Secret of the Wood

"Better fall back a little bit. The traffic is thinning out," she suggested.

He nodded and eased off the accelerator. "I'll trust your instincts. You're the investigative journalist."

"And I smell a story."

He chuckled, keeping his eyes on the truck and the road. A few minutes later, the truck's brake lights came on.

"I've got it," Brooke said, once again anticipating him asking her to film the truck again.

"That's councilman Trosper's driveway."

"Just pass by and don't look," she warned while keeping the camera on the truck.

Dan did exactly that, and then thumped the steering wheel once he passed the driveway where the truck had turned. "Damn. I wish we could see what's under that tarp."

"Slow down and turn up there," Brooke instructed. When he made a puzzled sound, she said, "Trust me."

Dan made the turn and started uphill.

"Pull off right at the top of the hill. There's a gravel lot there."

Dan remembered a small civil war era graveyard there, and that the lot was for it. He stopped as soon as he pulled onto the gravel, and Brooke said, "Let's go."

He had to hurry to keep up with her as she skirted along the fence surrounding the graveyard, with her camera in hand. He broke out into a wide smile when he realized that she was heading for a spot overlooking the councilman's house.

The driver of the truck had already gotten out, dropped the tailgate, and set up ramps. Councilman Trosper was standing beside the truck. As Brooke aimed the camera, the driver of the truck climbed into the bed and unhooked the ties for the tarp. A minute or so later, he whipped off the tarp.

"Looks like a brand new quad."

"It looks like a bribe to me," Brooke corrected him, her voice filled with excitement.

The couple watched and filmed as the quad rolled out of the truck. The driver and councilman shared a handshake before the former climbed back into his vehicle and drove away.

Brooke turned off the camera. "Let's get back to my car. I've got an extra thumb drive that I can copy this onto for you." She grabbed his hand and eagerly tugged to encourage him to follow.

Though excited about having something that could actually prove what he suspected about the council, it was hard to think about that with Brooke's hand in his.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

A love song played on the radio, mingling with the cascade of water as Brooke showered. Touches of exhilaration still shot through her from capturing a real story of bribery unfolding right in front of her eyes. Even though Dan had asked her to keep it under wraps until he had a chance to talk to his father, she was tempted to take it to the biggest station in the city herself.

She unconsciously hummed along with the radio, and her mind wandered to the mixture of relief and excitement in Dan's expression when she'd told him that she was free tomorrow.

She was still humming when she turned off the water and slid back the glass door, but at the moment her foot stepped on the towel outside the shower, her smiled faded.

She slapped the radio to turn it off and thought, Stupid. What are you doing?

The word stupid continued to echo in her head as she toweled dry — a self tirade berating her for falling for it again. The old pain and anger swelled up inside her, along with the memories that she'd buried so well.

She'd developed early, and abundantly. The attention had frightened her at first, and then intrigued her as she grew accustomed to it. Then, he came along and swept her off her feet.

At fourteen, she was the talk of the school. She had a boyfriend who had a car, instantly propelling her into the social stratosphere, and making the other girls green with envy any time she walked past on his arm. For a month, any time she wasn't with him was spent reliving it with her friends in whispers, giggles, and sighs. Page after page of her notebook contained different ways of signing her married name, following the wedding she'd already planned in intricate detail.

As soon as he got what he wanted in the back seat of his car, he'd moved on to his next conquest.

She'd vowed that very night to never — ever — let anyone take advantage of her that way again. The redness of her eyes from crying was gone by the next day of school, replaced by determination. She kept up appearances to maintain her social status, and had a new boyfriend within the day. Soon enough, calculating the best way to stay on top of the ladder smothered her feelings.

Right up until she'd just caught herself humming a sappy love song and grinning from ear to ear.

With a towel wrapped around her body and another wound into a turban on her head, she stalked back into her bedroom toward the phone. She had to get back in control, which meant calling Dan and telling him that she had something more important to do tomorrow.

