His
heart said yes.
He’d never realized this before and wasn’t sure he liked
it. It wasn’t like they could get married in Wyoming. Even
living together like they did was slightly risky. So far, all
they’d gotten was a few stares and some nasty comments.
But if anything happened to Magnus, Jakob would be on his
own since joint adoption by gay parents still wasn’t possible
in Wyoming.
Something needed to change. Maybe it was a good thing
that Sigrid had given them this wake-up call. One thing was
clear. He wasn’t just going to give up. In fact, he couldn’t
believe that he’d run away again—just like he’d left for his
parents’ house when there’d been a misunderstanding before
Christmas. Apparently this behavior was so ingrained that it
was hard for him to react differently. He’d have to work on
that, and he was going to start as soon as the festivities were
over.
For now, there was a beautiful sunny day outside and a
solstice celebration to attend.
When Jakob woke up a few minutes later, they got
dressed, packed their bag, and left it with the concierge while
they went to have breakfast in the large restaurant. The
buffet carried every breakfast dish Lance had ever seen, plus
a few more that looked uniquely Swedish. Lance recognized
The Solstice Mistletoe Effect | Serena Yates
97
some of them from the cookbooks he had studied, but others
looked really different.
Lance left the bag in the hotel because he didn’t want to
carry it around all day. He could always come back for it
later. It took them about fifteen minutes by taxi to reach the
entrance to the park. The lines were unbelievable, but they
joined in good spirits. Jakob seemed excited, and it looked
like Lance had made the right decision. This distraction was
just what they both needed.
MAGNUS felt like he hadn’t slept at all. In reality, he’d
probably managed about two or three hours, but that wasn’t
enough to make him feel rested. He’d missed Lance too
much to feel comfortable in their bed. Breakfast without him
and Jakob wasn’t any fun either. His parents were
uncharacteristically quiet, not a big surprise after last
night’s fight followed by this morning’s shock at discovering
that Jakob was gone.
They’d even dared suggest that Lance had abducted
Jakob. Calling the police had been totally out of the question
for Magnus, and he’d told his parents so in no uncertain
terms. His father had flat-out refused to accept that Magnus
himself was really responsible for Lance leaving. His mother
had started to look thoughtful when Magnus explained.
After much back and forth, they’d finally had to accept
that Magnus, as Jakob’s legal guardian, was ultimately in
charge of the decision. The last thing Magnus wanted was to
get the police involved. Lance hadn’t abducted Jakob; he’d
never do something like that.
The Solstice Mistletoe Effect | Serena Yates
98
Magnus sipped his coffee while he tried to figure things
out further. One thing had become abundantly clear during
the quiet hours of the night. Magnus had made a major
mistake when he didn’t react quickly enough to protect
Lance, not to mention Jakob, against Sigrid’s attack. He’d
been way too preoccupied with considering her proposal’s
impact on his own life. He should have realized much earlier
how her words affected Lance and even Jakob. His nephew
had clearly not liked her—and who could blame him, after
the way she’d threatened to send him to boarding school?
His mistake of not putting his family first had cost him.
For the moment, there was still hope that Lance and Jakob
would return. But what if they didn’t? What if he couldn’t
find them? What if he found them, but they didn’t want to
live with him anymore?
“You’re trying to figure out how to find Lance, aren’t
you?” His mother’s voice was soft but reminded him that he
wasn’t alone in the room.
“Of course I am!”
heart said yes.
He’d never realized this before and wasn’t sure he liked
it. It wasn’t like they could get married in Wyoming. Even
living together like they did was slightly risky. So far, all
they’d gotten was a few stares and some nasty comments.
But if anything happened to Magnus, Jakob would be on his
own since joint adoption by gay parents still wasn’t possible
in Wyoming.
Something needed to change. Maybe it was a good thing
that Sigrid had given them this wake-up call. One thing was
clear. He wasn’t just going to give up. In fact, he couldn’t
believe that he’d run away again—just like he’d left for his
parents’ house when there’d been a misunderstanding before
Christmas. Apparently this behavior was so ingrained that it
was hard for him to react differently. He’d have to work on
that, and he was going to start as soon as the festivities were
over.
For now, there was a beautiful sunny day outside and a
solstice celebration to attend.
When Jakob woke up a few minutes later, they got
dressed, packed their bag, and left it with the concierge while
they went to have breakfast in the large restaurant. The
buffet carried every breakfast dish Lance had ever seen, plus
a few more that looked uniquely Swedish. Lance recognized
The Solstice Mistletoe Effect | Serena Yates
97
some of them from the cookbooks he had studied, but others
looked really different.
Lance left the bag in the hotel because he didn’t want to
carry it around all day. He could always come back for it
later. It took them about fifteen minutes by taxi to reach the
entrance to the park. The lines were unbelievable, but they
joined in good spirits. Jakob seemed excited, and it looked
like Lance had made the right decision. This distraction was
just what they both needed.
MAGNUS felt like he hadn’t slept at all. In reality, he’d
probably managed about two or three hours, but that wasn’t
enough to make him feel rested. He’d missed Lance too
much to feel comfortable in their bed. Breakfast without him
and Jakob wasn’t any fun either. His parents were
uncharacteristically quiet, not a big surprise after last
night’s fight followed by this morning’s shock at discovering
that Jakob was gone.
They’d even dared suggest that Lance had abducted
Jakob. Calling the police had been totally out of the question
for Magnus, and he’d told his parents so in no uncertain
terms. His father had flat-out refused to accept that Magnus
himself was really responsible for Lance leaving. His mother
had started to look thoughtful when Magnus explained.
After much back and forth, they’d finally had to accept
that Magnus, as Jakob’s legal guardian, was ultimately in
charge of the decision. The last thing Magnus wanted was to
get the police involved. Lance hadn’t abducted Jakob; he’d
never do something like that.
The Solstice Mistletoe Effect | Serena Yates
98
Magnus sipped his coffee while he tried to figure things
out further. One thing had become abundantly clear during
the quiet hours of the night. Magnus had made a major
mistake when he didn’t react quickly enough to protect
Lance, not to mention Jakob, against Sigrid’s attack. He’d
been way too preoccupied with considering her proposal’s
impact on his own life. He should have realized much earlier
how her words affected Lance and even Jakob. His nephew
had clearly not liked her—and who could blame him, after
the way she’d threatened to send him to boarding school?
His mistake of not putting his family first had cost him.
For the moment, there was still hope that Lance and Jakob
would return. But what if they didn’t? What if he couldn’t
find them? What if he found them, but they didn’t want to
live with him anymore?
“You’re trying to figure out how to find Lance, aren’t
you?” His mother’s voice was soft but reminded him that he
wasn’t alone in the room.
“Of course I am!”
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