom.

  Feeling a bit dizzy, Dani steadied herself on the towel bar before standing upright again.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Emma,” Dani growled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I can do this myself.”

  “Alright,” Emma conceded. “If you’re sure? If you need anything just holler. I’ll be changing the sheets on the bed.”

  Dani watched Emma close the door and then smiled to herself; same trick the nanny use to fall for. Dani sat on the toilet lid and threw a washcloth into the tub. Making sure to occasionally make splashing noises, she was just about to drop the towel in the tub to wet it when she heard the bathroom door open. “Emma! What are you doing?” she demanded as Emma opened the door with a set of clean pajamas in her hand.

  “Apparently I’m interrupting your bath,” Emma answered as she fully entered the bathroom and threw the pajamas on the counter.

  Dani gulped. “I was just about to get in?” she tried.

  “Nice try. Now how about you strip before I skip three and go straight to five.”

  Looking up in shock, Dani shook her head. “Come on, Emma.”

  “Let’s go,” Emma commanded, pulling Dani to her feet. “Time to get undressed.” Taking charge, Emma helped a now blushing Dani undress and step into the tub. Kneeling beside it, she picked up a clean washcloth and gently began washing Dani’s back.

  Both women were quiet for a long moment, until Emma said quietly, “I’m sorry that I didn’t know how much you wanted me to stay with you earlier, Dani. I should have picked up on the signals.”

  Not replying right away, Dani continued to let Emma wash her. It felt good, and it had been a long time since Dani had been this open with anyone. Working up the courage, Dani sought out green eyes. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

  “I know,” Emma returned with a soft smile.

  “Emma?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you really at a five?”

  “About two and seven eighths,” Emma replied with a wink. “How you feeling?”

  “Better. You were right. The water does feel good,” Dani admitted. “And I’m getting a little hungry.”

  “Time to get out then, I think,” Emma decided as she stood and held open a fluffy towel for Dani to step into. “I’ll go heat up the soup again.” She then excused herself, leaving Dani some privacy to get dressed.

  By the time that Dani had redressed herself, Emma had returned with the reheated dinner. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Emma replaced the tray and again handed a spoon to Dani. “Not gonna throw this one, are you?” she half-joked.

  “No,” Dani smiled, as she took the spoon and then attacked her soup. She didn’t realize just how hungry she was.

  Emma watched her for a moment, slowly eating her own soup. Her appetite was a good sign, and she hoped that Dani would be feeling better soon. “You know, Dani, it’s not gonna work.”

  Dani stopped her spoon in midair. “What?”

  “The harder you push me away, the harder I’m going to push back. I love you, Danielle Ryan, and nothing is going to change that.” Pausing for a moment, Emma smiled. “Not even your attempts to get my attention, which by the way, you have in spades.”

  Dani gulped, “I do?”

  “Uh-huh,” Emma smiled. “As soon as you are done with dinner, you and I are going to discuss your punishments.”

  “Punishments?” Dani looked at Emma, her eyes wide, “As in more than one?” Putting the spoon back in the bowl, she frowned. “I think I’m done now.”

  Emma raised an eyebrow. “Finish it, Danielle.”

  Dani grumbled but picked the spoon back up again. She’d learned quickly it was a bad idea to argue with the eyebrow.

  The next few minutes ticked by slowly, but eventually Dani was able to choke down the rest of her meal. When she put down her spoon a second time, Emma was satisfied enough to take the bowl from her. “Had enough?”

  “Yeah, thanks. It was really good.”

  “Thank you,” Emma replied, before brushing a piece of hair from Dani’s face. “Now, I think it’s time I let you in on your punishments.”

  Dani swallowed hard and suddenly found her hands very interesting.

  “Look at me, Danielle,” Emma commanded gently.

  Looking up, Dani focused on emerald eyes.

  “First, I promised that I wouldn’t spank you tonight, and I’m not going to,” Emma began, noticing Dani visibly relax, “However, as soon as you are feeling better, you will be getting a spanking. And before you ask, I don’t know yet. I’ll judge your behavior until then, and that will set the tone on just how hard of a lesson it needs to be.”

  Dani groaned, allowing her eyes to on
ce again drop to study her fingers.

  “Secondly, you’re grounded.”

  “Grounded?”

  “Yes, one week. Basically, if you’re not working, you’ll be here in the apartment. No electronics, no eating out, and you will be going to bed early every night. Also, I’m cancelling movie night with Stevie and Anna this week.”