His cell went straight to voicemail, so she tried the home phone. An exasperated sigh escaped her as she tossed the receiver onto the bed, having gotten a busy signal with her second call. Her hand slashed the air in front of her as she turned back toward the bathroom, thinking to try again after finishing getting ready for bed.

A call on her cell from Benson looking for juicy tidbits distracted her, and she ended up going to bed without making the later call.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Dan peeked in on his father again and saw him typing an instant message. He recognized the handle as his brother-in-law's, and the window filled most of the screen. Ever since seeing the video, his father had been on the phone and the computer, talking to Carson and members of his firm, trying to decide how best to utilize the evidence.

The phone rang through for the first time in hours, as both the line and the call waiting had been in use almost all evening. His father glanced at the phone and called out, "It's Kia," as he returned to typing.

"I've got it," his mother answered from the front room.

"What do you think, Dad?" Dan asked when his father sent the message and sat back in his chair.

"We'll see. At the very least, this should convince a couple of people on the council who haven't been paid off yet that getting as far away from this mess as possible is conductive to their continued political life."

"What about going to court?"

"Have to agree with my partners. This isn't quite enough. We should be able to convince the D.A. to start digging, though."

Dan could tell that his father was excited, and that was a good sign. For the first time since seeing the rape of the land in the next county, he had some real hope that the future of the land that they were fighting for wouldn't share the same fate.

Uh oh, he thought as he saw his mother walking toward him, her eyes trained on the office door, and narrowed in irritation. He stepped out of the way, knowing better than to stand in the path of an approaching storm.

Brina's voice was filled with sarcastic sweetness when she reached the door to the home office. "Oh, dear. You do know that it's after midnight, don't you? Kia was just wondering if she might possibly have her husband back at some point this evening, too. If you both don't want to spend the night camping out in the tree fort, I suggest you come to bed."

Dan could almost hear his father wincing when he replied, "Sorry, Bree. I guess we just got caught up."

Her expression softened. "I know. I feel it too."

Dan's father appeared in the doorway and turned toward him. "Good work, Dan. Be sure to tell Brooke I said so, too. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be hitting the sack? Rumor has it that you have big plans tomorrow."

"Yep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," his parents responded, and turned to walk hand-in-hand toward their bedroom.

Dan headed to his own room, but he knew that sleep wasn't going to come easily. He had too many things racing around in his head for that.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Brooke sat in the anchor's chair, reading the last of the news item on the paper that the cameraman had handed her. Other than the clothes she was wearing, she looked every bit the part.

"I'm Brook Kline, for Channel Seven News."

Dan and the crew who were there preparing for a real broadcast applauded, and Brooke's smiling face blushed bright red before she covered it with her hands and looked down for second.

"You're a natural. One take," the cameraman remarked.

The station manager laughed. "Wish it was that easy around here all the time. I'll go get you a copy."

Dan walked over to the still blushing Brooke and offered a hand. She took it and stood, her eyes locking with his for a few seconds.

"You were great," he said, his eyes lost in hers.

"Thanks."

A slightly amused cough from the cameraman snapped them back into reality. Daniel nodded toward the front of the desk and led Brooke off the set. He fended off her self-criticism until the station manager returned with the copy of the video, and capped his argument with, "You'll see for yourself when you watch this."

Daniel held out his hand to the station manager and smiled. "Thanks, James."

James took his hand and shook it. "Any time, Dan. Your Dad saved my butt in that bogus slander case. This isn't even a fraction of the thanks I owe you." He turned his attention to Brooke and nodded. "You're aiming for the right profession, I'll tell you that."

"I hope so."

"Back to work. I have advertisers to call," James said, waving as he headed back to his office.

"Let's go, so I can maybe stop blushing," Brooke said.

Dan smiled and walked her out to the car. Once he'd opened her door for her and crossed to take his own seat behind the wheel, he turned toward her and asked, "So, did you have fun?"

"Yes. I never — ever — would have guessed what you were up to." Once again, her eyes met his. "It was just... The most..."

