Secret of the Wood

Dan's brow furrowed as he wondered what it could be. He reached up and scratched the chin of the squirrel sitting on his shoulder staring curiously at the phone and said, "Sorry, I've got to get up."

As soon as his furry friend leapt down, Dan stood up to stretch and yawn one more time. Brooke had said she was going to be busy until late today, so he still had a couple of hours to wait before he could call and ask her to come to dinner.

He was just about to start walking home when the squirrels began acting very peculiar. The animals had all focused their attention on the elm, and their tails twitched with excitement as they chattered to each other. He looked behind the tree and up into the branches, but didn't see anything unusual. A quick look around did reveal a deer peeking out from between two small pines, and a pair of rabbits near the brown remains of cattails near the pond.

The crunch of gravel from a car pulling up to Kia's house caused him to turn that way, but not before he saw the animals all scurry for cover. Another beep from his cell announced a second message from his sister. He sent her back a text letting her know that he'd gotten the message, and that he'd be there in a little while.

He closed the phone, stuck it in his pocket, and looked up to see Brooke standing at the edge of the clearing.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Kia, Brina, and her father all regarded Xantina curiously when the dryad laughed. The news Kia had delivered about seeing Brooke with the reporter was hardly a laughing matter.

The nymph rolled her eyes, stole a quick kiss from her mate, and said, "All will be well."

"But, Mom," Brina started to protest.

The elder Daniel then cocked his head as if listening for something in the distance. He nodded his head and a smile spread across his face. "I think she's right."

"What is it?" Kia asked.

"Think things are taking care of themselves," the family patriarch answered.

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Dan smiled and walked toward her. "Hey, Brooke. I thought you were..." He trailed off as he got close enough to see her clearly in the shadows of the trees and could tell that she'd been crying. "What's wrong?"

"I... I need to..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. "God, this is so hard."

He paused before reaching her, the tone of her voice causing his stomach to do flip-flops. "What is it?"

Her eyes opened again, and yet another tear streamed downward. "That day in the park..." After a brief pause, resigned resolve crossed her face and she quickly continued, "I was waiting for you."

"Okay," he responded, not understanding.

"I'm... I'm not who you think I am." She turned away, seemingly unable to look at him. "I was waiting there because someone asked me to. Benson — he asked me to try to get on the inside and find out what I could about you. About your family."

Daniel knew the reporter's name, and he could feel his heart break.

"I should have known it was wrong, but he... It doesn't matter. I should have known. I'm a fake."

"What does he want?"

"He thinks that you're embezzling or something. He... He just doesn't understand."

She turned fully away then and quickly blurted out, "There's nothing to worry about. I didn't tell him anything, because there's nothing to tell." Her voice broke up in a sob as she finished with, "I'm so sorry," and started to walk away.

Dan caught her hand before she could make her escape, and turned her back toward him. She looked down and away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I know it wasn't all an act. It couldn't have been."

"I'm a fake. I told you."

"Then why are you crying?"

"Please just let me go," she sobbed, and weakly tried to wrench away.

Daniel cupped her cheek in his hand and caught her gaze. "I don't ever want to let you go."

"But I lied to you. I spied on you."

"Doesn't matter." His smile said it far more clearly than the words ever could.

Brooke's lips parted and a little whimper passed them. Her legs seemed to lose all strength for a second, and Dan quickly wrapped his other arm around her to support her.

"If it was all an act, you never would have told me. You wouldn't be crying. I know you. The real you. Not the act. Not the popular cheerleader from school. It's you that I'm falling in love with, Brooke."

"I... I..." she sobbed, and then leaned into his chest, wrapping her arms tight around him as if afraid he might vanish if she didn't.

Dan held her close, stroking her back and hair as she cried. The animals, which had gone quiet when she arrived, returned to their unknowable conversations and songs praising the day. The wind kicked up, moving aside overhead limbs to let a brilliant beam of sunlight shine down upon the couple below. He was lost in the embrace, and had no idea how much time had passed before the squirrel jumped up on his shoulder.

The squirrel's tail tickled Brooke's face, and she looked up to laugh, tears of joy having replaced those of sorrow.

