All I Want for Christmas

By Paul Alan Fahey

Thinking with his head and not his heart is an occupational hazard for Professor Leland Hansen. He does fine as a researcher dealing with statistics and experimental designs and guiding doctoral students through the dissertation process. But affairs of the heart are another matter. Leland teaches at a small, religious college in New England, and the anxiety of losing his position over his lifestyle eventually causes a painful breakup with the one true love of his life, Cliff Emerson.

When Cliff calls a few weeks before Christmas to announce he’s getting married, Leland accuses him of dredging up the past and their conversation ends badly. As time grows short, Leland sets out to win Cliff back, though he fears he may already be too late. Will they reunite at Christmas or will Cliff be lost to him forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781611528497

Paul Alan Fahey

Paul Alan Fahey, author of the writer’s resource, The Short and Long of It, and the Lovers and Liars gay wartime romance series, is also edited the 2013 Rainbow Award-winning nonfiction anthology, The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, & Moving On. For more information, visit paulalanfahey.com.

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All I Want For Christmas

By Paul Alan Fahey

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2015 Paul Alan Fahey

ISBN 9781611528497

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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To my husband, Bob, who truly thinks with his heart.

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All I Want For Christmas

By Paul Alan Fahey

Ethan Allen University, VT—December 5

Professor Leland Hansen sat in his office shuffling papers. He had difficulty settling down and had been in a foul mood ever since he arrived home from the conference. The train leaving Albany had been late and almost every seat occupied and packed with holiday shoppers. How he hated the holidays.

The conference had been a bust, and he’d felt guilty taking time away from his doctoral students to hear a bunch of liberal educators push touchy-feely strategies—ones they’d already tried at Ethan Allen U; they hadn’t worked then and wouldn’t work now.

In one of the conference sessions, Leland had laughed out loud when someone suggested student brown bag lunches with faculty. EAU students mostly ate alone or in small groups. There was a definite line between students and faculty that was rarely, if ever, crossed and he liked it that way, thank you very much.

In Leland’s opinion the doctoral program was sink or swim; it was Darwinism in action. Not everyone was cut out for the four-year commitment and that’s the way it should be.

Lyrics to a melancholy song rushed back to him, one about train trips, lost loves, winding streams, moonlight, and cars parked under stars. He pushed himself up and walked over to the window. Everything about winter and the holidays reminded him of Cliff.

At just over six feet, Cliff was tall and lanky with an easy smile and an optimistic attitude. Leland closed his eyes and there he was: Cliff leaning against