Daniel's heart started racing as she leaned toward him. She tugged on his wrist, drawing him toward her as well. Her lips parted, and her eyes drifted closed.

The kiss was something that he knew he would remember until his dying day. Though they'd kissed at the end of the last several dates, this was something far different. Their lips met in a soft caress that only lasted a second, and then she leaned back slightly.

"Thank you," she said in a soft, shy voice, her face only far enough away to look into his eyes again.

"You're welcome."

A horn tooting startled them both, and Dan looked up to see someone driving by giving him the thumbs-up signal.

"Uhm... I guess we better get out of here."

Brooke's cheeks were once again quite flushed when she gave him an enthusiastic nod.

Back out on the road, Dan said, "I didn't really have anything else planned for the day. Is there anything you want to do?"

"Try not to be seen in public with this stupid grin on my face," she replied and punctuated it with an embarrassed laugh. "That was the sweetest, most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever done for me."

"I was hoping that you'd like it."

"I loved it."

The word love on her lips gave him chills. "So, you hungry?"

Brooke nodded. "Subway sounds good. Why don't we make a picnic of it, like we did that day horseback riding?"

Dan was quite happy to agree with that.

A short while later, the couple stepped into Dan's spot beneath the elm, subs in hand. Brooke said, "I can see why you spend so much time here. It's so beautiful, and peaceful."

Dan desperately wanted to say that she fit right in, but didn't want to sound as love-struck as he felt.

Brooke's eyes widened and she whispered, "Look at that squirrel. It's almost close enough to touch."

He held his breath, but knew he was in trouble when another squirrel skittered down the tree, its claws clicking on the bark. He fed the animals regularly, and they were completely unafraid of him. A second later, the first squirrel did exactly what he hoped it wouldn't do.

Brooke gasped when it jumped off the tree onto his shoulder.

Dan chuckled and shook his head against the squirrel's bushy tail tickling his nose. "Sorry, guys. I didn't bring any treats with me today."

"Wow. Do you think it would let me touch it?"

Seeing the wonder in her eyes sent relief flooding through him. He wasn't going to have to explain. "Maybe. He likes his chin scratched. Move slow, and let him have a sniff first, so he can get to know you."

The squirrel tensed when she tentatively reached toward it. Dan said, "It's okay. She's not going to hurt you." He then looked back at Brooke. "Move a little closer."

She raised her hand a little more, and the squirrel darted its head forward to sniff for a second. It almost immediately scrambled away to hide with only its eyes peeking up over Dan's back, and then slowly climbed back up on his shoulder toward her. After a few more seconds of hesitation, it sniffed her fingers again.

"Turn your hand palm up, slowly."

She followed his directions, and then he said, "Okay, give his chin a little scratch."

The squirrel twitched its tail as she scratched its chin, drawing a giggle from her.

From the tree overhead, the other squirrel chattered. The one on Dan's shoulder shrank back, looked up, and almost immediately leapt back into the tree. Both squirrels then climbed back up into the boughs.

Dan laughed and said, "That was his girlfriend. I guess she was feeling a little threatened."

Brooke picked a long hair from the squirrel's tail off Dan's shoulder. "You must have been a druid in a past life or something."

He nodded toward the ground, and the couple sat down on the soft carpet of forest debris. "You believe in stuff like that?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Sure. There are plenty of things we can't explain. Maybe some of it is things that we just don't understand, but I think there's magic in the world."

Little did she know that he had more than just blind faith to base that belief on.

"I've never really talked about it with anyone that much. People look at you like you're crazy."

"Not me," he said and smiled.

Brooke reached into her purse for a bottle of hand sanitizer before opening her sub. She glanced up into the tree for a second and asked, "You don't think they'll be offended, do you?"

He laughed and shook his head, taking the bottle after she was done before opening his sandwich as well.

The hours passed unnoticed as the couple sat and talked. The kiss they shared when he dropped her off at her house that evening was far longer than any previous, and left him absolutely spellbound.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Ten-year-old Glen's voice piped up from the back seat as Kia drove home from the store. "Mom, why is Uncle Dan acting so goofy?"