"Way to interrupt, bushytail," Dan said to the critter sitting on his shoulder.

"It's..." Suddenly, Brooke's eyes widened and she whispered, "D-dan..." He turned his head, following her startled gaze, and thought, Oh boy.

At first, he thought it was his grandmother walking out of the elm as if through a door. After the first moment of shock, he realized that there were subtle differences. The dryad's hair was a darker green, and her breasts were smaller and perkier than his grandmother's. The nymph looked around, blinking her eyes like someone who has just awakened in an unfamiliar place.

"Who... What is she?" Brooke whispered as she cowered behind him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Dan tried to comfort her as the nymph took notice of them.

The dryad started at first, but then tilted her head and regarded Dan curiously for a moment. She suddenly smiled, recognizing the aura of nature that was his birthright. "Hello. What is this place? This is not my place."

"It is now, Sister," a familiar voice sounded from the trees.

Before he could think better of it, Dan turned toward her and said, "Grandma?"

His grandfather stepped out of the trees right behind Xantina, and almost immediately darted in behind his mate to cover his nakedness when he noticed Brooke looking right at him. His cover quickly vanished as the two dryads let out simultaneous squeals of delight and rushed toward each other.

The elder Daniel chuckled nervously and shrugged his shoulders.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

"But, you said your grandparents died," Brooke remarked.

"Uhm... I actually said they were in a better place," Dan weakly explained.

"Cat's out of the bag now, Dan." He scratched his head and looked toward the two nymphs. "I'm going to have to have a little talk with your grandmother about that."

Brooke's grip on Dan's arm relaxed a little. "This is just... Wow," she said, and Dan was glad to notice that she didn't sound afraid.

"Grandma, who is she?" Dan asked, as much to break the short silence that followed as from curiosity.

"She is my sister, Xannera," Xantina said, and then nodded toward Dan.

Xannera walked over and said, "My place had become very small and stinky and loud. I was so tired and lonely, but you brought me here. This place is very nice. I like it here. Thank you."

"You're welcome, but I don't understand."

"I think I do," his grandfather offered. "That's her tree, isn't it? The one he transplanted here."

Xantina nodded. "He heard her weeping, and he helped her."

"I guess you do sort of have an ulterior motive for all the environmental stuff your family does," Brooke observed. Her voice somehow managed to convey amusement, curiosity, and just a touch of awe all at the same time.

He looked at her and said, "You okay? I know this is a lot to take in."

"You think?"

Dan echoed her smile and chuckled.

"I told you that I believe in magic. I never thought that I'd actually see it, but I really do believe in it."

Xantina gracefully glided over and let out a musical laugh. "She is very pretty, Daniel. I like her." The nymph then clasped Xannera and her mate's hands. "Come. Take our hands. Make a circle."

Dan already held Brooke's hand, so he reached for Xannera's, since she was on his side. Brooke hesitated a second when Dan's grandfather held out his hand, but after reassuring smiles from both men, she completed the circle.

"Now close your eyes," Xantina instructed.

"Do it. Trust me, your stomach will do flip-flops if you don't," the green-haired Daniel instructed.

Dan watched Brooke close her eyes, and then did the same. He snapped them back open a second later when he heard his mother say, "Mom?"

Brooke let out a gasp, which wasn't surprising, all things considered. Kia and Brina sat together on the edge of Xantina's pool, their clothing neatly piled a short distance away. The two women shared a glance, and then slipped into the pool. Though the crystal clear water did little to hide their nakedness, it was the best that they could do to reduce the shock to Brooke.

"Come meet my sister, Xannera," Xantina declared, and then dived into the pool. The other dryad was close behind.

"Uhm... My grandmother has an aversion to clothing," Dan explained to a wide-eyed Brooke.

Xantina splashed him and said, "Coverings are silly."

Dan wiped water from the perfectly aimed splash out of his eyes, and his mouth dropped wide open when he saw Brooke tossing her blouse aside.

"Dan, your eyes are as wide as saucers," his grandfather whispered to him as he passed to join everyone else in the pool.

Though he tried to heed the friendly advice, it was difficult to do with her standing right next to him in just her bra. "Brooke, you don't have to."

