Beneath the Mistletoe: Make-Believe Mistletoe / Christmas Bonus, Strings Attached

“You do card tricks?” Tyler asked, moving closer on his knees, and making Lucy wonder how many pairs of jeans he had worn out that way.

“I read minds,” she corrected him.

The boy snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“I suppose I’ll have to prove it.” She shuffled the cards, then fanned them in front of him. “Pick a card.”

Keeping his eyes suspiciously locked with hers, Tyler slid a card out of the middle of the deck. He looked at it quickly, then held it pressed against his chest. “You didn’t see it, did you?” he asked.

“No. I’ll close my eyes while you place the card back in the deck.” She made a production of squeezing her eyes tightly shut, laughing when Tricia placed a soft little hand over her face, just to make sure there was no cheating.

After Tyler had replaced the card in the deck, Lucy dramatically hummed and swayed, keeping her eyes locked with his while she slowly shuffled the cards in her hands. And then she pretended to psychically receive inspiration.

“Voilà,” she said, sweeping a card in an arc and then turning it toward Tyler. “You drew the three of clubs, didn’t you?”

His eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“She read your mind,” Tricia said in exasperation. “Weren’t you listening, dopey-head?”

Tyler reached out to give his sister a push. “It was a trick, stupid.”

“I’m not stupid! Mama, he pushed me.”

“Did not.”

“Did, too. Everyone saw you.”

“You know, I would have sworn I heard jingle bells outside a minute ago,” Pop murmured to his wife, making sure the children heard him.

Tricia perked up. “You did?” she asked, forgetting the quarrel.

“Could’ve been the wind,” he answered. “But you never know on Christmas Eve.”

Tricia ran to the window to look out into the cold darkness. Tyler sighed gustily. “Santa doesn’t know we’re here, remember?”

Bobby Ray shook his head. “Oh, I don’t know. Santa’s a pretty smart guy.”

“That’s right,” Pop agreed. “Remember the song?”

He launched into the opening of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” urging the others to join in. Despite her warning to the others about the quality of her singing, Lucy sang along. She wasn’t really awful, she figured—just not solo quality. She noticed that Banner even sang a few lines, though so softly she couldn’t hear if he could carry a tune or not.

She knew he had planned to spend this evening alone with his dog, but she suspected that he wasn’t particularly sorry his plans had changed.

After another couple of songs, Joan announced that it was time for her children to brush their teeth and get ready for bed. Carrying flashlights to guide their way, they told everyone good-night and headed out of the room.

Tricia paused in the doorway, turning to say in her clear little voice, “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.” And then she giggled and turned to run after her family.

“Isn’t she a precious little thing?” Miss Annie murmured.

“She is a cutie.” Pop turned back to Lucy. “Let me see that card trick again. I don’t think I watched closely enough the first time. Didn’t see how you managed it.”

“Watch as closely as you like. You won’t see how I do it this time, either,” she bragged, shuffling the deck as she walked toward his chair.

“I want to see this, too.” Bobby Ray walked over to stand behind Pop’s chair, his gaze focused on Lucy’s hands.

By the time she had performed the trick twice for Pop and once for Bobby Ray, the men had to concede that they had no idea how Lucy knew which card they had chosen each time.

“I read your mind,” she teased, quoting Tricia. “Weren’t you listening, dopey-heads?”

Everyone laughed—except Banner, who stood and turned toward the kitchen. “I think I’ll go out to the workshop and bring some things onto the back porch.”

Lucy knew he meant the children’s gifts. They would be easily accessible on the back porch once they knew the children were sound asleep. “I’ll help you,” she said, laying the deck of cards on a table.

“You need me to come with you?” Bobby Ray asked.

“No, we can handle it,” Banner replied, already on his way.

Bobby Ray picked up the cards and looked at Pop. “Want to join me in a game of candlelight gin rummy?”

“I believe I will,” the older man said, scooting his chair closer to the coffee table.

Miss Annie’s knitting needles were already clicking again when Lucy left the cozy room in Banner’s wake.

Lucy had donned her coat and cap, but she still shivered when she stepped outside. She knew the temperature was only in the low thirties, but it felt colder. It was pitch-dark outside without the security lamps, and she had to aim her flashlight carefully to guide her steps.

“You okay?” Banner asked over his shoulder.

“Just lead the way.”

It was dark in the workshop, of course, but a little warmer than it was outside, since there was still some heat radiating from the woodstove. Banner turned his flashlight to one side of the door, where he had left the children’s gifts. “There they are. You grab one bag, and I’ll take the other. I’ll come back for whatever is left over.”

“This is sort of fun, isn’t it? I’ve never done the Santa Claus thing before.”

She didn’t know how to interpret the grunt he gave her in reply.

She tried again to draw him into a conversation. “I think everyone had a lovely Christmas Eve. The children seemed happy when they went off to bed.”

Banner hefted bags, choosing the lightest one to hand to Lucy. “I think they were kept entertained.”

“I was really impressed by the way you recited the poem. I’ve tried to memorize it a couple of times, but I can never remember all the reindeer names.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t do card tricks. Or advanced math calculations.”

Something in his tone made her frown. Did it bother him that she was a mathematics professor? She had met a few guys who were intimidated by her degree, but she wouldn’t have thought Banner was the type. He seemed to have plenty of self-confidence, but she didn’t doubt that he was a master at hiding any insecurities he might have.

It seemed the more time she spent with him, the more questions she had about him.

She wished she knew exactly why he had become so reticent. She missed the camaraderie she had shared with him earlier, what little there had been. But he seemed to have started drawing back even before the discussion about careers.