"He's in love, Glen."

He stuck out his tongue and declared, "Bleh."

Kia laughed, glad that her son had chosen to wait until Dan wasn't around before asking that question. Her brother had come to her — albeit reluctantly — looking for inspiration, because he'd exhausted his own ideas for dates with Brooke. She'd started with finding out what they'd done so far, and then moved on to how the relationship was coming along.

The look on his face had been priceless when she'd asked about kissing, and whether there was any tongue involved yet.

In the end, she suggested that it was time to surprise Brooke with the knowledge that he could cook — and not just on the grill. The timing was perfect, because she, her husband, and the kids would be at her mother's house having a birthday dinner for Gary. That left her house free for Dan to wine and dine Brooke.

She hoped that he'd taken her suggestion to go sit under his tree and relax when she offered to go to the store and get everything he needed — plus a few special touches. He'd been pacing and fidgeting the whole time, and she had little doubt that there would be a track worn in her floor if he was still at it.

She pulled up to the last stop sign in town and checked for traffic. When she looked to the right, her good mood evaporated, and her stomach went sour.

Kia hit a button on her phone to activate the voice dialing and said, "Mom," to make the call.

She had no idea how she was going to tell her brother that she'd just seen Brooke handing a file folder to the reporter who had been harassing the family.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Brooke handed the folder back without even looking at it. "Look, Benson, I'm telling you that there's nothing to find."

He waved the folder and said, "Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you don't smell something rotten about them. Surely you want to find out what secrets they're hiding just as much as I do. Just look at this. Look at all that land they have. They have to be embezzling from one of those environmental activists groups that they're part of."

She shook her head. "You're wrong. Nothing he's said seems the least bit suspicious."

"You've got to try harder than that if you're going to make it in this biz. Shake that tight little ass of yours and jiggle those tits, sweetheart. Once you've got all the blood out of the big head, he'll spill everything."

Brooke's skin crawled, and not just because of the way he leered at her when he said it. She'd gone into this doing exactly that, and the thought of it made her nauseous now. After all, it had worked all her life. All she'd ever had to do was bat her eyelashes and shake her booty to get her way with any man.

What Dan had done for her at the television station and the hours of sitting and talking afterward had changed all that. Despite her convictions from the night before, he'd managed to break through her armor. Part of her screamed not to be a fool, but the part that believed Dan really was what he seemed was winning.

When she was with him, she felt wonderful. When they were apart, thinking about him was like a mirror on her soul, and she was more disappointed with what it reflected about her by the moment. Her whole life felt superficial and sleazy now, and Benson standing in front of her was the perfect example of it.

"I'm not your sweetheart," she sneered, and turned her back on him, heading toward her car.

"You're making a huge mistake. This is a golden opportunity."

She tuned him out and slammed the car door. He just kept waving the file folder and talking as she started the engine, and he was still doing it as she drove away.

The golden opportunity that she'd stumbled upon had nothing to do with Benson and his offer to put in a word for her at the station. She had made a huge mistake, but it was in missing what an incredible guy Dan was just because he wasn't part of the in-clique at school.

Now, she didn't know if she could handle the guilt of having started dating him under false pretenses, in order to seize that golden opportunity. Tears welled up in her eyes as she made the decision to tell Dan everything. She just couldn't live with lying to him any longer, even if it meant losing him.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Though it had taken some time, Daniel had managed to relax as his sister had suggested. He'd actually dozed off after a short while, and a peculiar sensation awakened him.

When he came back to his senses, he realized that what he was feeling was a squirrel trying to root its way into the pocket of the jacket he was using as a pillow, while three others looked on. He yawned and said, "Hold on, you impatient little bushtails."

After distributing the peanuts he'd brought as treats for the squirrels, he stretched and reached for his cell to see what time it was. As soon as he turned it on, it beeped to signal an incoming message, startling the squirrels around him. "Sorry, guys," he apologized.

The message was from his sister. Come to Grandma's. We need to talk.