"He's right," his mother added as she swam up to the edge of the pool. "It takes some getting used to. You don't have to embarrass yourself to make an impression. We should probably get dressed, too. Mom will endure — though we'll probably get splashed a bit."

Xantina blew a raspberry at her daughter.

Dan bent to pick up her blouse as Brooke giggled at his grandmother's reaction, but she stopped him before he could reach it.

Her face was bright red, but she shrugged and squeezed his hand. "I take my shoes off when I go to Aiko's house, because that's what they do."

Dan's voice sounded just as nervous as Brooke's. "This is a little different. You sure?"

She nodded and lifted one foot to untie her shoe.

Another splash from his grandmother prompted Dan to pull off his now soaked shirt. His heart thundered in his chest as he tried not to stare at Brooke removing her clothing. He had a second battle going on as well — trying to stem the flow of blood rushing between his legs as Brooke revealed her body.

Dan had just pulled down his jeans when Brooke walked over to the pool and dipped in a toe. The water was perfectly warm despite the season, and the dark-haired beauty waded in a second later. The sight of her bare bottom entranced him, leaving him standing with his thumbs hooked into the waist of his boxers.

Brooke turned, her blush having spread all the way down to her chest, though she had a smile on her face. "Are you coming?"

Though he'd seen his family naked all his life, Brooke was something altogether different. Dark pink circles capped her abundant breasts, surrounding large nipples that stood stiff and erect. A neatly manicured triangle of curls adorned her mound, such a sharp contrast to the women in his family, who only had hair on their heads.

When his grandmother tugged on Brooke's hand to guide her toward the center of the pool, Dan took advantage of her glancing away to drop his boxers and hop into the pool to try to hide his swelling erection.

The elder Daniel clapped his hands to distract attention from his obviously nervous grandson and said, "Now, let's get to know each other, and see if we can't solve a few problems."

♠~~~~~∞~~~~~♠

Dan sat at the candlelit table in his sister's dining room, smiling at Brooke, having finally had the opportunity to cook her the dinner that he'd planned. Because of his family's traditional Earth Day gathering, he'd moved it up to lunch, so that the two of them could be with the rest of the family at his grandmother's pool later that day.

The last several days had been a whirlwind of activity. As soon as his grandmother had given Brooke her blessing by welcoming her, the rest of the family had forgotten any reservations that they had about the young woman. That proved quite valuable, because Brooke was able to offer a lot of help in pulling off the plan his grandfather conceived.

The family had put together a mountain of financial records from every facet of their lives, along with statements from accountants, law partners, and anyone else they could think of. They then invited Benson over to the house. Within a few minutes, the reporter had grown visibly bored with having everything he'd tried to acquire on his own dumped in his lap, only to find nothing interesting.

That's when Dan handed him a gem that took his mind off the family. With a lead to government corruption in hand and the perfect sound bite of Earth Day to present it, Benson had turned his attention to the scandal.

The initial report had aired just this morning, and the words no comment had suddenly become very popular amongst a few members of the county council. Brooke had mixed feelings about Benson acknowledging her as the person who shot the video.

The vote to sell the land was off the table for now, but Dan suspected that it would soon come back up again. His father and brother-in-law were working out how to buy the land themselves with some help from the forest preservation groups the family belonged to, in order to ensure that it never fell into Greentree's hands.

"Your sister was right. You're a wonderful cook," Brooke remarked as she sat down her glass.

"Thanks. Have I told you that you look beautiful?"

She curled a lock of dark hair around her fingertip and answered, "Oh, a dozen times today, but you can say it again if you want."

The last several days had broken down any lingering doubts that Brooke harbored about Dan's feelings for her. The couple had found several opportunities to be alone, more than a few of which she was sure that his family had purposely provided, and he hadn't once tried to take advantage of it. Though she wanted him more by the moment, the time just hadn't felt right, and she suspected that he felt the same way.

"You're beautiful."

"I hope you never get tired of saying that," she whispered as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Never," he whispered back between kisses.

"Why don't we take a walk?"

"Hmm?"

She stood up. "It's a beautiful day. Let's walk down by the pond."