  “But what about my work? I need my phone and my laptop—”

  Emma held up her hand, stopping Dani’s argument. “As soon as you are feeling better, you can work your normal shift in the morning at the store. Then, if you need to do anything for Ryan’s Events, you may use your laptop or your phone in my office.”

  “Where you can keep an eye on me,” Dani mumbled.

  “Exactly,” Emma agreed. “And I hope that I won’t have to stress that there will be serious consequences if I catch you doing anything other than business.”

  Dani crossed her arms over her chest. She was not liking this idea at all. “What about my morning run? You gonna babysit me during that too?”

  “I don’t think skipping a few days of running is going to hurt you, especially when you are sick,” Emma returned evenly.

  Dani scowled. If she couldn’t go on her morning run, she couldn’t get her large diet soda. And what about not eating out? They would starve. No diet soda, no food, no TV; this week was going to kill her. Looking back at Emma, she asked, “When do I have to go to bed?”

  Emma glanced at the clock. “Now sounds good.”

  Dani also looked at the clock. “It’s only seven-fifteen.”

  “Yes, and you are sick. You need to sleep.”

  “But I don’t wanna!” Dani protested in a very clear whine.

  “Two and eleven-twelfths,” Emma emphasized, tapping Dani affectingly on the nose. “But if you think you can manage to be good and lay down, I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”

  Dani sighed. “I’d like that.”

  “Me too,” Emma returned, pulling down the sheet and encouraging Dani to snuggle up below them, before scooting over and allowing Dani to use her lap as a pillow. Emma tucked a piece of hair behind Dani’s ear. “I love you, Dani.”

  “Love you too, Emma,” Dani easily returned.

  * * *

  Dani opened her eyes and stretched. She was feeling much better and wondered if she could slip out and go for her morning run before Emma even woke up. Slowly moving, she slid out of the bed, almost jumping out of her skin when confronted by a sleepy voice.

  “Where are you going, Dani?”

  “The bathroom,” Dani answered quietly.

  “Okay,” Emma slowly sat up. “Then back into bed with you. I want you to sleep for a while longer.”

  “But it’s already six,” Dani complained.

  “And sleeping in until seven or eight won’t hurt you,” Emma countered.

  “Fine,” Dani huffed as she padded to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

  Chuckling, Emma lay back down, wondering if Dani would ever learn to control her temper.

  It was almost exactly an hour later when Emma finally relented and let Dani wake up for good as she realized that now that Dani was awake, she had to be as well. Padding off to the bathroom, Emma returned with the thermometer. “100.5. Sorry Dani, you’re still in bed today,” Emma announced, turning the thermometer off.

  “Come on, Emma, it’s not that high, and I feel a lot better,” Dani whined.

  “You aren’t getting out of that bed until your fever is under 100.” Emma’s eyebrow raised as she stared at Dani.

  “Fine. Just what am I supposed to do all day?” Dani crossed her arms in front of her chest and put her lower lip out into a pout.

  “Rest,” Emma replied with a smirk. “I’m going to go make us breakfast. Be back shortly.

  “Can I at least check my work emails?” Dani asked in a last ditch effort to not die of boredom.

  “I guess that would be okay.” Emma left the room for a moment and returned with Dani’s laptop. “Work email and work-related things only, Danielle,” Emma reminded her.

  “Okay, I get it,” Dani replied, trying not to roll her eyes as she turned on the beloved electronic device.

  The day passed slowly. Finding nothing urgent enough to allow her to keep her laptop, Emma had spirited it away, replacing it with a stack of books from Uncle Sean’s study. Normally Dani would have relished the opportunity to stay in bed and do nothing but read, but given that was her only option, at the moment she’d rather be doing anything but.

  Emma had closed the store down and came in periodically to check on her. The attention was nice but was also difficult. She could do nothing with Emma babysitting her all day. Looking at the clock, she groaned. It wasn’t even lunch time yet. In desperation, she called out to Emma.

  Appearing almost immediately, Dani pitched her plea. “I’m feeling a lot better, Emma, can you please check my temperature again?”

  Shaking her head, Emma rolled her eyes, and much to the delight of Dani, complied.

  “Well?” Dani’s eyebrow rose expectantly. “Can I get up?”

