From Roses To Thorns - Sequel To "From Nanny To Wife" (3 page)

Hope knelt down in front of the child. "I'm sure you can, but Daddy and I want to surprise you. You stay here with Maggie."

"No!" Zoe thrust out her bottom lip.

"Don't tell me no," Hope said calmly despite the anger rising in her.

"No!" Zoe said.

Hope straightened up and placed her hands on her hips. "Go to your room, little one."

"I don't want to."

Her patience wearing thin Hope gritted her teeth. "You will go to your room and stay there until you can behave."

Chin quivering Zoe shook her head. "I won't. You can't make me."

Hope arched a brow. "You want to bet?" She grabbed Zoe's hand and started to lead her from the family room.

"No!" Zoe dug in her heels and refused to budge.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Hope said her eyes flashing. "Either way you are going to your room."

Screaming, Zoe hauled off and kicked Hope in the shin.

It was then that Ryan entered the room. When he saw what Zoe was doing, he rushed to Hope's rescue. "What do you think you are doing?" he snarled at his daughter, pulling her away. "You don't kick people, especially Hope. I want you to say you're sorry."

"No!"

Ryan gently grasped Zoe's chin in his hand and tilted her head back. "What did you say to me, young lady?" he growled.

"I'm sorry," Zoe whispered.

"Say that to Hope and then go to your room," Ryan told her.

Her head hung in shame Zoe walked to Hope. "I'm sorry."

Hope caressed the little girl's cheek. "I forgive you, sweetheart. Run along now."

Ryan waited until Zoe was gone before he spoke. "Are you all right?"

Hope smiled weakly. "I'm fine."

"Tell me what happened."

"All right. " Hope told Ryan what happened between her and Zoe.

"She's never acted out like this before," Ryan said once Hope grew quite.

"Its normal behavior," Hope assured him. "Children like to test their boundaries. She would not have pulled a stunt like that if you had been here. She thought I was a pushover that I would give in and let her have her way."

Ryan kissed her on the lips. "You're only a pushover with me."

"Don't tell anyone," Hope said. "It's supposed to be our secret."

Ryan smirked. "My lips are sealed."

Hope rested her forehead against Ryan's. "We need to go talk with Zoe. The poor thing is probably scared."

"She ever kicks you again and I will give her something to be scared of," Ryan declared.

Hope led the way through the large foyer, up the stairs, and down the hallway. In Zoe's bedroom they found her curled up on the bed with the dog lying at her feet. She had a doll in her arms and was stroking its golden hair. The sight brought a lump to Hope's throat. Zoe looked small and vulnerable. It was very different from the stubborn child she had been earlier.

"Sit up, baby girl," Ryan said, crossing the bedroom. "Daddy wants to talk to you." He settled on the side of the bed as Zoe scrambled into a sitting position. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you." He brushed the bangs out of her eyes. "You know what you did was wrong. We do not kick or hit. It is not nice. You wouldn't like it if someone kicked you, would you?"

"No," Zoe murmured.

"I didn't think so. When Hope tells you no she is not doing it to be mean. She loves you, so when she tells you to do something you do it. Okay?"

"Okay," Zoe mumbled.

Hope moved toward the bed. "Can I have a hug?"

Zoe nodded and held out her arms.

Hope gathered her close and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, little one."

"I love you, too," Zoe said.

Hope released her. "Now you can leave your room. Daddy and I are going to be gone for a little while. We want you to be a good girl for Maggie."

Ryan rose from the bed. "If you give her any trouble there will be no party for you tomorrow."

"I'll be good," Zoe promised.

Ryan turned to Hope the minute they were in the car. "I'm drawing a blank. What do we get her for her birthday?"

Hope smiled. "I know just the thing. When I turned four my parents bought me one of those gumball machine aquariums. I would sit for hours and watch Mr. Fishy."

"Mr. Fishy?"

"That's what I named the fish." Hope grinned. "I know it's not very originally, but it was all I could come up with at the time."

"Where do you suggest we hide the thing?" Ryan asked. "Zoe's birthday isn't until tomorrow."

"I thought we would keep it in our room for tonight and then move it to her room in the morning."

"Fish it is." Ryan started the car, put it in reverse, and backed out of the driveway and onto the street.

Reaching for her seatbelt, Hope fastened it. "What did you do for Zoe's birthday last year?"

"I took her to the zoo," Ryan answered.

"I haven't been to the zoo in years," Hope confessed.

"Then Zoe and I will take you."

Hope reached out and squeezed Ryan's leg. "I'd like that."

Fifteen minutes later, Ryan pulled up in front of J & A Aquarium and shut off the car. He and Hope got out and made their way toward the entrance. The first thing that caught Hope's attention when they stepped into the small shop was the odor of fish and chlorine. Wrinkling her nose, she gazed in Ryan's direction and saw he was eyeing their surroundings with interest.

"Let's find the aquariums first," she said in a low voice.

"Lead the way," Ryan said.

Hope walked from one aisle to the next until she located the aquariums that looked like gumball machines. She picked a box up and opened the top to make sure the globe was not cracked. Satisfied that it was in perfect condition she closed the box and handed it to Ryan. Scanning the shelves, she spotted the rock that resembled gumballs and snatched up a bag.

"What else do we need?" Ryan inquired.

"Besides the fish, a testing kit to check the PH levels in the water, and fish food," Hope said, turning around. "Ah, here's the testing kits." She removed a small plastic box from the shelf. "Mr. Fishy was a Betta and that's what I would like to get Zoe. So let's go look at them and then we'll get the food."

