The Mistletoe Phenomenon (2 page)

Before he knew what was happening he was standing in the corner Jakob had pointed at, the bunch of mistletoe overhead looking like a small forest. Lance slid his arms up around Magnus's neck and leaned in, lips temptingly parted.

Oh, what the hell. He put his arms around the other man and bent down.

Brushing Lance's lips with his, he moved them back and forth until Lance sighed and opened up. He slid his tongue 11

The Mistletoe Phenomenon

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along the full red lips as heat pooled low in his belly. Giving in to the need to explore, he slipped his tongue all the way inside. Soft, warm, and sweet, the kiss quickly deepened when Lance's tongue moved hesitantly to play with his. Back and forth they chased each other until the need for air made him stop.

"Wow." Lance stepped back, eyes shining.

"Uhm." He was glad for the distance or Lance would have noticed how hard he was. From a kiss! Was there something to this mistletoe legend after all? If so, it was a phenomenon worth closer study.

"Yeah." Lance smiled. "So, what did you think?"

"Think?" When exactly would he have had time to think?

"Yes, think. You've never kissed anyone under mistletoe, right?" Lance grinned. "So, was it different?"

"I- I think so." Could he sound any more stupid? "But it's really too early to tell."

"It is?" Lance's eyebrows went up.

"Yeah, I need more data—I mean experience—to be able to judge." Magnus knew he wanted this man around, irrational though that was. "So I have a proposition for you.

How about helping Jakob and me pick out everything we need for a perfect Christmas and then helping us set up the house when we move in on Monday?"

* * * *

The Mistletoe Phenomenon

by Serena Yates

when he'd told him that Lance was going to help them decorate the house. The two of them had raided the store's shelves while Katie had stood by with a smile on her face.

He'd just stood there, contemplating the change that had made Jakob so happy.

They'd ended up leaving the two large boxes at the store because they wouldn't fit into their small room at the bed-and-breakfast next door. On Saturday, they got a first look at the National Park—with Lance in tow because Jakob had asked. Magnus's new place of work had made him feel at home. Magnificent views of the Grant Teton range and some of the glaciers he was going to study had reassured him that all was not lost for his career.

Now it was Sunday, and he'd taken Jakob to the National Elk Refuge a few miles out of town. The tour in a horse-drawn sleigh had allowed them to admire the magnificent animals from a safe distance. They'd both enjoyed the cold weather, and he'd shared his observations about the ice and snow around them with a very interested Jakob. It was now time for lunch and they were headed back into town in his new snow-safe SUV.

"Why didn't Lance come with us today?" Jakob sounded sad.

"We didn't ask him." Magnus had wanted to, though. There was just something so easygoing about the other man.

"Why not?" Jakob frowned.

"I don't know." Magnus shook his head. Was it fear of the emotional entanglement?

"That's a stupid reason." Jakob pouted.

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Magnus grinned. The boy was right; not knowing wasn't a reason at all.

"He's nice, isn't he?" Jakob wasn't giving up.

"Yes, he is." Magnus blushed remembering the kiss. More than nice.

"Can we have lunch with him? Please?" Jakob sounded hopeful.

"He might be busy." Magnus hoped not. "But we can go by the store and check."

An hour later they'd dragged Lance out of the shop, a laughing Katie assuring them that she and her fiance Adam were more than capable of handling everything. Lance had recommended a small family-owned restaurant with a tiny dining room.

"So, what did you guys do this morning?" Lance leaned back in his chair after they'd given the waitress their food orders.

"We went to the elk refuge." Jakob's eyes lit up. "There was a sleigh ride outside and a great exhibit at the visitor center. But the best part was Uncle Magnus telling me about all the different types of ice and snow around us."

"Sounds like you had a great time." Lance smiled.

"Yeah, we did. But we missed you." Jakob used his big blue eyes on Lance and Magnus could see the man melt.

"I'm sorry you missed me." Lance shrugged. "But I had to work."

"Why?" Jakob tilted his head. "Katie said she was okay on her own."

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"She did. But only because Adam is there this afternoon."

Lance took a sip of his soda. "And I do have to work, you know? I already took yesterday off to be with you."

"I hate that." Jakob huffed.

"What?" Lance looked puzzled.

"Adults always have to work. And then they can't be with me." Jakob closed his eyes, his voice all soft. "And sometimes they don't come back."

Shit. There it was again. Jakob's fear of being abandoned after his parents had died on a work-related flight was to be expected, but how to deal with it?

"Yeah, sometimes they don't." Lance took one of Jakob's hands in his, elegant fingers caressing the boy's. "But they still have to make money, right?"

"I guess." Jakob nodded.

"And some adults, like doctors, have important jobs because they help others." Lance watched the little boy carefully. "They can't just stay at home, right?"

"My mom was a nurse." Jacob looked at Lance, eyes widening. "Does that count?"

"Yes, Jakob, that definitely counts." Lance smiled as Jakob perked up.

"So sometimes the job's so important that it's worth taking a risk?" Jakob's eyes were luminous.

"That's right. It still hurts that your mom isn't coming back. But that's okay because she was your mom." Lance gripped Jakob's hand tightly as the boy nodded, a relieved smile on his face caused by new understanding.

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How had Lance done that? How had he known what to say? And how would Magnus keep Lance around to help him deal with the next problem?

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The Mistletoe Phenomenon

by Serena Yates

Lance arrived at Magnus's house with two large dishes of homemade casserole and another with pre-baked rice pudding in the trunk of his beat-up car. It had been Jakob's idea to have him bring lunch, which had embarrassed Magnus to no end. Apparently the man was no good in the kitchen.

Not that he'd have needed that skill to become one of the best glaciologists around, at least according to the articles about him available on the internet.

