Read The Art of Discipline: Dani’s Discovery (The Mockingbird Chronicles) for Free Online Page B

kitchen.
    Emma’s hand still rested on Dani’s knee, and she made no motions to move it. Dani smiled as they shared a moment and just watched the cat.
    “So, what is your favorite book?” Emma asked.
    Dani laughed fully at this. “I have too many to name and am totally eclectic in my tastes. I’ll read anything from teen-fiction to biographies, to sci-fi, to mysteries.”
    “Well then, it’s a good thing you have access to a bookstore on a regular basis now, isn’t it?” Emma asked. The twinkle in her eye wasn’t lost on Dani as she patted her knee before standing. “I guess we should get to the aforementioned bookstore and start our day.”
    Dani sighed, already missing Emma’s touch on her knee, but she stood up and smiled. “If you insist,” she began, “so what’s your favorite book?”
    Emma gave the taller woman a smirk, “You’ll just have to figure that out on your own now, won’t you, Danielle?” she teased, before leading the still speechless brunette out of her apartment and down the stairs.
     
    * * *
     
    “So you never did tell me why you stopped coming to the store,” Emma prompted.
    Dani shifted uncomfortably in the booth. She and Emma had decided to go out for lunch, and she was now wondering if that had been a mistake. Shaking her head, she shrugged. “It kinda just happened. I was busy with college and then setting stuff up for Ryan’s Events.”
    “But surely you still took vacations, especially while in school?”
    “Well, sure, but it was easier to just stay away…”
    “Uncle Sean would have loved you to come home,” Emma interrupted.
    “I know. Geez, it’s not like I was trying to avoid him. We still spent time together, talked on the phone at least once a week.”
    Emma sat back, studying Dani for a moment. “Then who were you trying to avoid?”
    Dani narrowed her eyes. “That’s a rather personal question.”
    “I’m sorry,” Emma apologized. “You don’t have to answer. I was just curious.”
    Dani was quiet for a long moment before she gave in. “It wasn’t him. It was my grandparents.”
    “Oh,” Emma explained. “Sean never went into details, but he didn’t seem to like them very much.”
    “He wasn’t the only one,” Dani snorted.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” Emma prompted again.
    Dani rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to, but she had the feeling that Emma wasn’t going to give up until she got the story out of her. “I told you that Uncle Sean found out I was gay when I was a teenager, right?” Getting a nod, Dani continued, “Well my grandparents didn’t find out until a little later.”
    “They didn’t react well?”
    Dani snorted again. “I brought my first serious girlfriend to one of their fundraisers. I just turned twenty, and she and I had been dating about six months. Tabitha Prentiss came from a very good family with very old money. I thought my grandparents would approve.”
    “They didn’t?”
    “Let’s just say that they were civil to her but told me later that if I ever embarrassed them in that way again, they would make sure that I suffered for it.”
    “Suffered?” Emma’s voice was quiet.
    “Yes, basically cut me off. Money wasn’t really an issue. I already had access to my parent’s estate, but socially, if I wanted to ever get anywhere, they could have made it impossible. In essence, I’d become persona non grata with them.” Dani huffed. “As if I wasn’t already that.”
    “So,” Dani continued, “I went back to school and only went back to their house after that when I was guilted into coming. I guess that’s the real reason why I stopped coming back to Fort Strymon. I kept busy and traveled or had other activities going on in my down time and vacations. It was easier to just stay away than to give them an excuse. Uncle Sean though, he never pressured me. He would always make the attempt to come see me. Even flew all the way to Paris to spend Christmas with me once.”
    “God, I remember