Page 108 of In It to Win It

Grandpa frowns and gives Jackie an up-and-down look. “She looks just like Jenny.”

“He’s not wrong,” I murmur to Everly.

She chokes on a laugh. “Nope.”

“Well, at least you’re not dating your brother’s girlfriend,” Grandpa says to Harrison.

Zing.Yes, I felt that burn.

Just why I didn’t want to come. That’s probably the first of many.

We’re all distracted at that moment by a loud bang and sizzle in the corner of the living room. The women scream and the men shout.

“What the hell?” Grandpa yells.

My gaze falls on Byron just lowering his leg at the tree. Smoke drifts around him.

“Fire!” Riley cries.

“Oh my God!” Mom and Chelsea squeal.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Dad shouts.

“Oh my Christ.” I rush over to Byron and spy the puddle. “Byron!”

His head goes down.

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JP

“Isn’t he housebroken?”Everly asks.

“Of course he is!” Wait, I’m shouting at her. I don’t need to shout at her. “He must just be confused because this is a different place. This tree is real. Mine is fake.”

I drag him away by the collar. Chelsea rushes up with a roll of paper towels, which I take from her. She doesn’t have to clean up my dog’s messes.

Wait. He’s notmydog.

Whatever.

Chelsea stares at the tree, now dark. “Oh dear.” She bites her lip, gathering up the wet tree-skirt.

The tree is a masterpiece of design, wound with shimmery silver ribbons, laden with gold and silver ornaments, flowers and feathers. Without the million little white lights, and a wisp of smoke drifting around it, it still looks nice, but . . . “Sorry,” I mutter.

“Not your fault.” She pats my arm. I appreciate her manners. She probably wants to stab me and kick Byron outside.

After I clean up the mess, I sit in a chair in the corner of the room, still gripping Byron’s collar. He sits happily on the floor, leaning against my legs. Hard to be mad at the guy.

“Well, it’s not Christmas unless something bad happens,” Everly says. She turns to her brothers, Noah, Asher, and Harrison. “Remember the year you guys snuck into my room and stole my training bras and panties and hung them on the tree?”

They all laugh. “Yeah, that was good.”

“You weren’t laughing when I hung your tighty whities there too.”

“That was an unusual tree,” Chelsea says, smiling. “I laughed so hard.”

“Then there was the year I tried a new potato recipe,” Mom says. “Théo refused to eat it. He was so upset that it wasn’t just plain mashed potatoes, he had a temper tantrum and locked himself in his bedroom. We ate Christmas dinner without him.”

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