He rose from his seat as well, blew out the candles, and took her hand. The sun shone bright as they stepped out onto the porch into the unusually warm spring day. Hand in hand, they crossed the yard into the woods beyond. Pine needles scrunched underfoot as they followed the trail.

"I've been thinking..." Dan said.

"About what?"

"About what I want to do with my life."

"And..?"

"I'm thinking about going into politics?"

"Why politics?"

He shrugged and said, "I don't know. I guess I just want to do something different. Maybe if I'd been on the county council, we'd have found out about Greentree sooner, and had a chance to do something about it before it got as close to a vote as it did."

She smiled and snuggled up closer to him as they crossed the old wooden bridge spanning the creek that fed the pond at his spot. "If that's what you want to do, then you'll always have at least one member of the media on your side."

There was nothing of hesitation in her voice, and that locked his decision in stone. "I'm going to go for it."

She squeezed his hand, and he didn't need any more than that to know she'd be by his side all the way down the path he'd chosen, just as she was on the path winding through the evergreens.

"Do you think she's here?" Brooke asked upon reaching the clearing by the pond.

Dan looked around and shrugged. "Don't know. She's been spending a lot of time with Grandma, trying to learn about how things have changed while she was sleeping." Xantina had revealed that her sister nymph had been in a sort of hibernation for lifetimes as the city gobbled up her forest.

Brooke led him toward the elm, stepped out of her shoes, and asked, "So what is your Earth Day celebration like?"

"It's just sort of a time for us all to catch up and be together. We have a lot of fun. It's not really all that different from any other holiday gathering."

"Except that you're all naked?"

Dan laughed as he sat down next to the tree with her. "Well, yeah, there is that, and the splashing."

"I still can't believe I took my clothes off like that. I wasn't even thinking about it until you told me that I didn't have to. It just doesn't feel strange there." She paused to laugh. "Well, not too strange. I guess it will take some getting used to."

"Yeah, Dad and Steve say that I'm lucky I never knew any different."

Brooke's lips parted slightly, and the couple came together in a kiss. Dan cradled her cheek in his hand, tingling all over from the taste of her lips and the feeling of her fingers running through his hair.

The tingle changed into a chill when her tongue slipped into the kiss. Her hand moved down from his hair to his back, and her other hand glided up his leg. Dan matched her passion, his heart beginning to race.

Brooke pulled back a little to take a breath, and rubbed her nose against his. Then she whispered, "Maybe I should get some practice."

She sat back on her knees and reached for the top button on her blouse. Naturally, his eyes followed her fingers as the first two buttons popped open, but then he looked up into her eyes. She wore a sensual smile and let her eyes drift closed for a moment when his gaze met hers. Her cheeks flushed slightly as the buttons continued to open, revealing the valley between her breasts, then her bra, and finally her tummy.

Dan stroked his hand up her side as she shrugged off the blouse, and she responded to his touch with a moan. Her breasts thrust toward him as she reached around her back to unhook the clasp of her bra. She slowly slid the straps off her shoulders, and gasped when his hand cupped the unbound globe of her right breast.

A shudder passed through her as her bra fell to the carpet of grass, leaves, and pine needles. Dan's fingers curl around the entire swell of her breast and he looked into her eyes again. She gave him just the slightest nod, and he scooted closer.

Brooke let out a sharp whimper and stiffened for a second as his thumb moved to the erect point of her right nipple, and he took the left between his lips in a gentle caress.

Her soft sounds of pleasure mingled with the birdsong, becoming a part of the symphony of nature around them. He adored her breasts with kisses, suckling the tips and teasing them with his tongue. She mussed his hair, her body slightly swaying in response to the touch of his lips. When her other hand gathered up the material of his shirt to pull it free of his jeans, he paused just long enough to pull the shirt over his head and toss it aside.

"Oh yes, Dan," she moaned when he returned to his labor of love on her breasts. Her hands roamed over his bare torso, tracing the hills and valleys of his muscles, and slipping beneath the waist of his jeans.

Dan's cock throbbed in protest against the denim constraining it, and he had to sit back to adjust his swollen member out of the uncomfortable position. Brooke's hands glided up his back to his shoulders, and she stood up in the same sexy, graceful motion.