Grace lifts her phone and yells,“I’m so tagging you on socials!”
That’s all it takes. The whole family joins in, bad accents, off-key chaos, clapping wildly on the wrong beats. It’s a disaster. It’s perfect.
And it’s exactly the kind of memory Christmas Eve is supposed to make.
Grace practically leaps to her feet, eyes sparkling with mischief.“Okay, okay, my turn. Penny, Summer, come on.” She crooks a finger at us like a ringmaster calling her performers.
Penny and I exchange a look.
Uh-oh.
But Grace is already scrolling through the karaoke list, humming dramatically until she finds it. The first bright, jangly notes of“Underneath the Tree”blast through the speakers.
“Oh, we’re doing this,” Penny says, grinning.
“Apparently,” I laugh, and Grace shoves mics into our hands before striking a pose like she’s auditioning for a girl band.
We jump straight into the song, loud, energetic, definitely not Mariah-level but full of chaotic confidence. Grace is belting like she’s headlining a world tour.
And then, of course, Penny and I do what any troublemaking women would do with microphones and an audience.
We sway.
Slowly. Dramatically. Directly toward our men.
Penny sashays over to Cas, running a teasing hand down his chest. His face goes red enough to blend in with every decoration in the room.
I strut toward Ethan, hips swinging, singing right into his face. He’s grinning at me like I’ve just hung the moon, eyes burning with amusement and something warmer.
The room erupts.
Dex wolf-whistles.
Jace yells,“Work it, ladies!”
Jude grunts what might be a laugh, or a cough, hard to tell.
Josh and Lily clap like proud parents at a school play.
And Grace, still singing her heart out, spins between us like a backup dancer who finally got her moment to shine.
By the time we hit the last note, the entire family is cheering, the lights are twinkling, and it feels like pure, ridiculous, magical Christmas madness.
Exactly the way I like it.
Ethan
The living room still looks like Santa’s workshop exploded, but now it’s twice as loud. Everyone’s gathered around the giant makeshift table we dragged into the center of the room, bowls of numbered tiles in front of us and a pile of ridiculous one-dollar gifts in the middle.
Dex insisted on wrapping each prize in an absurd amount of duct tape, so every package looks like it survived a tornado.
Jace grabs the karaoke microphone from earlier and flicks it on. It squeals. He clears his throat dramatically.
“RAFFLE TIME!” he announces like a rodeo MC, drawing out every syllable.“Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up your jingle bells,’cause we’re about to YEEHAW into the Christmas spirit!”
Mia squeals beside Summer, already bouncing in her tiny snowflake pajamas.
God, that kid’s smile could power the whole ranch.