  Emma looked at the thermometer as it beeped. “I guess you can. It’s at 99.0 now, but if it goes back up, you are right back in bed.”

  “Yes!” Dani pumped her fist into the air and immediately left the bed. “I’m just glad it didn’t last past lunch.” Walking down the hallway, Dani flopped on the couch and grabbed for the television remote.

  Feeling the remote removed from her hand, Dani moaned as she looked up into green eyes. “Please?”

  Emma shook her head, “Nope, you’re still grounded, young lady. That means no television.”

  “Emma,” Dani whined as she flopped back onto the couch. “I wanna watch TV.”

  Emma grinned. “Well, you can’t. But you could read a book or do something else.”

  “Fine,” Dani sat up and grabbed a magazine from the table next to the couch. Flipping through it, she muttered under her breath while looking at it. A few minutes later, she tossed it back onto the table. “Boring.”

  Emma looked up from the book she was reading. “Danielle, if you don’t want to read, find something else to do. Of course, if you prefer, I’m sure I can find something to occupy you with if you insist on continuing with the attitude.”

  Swallowing hard, Dani stood up. “No, that’s okay. Think I’ll go read in the study for a bit.”

  Emma nodded. “Good choice.”

  * * *

  Dani moved her green beans around her plate with her fork. “Are you sure we can’t order pizza?”

  Emma leaned back in her chair and sighed. “There is nothing wrong with your dinner, Dani. Now, eat it.”

  “Baked chicken is so blah,” she protested.

  “But easy on your stomach, so eat it anyway,” Emma directed.

  “Could I at least have a diet soda?”

  “No, you know the rules—water with meals. Besides, you’ve had your limit of soda today.”

  “But they were just cans.” Dani’s eyes went wide as Emma’s eyebrow raised.

  “Exactly what do you mean by that?”

  “Nothing, never mind,” Dani tried, putting a bite of green bean in her mouth. “You know, green beans aren’t that bad.”

  “Danielle.” Emma put her fork down and waited for Dani to speak.

  Dani looked at her plate and put a piece of chicken in her mouth, making an effort to slowly chew it.

  “Have you been having more than three sodas a day?”

  Dani’s head shot up. “No, Emma, I’ve only been drinking three.”

  “Then why the trouble today?”

  “Because I usually get a large one from the convenience store after my morning run, then run across the street for my other two.”

  “Ah, I see. And what size have you been getting?”

  “The caffeine explosion size,” Dani responded quietly.

  Emma let out a long slow breath, picking up her fork again. “So, when you say you’ve been d
rinking three sodas a day, what you mean is that you’ve been drinking three sixty-four ounce cups.”

  Dani nodded.

  “I guess we’re going to have to figure out how much three a day means then,” Emma responded, returning to her meal.

  “I’m not in trouble?”

  Emma shook her head. “No. Although you’ve been exploiting the situation, it’s partly my fault for not explaining what I meant by three a day.”

  “So I can have my caffeine explosions?” Dani asked hopefully.

  “No,” Emma smirked. “However, you may continue with your large soda after your morning run. After that you may have two cans or the equivalent of two 12-ounce cans. In a few weeks, we’ll adjust it from there. I don’t want you to have horrible headaches, so we’ll take it slow.”

  Sighing, Dani relented. Putting her fork down, she sighed heavily again and took a drink of water. “I think I’m done.”

  Reaching across the table, Emma clasped Dani’s hand in her own. “Okay, sweetie, time for you to get ready for bed then.”

  “Bed? Emma, it’s only seven!”

  “Have you forgotten that you’re grounded?” Emma responded calmly finishing her own meal and starting to clear the table.

  “How could I with you as my prison guard?” Dani asked before storming to the bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

  Shaking her head, Emma couldn’t help but wonder what kind of child Dani was, for she certainly had a flare for pushing limits now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dani smiled as she handed the customer his bag. “Thank you, and come again,” she intoned watching him leave. The moment he was out of the door, she moaned and leaned against the counter.

  “What’s up, Dani?” Anna asked as she entered the store, handing a medium soda to Dani and opening her own coffee.

  “Nothing,” Dani pouted.

  “Still feeling sick?”

  “No, bored out of my mind.”

  Anna grinned. “Grounded, huh?”

  Dani’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you know?”

  “You aren’t the only brat to ever get grounded.” Anna smirked. “So let me guess, no TV, electronics, and an early bedtime?”