"May I help you?" a young woman asked.

Hope turned to acknowledge her presence. "Yes, please. We'd like to look at the Betta fish."

"Come this way," the woman said. She took them to the back of the shop where she stopped in front of a shelf that contained small plastic see through cups filled with water and covered with a lid. Each cup housed a fish.

Ryan frowned. "Why are they in separate cups?"

"You can't put a Betta fish with other Betta's. Another name for them is Siamese fighting fish because they are, in fact, fighting fish. They will tear at one another, often causing the death of at least one fish before they stop," the woman explained.

"How can you tell the difference between males and females?" Hope asked.

"The male Betta is the one with longer flowing fins. He will flare them in the presence of most other fish. The male also has a longer and larger body. Now the female is usually smaller and much less aggressive. They also have a small white dot on their stomach behind their ventral fins, or the shorter fins on their stomachs. Another difference between male and females is their color. Males tend to be more vibrant in color."

"The red one is beautiful," Hope commented.

The woman picked up the cup and looked closely at the fish. "It's a male."

"We'll take it," Hope said. "Would you show us what kind of food to feed it?"

"Of course."

After paying for everything Hope and Ryan left the shop.

Chapter 4

While everybody was eating breakfast, the next morning Hope moved the gumball machine aquarium from her and Ryan's room to Zoe's room. She placed the aquarium carefully on the bedside table next to the lamp and stepped back to look at it. Imagining Zoe's eyes lighting up at the sight of it brought a smile to her face. She picked a stuffed toy up off the floor, put it on the bed, and then left the room. Hope went downstairs to join the others for breakfast. As she entered the kitchen, she noticed Gordon was not sitting at the table with everybody else.

"Where is Gordon?"

"He had to go to the store to pick up a few things for the cookout," Ryan answered. "Sit down and have some breakfast."

Hope pulled out a chair and sat down beside Maggie. She reached for the platter of scrambled eggs and spooned some onto her plate, a piece of sausage and a slice of toast soon followed. "After breakfast, I'm going to need some help getting the backyard ready for the party."

"Just tell us what you need done and we'll do it," William said without looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"I had the gardener remove all the rocks from the yard," Ryan said.

"That was a wise decision considering Kenny is coming," Maggie said, smiling.

"That's why I did it." Ryan picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

"Kenny is a good boy at heart," Maggie said. "He just has a hard time following the rules. It doesn't help that his father spends a lot of time on the road working. Jenny does most of the disciplining."

"If he doesn't behave today I will be more than happy to help discipline him," Ryan declared.

Hope swallowed a forkful of eggs. "You will do no such thing." She glanced at Zoe and saw the child was playing with her food. "Don't play with your food, sweetheart. If you're done eating, go wash your hands. When you're done come back."

"Okay." Zoe slid off her chair and ran from the kitchen.

"How many people are coming to the party?" Maggie asked, pushing back her chair and standing.

"Including all of us, twelve," Ryan told her. "I'm going to need Tylenol and a stiff drink."

After breakfast, Hope and Ryan escorted Zoe upstairs to her room where they showed her the aquarium. She dropped to her knees in front of it and pressed her face to the glass globe. Hope knelt beside her and kissed her head.

"Do you like him?"

Zoe nodded.

"I haven't fed him yet. Would you like to feed him?"

"Yeah," Zoe said.

Hope leaned her head back and gazed up at Ryan. "The fish food is on my dresser. Will you get it for me?"

"Sure," Ryan said.

"Thank you, love." Hope turned her attention to Zoe. "When I was four my Dad and Mom got me a fish. I named him Mr. Fishy. What should we name your fish? Every fish has to have a name."

Zoe cocked her head to one side. "Gill."

"You've been watching
Finding Nemo
again, haven't you?" Hope said.

"Yup," Zoe said.

"That's what I thought," Hope muttered. "Gill it is."

Ryan came back into the room. "This stuff stinks," he said, holding out a plastic container of food.

"Don't sniff it," Hope said dryly, taking the container from him. She slid the small door open on top the aquarium and then removed the lid on the fish food. She instructed Zoe on how to feed the fish and watched her do it. "Good job. We'll feed him again tomorrow. Now we need to go get ready for your party."

"I want to stay with Gill," Zoe said.

Ryan laid his hand on Hope's shoulder. "Go set things up. I will keep an eye on her."

Hope spent the morning decorating the backyard, with Maggie, William and Gordon's assistance. They blew up balloons, tied strings to them, and affixed them in various places around the yard. A table and chairs were set up on the large patio, next to the existing ones, for extra seating. Pink tablecloths covered the tables. Plastic cups, forks, and paper plates were placed at each setting. Hope had purchased party favors for the children. She had opted not to give them candy. The last
thing she wanted was to have four sugar-crazed children on the loose. Cake and ice cream would take care of everyone's sweet tooth.

Guests started arriving around noon. Jenny and her children were the first to show up, twenty minutes later, Harvey and Pam. While the children played on the swings and the slide, the men gathered around the grill with a beer, and the women sat at one of the tables talking.

"How's married life?" Jenny asked Pam. "Mom told me you got married a couple weeks ago."

Pam smiled. "It's wonderful being married."

"The feeling will pass," Jenny said wryly. "Give it a few years."

Hope turned her head and glanced at Ryan. He was busy flipping the hamburgers and hot dogs. "Don't listen to her, Pam. Married life is wonderful."