Parking on the driveway next to Magnus's SUV, Lance admired the ranch-style house with its covered porch that wrapped around the house from the double-car garage, to what looked like a sizeable garden in the back. Bright yellow window and door frames contrasted with the darker wood of the house.

The moving van parked on the curb was almost empty.

Two large and burly men dressed in blue coveralls opened the front door.

"Hi." Lance got out of the car and opened the trunk.

"Ready for lunch?"

"If you're offering, sure." One of the men grinned and helped him with the food, while the other returned to the van, took two boxes, and vanished back into the house.

Lance followed his helper inside and was pointed straight through the foyer to the living room in the back of the house and the kitchen. Passing what looked like a home gym and the dining room, he made his way there. Despite all the boxes 17

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it already looked more like a home than Lance's tiny studio apartment.

"Hey, I'm glad you could make it." Magnus had been hanging framed black and white photographs of—what else—

glaciers in the living room and came over to greet him, closing the door to the foyer and the cold air coming in from outside on his way.

"No problem. I love cooking, so this is no hardship." Lance put the dishes on the work surface next to the oven to shake Magnus's hand. "They'll take a few minutes to re-heat and then we can feed the hungry masses."

Magnus took his hand, making it tingle. With a shy smile he pulled Lance with him until they stood next to the door.

With his free hand Magnus pointed up to where a small bundle of mistletoe had been attached to the wooden frame.

"Jakob is upstairs. The movers are busy carrying all my boxes with books up there." Magnus grinned and stepped closer. He looked slightly uncertain but opened his arms in a clear invitation. "We've got a few minutes to ourselves and I'd like to spend them exploring the mistletoe phenomenon in more depth."

"Mistletoe phenomenon?" Lance almost giggled; that was too cute. He leaned into Magnus's chest and lifted his head for a slow exploration of lips and mouths that made them both pant within seconds. Something about the intriguing mix of slightly-awkward-scientist and wildly-attractive-man just did it for Lance, and he sighed when they parted to get some much needed oxygen. Magnus held on to his hands as they looked into each other's eyes.

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"Hm, it seems to work here as well or better than in the store." Magnus looked serious, but his lips twitched. "I think I still need more data before I can draw any valid conclusions."

"I'll be happy to help." Lance's heart was still beating faster than normal. He'd never been one for experiments before, but this was different.

"There are several more locations in the house set up for exploration." Magnus grinned and gently squeezed his hand.

Jakob chose that moment to noisily come down the stairs and burst through the living room door.

"Hi Lance." Jakob looked up at him chewing his lower lip.

"Hi Jakob." Lance smiled and opened his arms, almost falling over backwards when the boy barreled into him.

Magnus watched their hug with a wistful expression.

The hungry movers helped them finish off the food before clearing out the van and left after Magnus signed for receipt of his stuff. Jakob was helping Lance load the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.

"Oh, our first visitors!" Jakob ran out of the kitchen, Lance following more slowly.

A pudgy man in a dark suit with a tie stood next to a mousy-looking woman with dark blonde hair done up in a bun.

"Uncle Brian? Aunt Nancy?" Jakob had stopped in his tracks.

"Hello, Jakob." Brian squinted at Jakob through large horn rimmed glasses. "I hope you are well?"

"I'm okay." Jakob inched towards Magnus in the other corner and took his hand.

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"Why are you here?" Magnus hadn't moved from his spot or invited them in.

"Is that any way to greet your sister-in-law's brother and his wife?" Brian shook his balding head. "We've come all the way from Florida and you won't even ask us inside?"

"I didn't invite you. We've never gotten along before. You made life very difficult for me during the reading of the will with those accusations." Magnus fisted his hands, his shoulders tense. "I don't understand why you'd want to see me after that. We're very busy, so unless you can give me a reason for being here, I'll ask you to leave."

"You have no manners. Not that a cold-blooded scientist with no social skills like you can be expected to have any."

Nancy's voice was shrill, red blotches appearing on her pale cheeks. "We only have the child's best interests at heart.

Staying with someone who has dubious parenting credentials and has dragged him out into the middle of nowhere isn't it."

"If this is about me being appointed Jakob's guardian then I have nothing further to say to you." Magnus glared at them.

"Are they going to take me away from you?" Jakob's eyes were big.

"No!" The word came out as a bark and made Jakob flinch.

God, what a mess. Lance looked from one to the other, the palpable tension making him cringe. But he was a total stranger with no right to say anything so he made himself shut up. It was hard.

"Now, look here." Brian drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't very much compared to Magnus's massive frame. "I'm the boy's uncle just as much as you are. Just 20

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because my deluded sister and her crazy husband chose you as his guardian doesn't mean we have to accept that arrangement. It's so obviously wrong to have someone who has no experience with children take care of a young boy that we urgently need a better solution."

He was calling Jakob's parents idiots in front of the little boy? What sort of a man did that? Jakob had gone very pale and was clasping Magnus's hand so hard that his knuckles had gone white. Magnus didn't seem to notice.

"On top of all that, it's not right to let the child grow up without a mother's influence." Nancy's slim frame was shaking with anger. "What we offer is a normal home in an area with excellent schools and lots of boys and girls his own age from good families. None of which you can give him out here at the back of beyond. What were you thinking, moving the child to a godforsaken place like this? Hasn't he suffered enough with his misguided parents making him live in a deprived and primitive place like Nairobi, Kenya?"

A few tears had appeared on Jakob's cheeks. Enough was enough. Magnus obviously didn't understand the effect this was having on his nephew. Lance couldn't let them go on like this anymore.

"Excuse me." He swallowed when three adults' eyes turned on him, none of them too friendly. "Do you think you could take this argument into the living room while I take Jakob upstairs? I don't think he needs to be exposed to all this uncivilized bickering, do you?"