“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Kevin.

“Of course it is,” said Kevin’s friend, tossing the football in the air and catching it in his hands. “Isn’t the point of all this to get you back on The Naughty List, after all?”

“I just…ugh,” said Kevin. “Maybe this isn’t just Naughty, but really bad. Ethan, are you sure about this?”

“Nut up, buttercup,” said Ethan. “I can get you on the list of any club or restaurant in the world — but money can’t buy you a place on The Nice List or The Naughty List.” He tossed the football to Kevin.

Tossing a football back and forth at the Clan Marron lodge was nothing new.

Tossing it back and forth in front of the Christmas tree in front of the lodge — that wasn’t normal.

“I can’t do this, man,” said Kevin. “The kids worked hard, and their ornaments are on that tree. There has to be something else we can do.”

“Hmm,” said Ethan. “Well…I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”

After hitting up the hardware store and going back to Ethan’s house to change and get supplies, Ethan and Kevin were watching a blaze go up at Clan Marron’s lodge.

Luckily, the blaze was in the lodge’s large yard, right on top of the ice-rink, formed by the shallow dipping pool getting frozen over in the winter.

Setting ice on fire was hard. That’s why Ethan and Kevin had to get some help from Ethan’s flamethrowers — a billionaire’s folly. Kevin had never used a flamethrower before — the local fire crew handled clearing out the brush every year during the hazard reduction burn — but Ethan had. Kevin had one flamethrower in his hands, while Ethan had two.

The flamethrowers made short work of the ice rink, which slowly melted down and filled the shallow manmade pool with water. Ethan went and got a hose to fill the rest of the pool up with water.

Ethan and Kevin stripped out of their clothes, wearing only the swim trunks they’d worn under their work clothes.

Ethan and Kevin got in the tiny pool. The water was warm from the flamethrowers, cooled down by the cold air and the cold water that Ethan had added to the pool to fill it up. They hadn’t just turned the ice-rink into a pool — they’d turned it into a sauna.

“I don’t think being Naughty has ever felt this good,” said Ethan. “Heck, it almost has me missing being Prancer. I can’t believe that you’ve gotten on and off of The Naughty List so many times now. You know how long it took me to get off of The Nice List? I’m jealous — but at least this sauna feels amazing.”

“Well, one thing would feel better — getting Nivek away from Stella,” said Kevin.

“I can’t believe that jerk-off is at The Wreath while you’re here,” said Ethan.

“You’re the one vacationing here,” said Kevin, raising a brow.

“I mean that he’s with your fated mate,” said Ethan, closing his eyes and sinking into the tub. “That guy was always bad news.”

“Too bad that money matters more to Stella’s family than her happiness,” said Kevin.

“So they didn’t just lose some bet?” asked Ethan. “Funny, because I could’ve sworn stock of Durphy Diapers plummeted after it turned out they made a batch with itching powder instead of baby powder.”

“So he’s not rich?” asked Kevin.

Before Ethan could answer, they were interrupted.

“Excuse me, would you two happen to know where we could find the ice rink?” asked a sweet voice.

Kevin looked. A mom, dad, and their three kids, skates in hand, were standing by them.

“You’re looking at it,” sassed Kevin.

“What the heck?” asked the dad. “What happened?”

Ethan looked at Kevin and raised a brow.

“Well…we fancied a swim, so, we melted it back down,” said Kevin.

The mom gasped.

“The kids were really looking forward to skating,” said the dad. “Guess we’ll just have to find another rink.”

The family walked away dejectedly.

“I feel like a real monster,” said Kevin. “Ahh!” Kevin cried out. The mark on his chest was changing, and it burned! The mark changed color – going from red back to green! There was a flash, and suddenly, the words read ‘Naughty’ again.

Suddenly, there was a burst of glitter, and out of nowhere, Santana Claus’ sleigh appeared on the lawn of Clan Marron.

But, the figure in the sleigh wasn’t Santana Claus.

The figure was female, with curves, and a sassy look on her face. Somehow, she looked familiar to Ethan. Next to her was a young man.

“Ethan? Ethan McLean?” asked the girl.

“In the flesh,” said Ethan.

“You did this?” asked the girl, crossing her arms.

“What can I say?” asked Ethan. “We billionaires love an excuse to pull out a flamethrower!”

“Well, get out of there so Jack can fix this up,” said the girl.

Ethan and Kevin hauled ass, getting out of the pool and quickly getting changed. The mysterious boy — Jack — waved a hand. The ice rink returned to normal, with excess water getting turned into powdery snow that Jack moved away with one wave, before forming it into a snowman.

“Morty —” started a familiar female voice.

“No, you know what, Donna? I need to say something,” said the man, presumably Morty.

Pandora quickly applied stealth magic to the sleigh to keep it out of prying eyes.

The couple came into focus. It was the man and woman from before, the couple with the disappointed kids.

“I don’t know who you two think you are, but I’ll be talking to the Clan Elders of Clan Marron about your selfish behavior, and —” rambled the man, but then, his wife tugged on his sleeve.

“Morty, look!” said Donna. “It’s filled back in!”

“That’s…that’s impossible,” said Morty.

“It’s rock solid,” said Jack. “Just…call it a little Christmas miracle.”

“Safe enough to skate on?” asked Donna.

“Absolutely,” said Jack. He walked over to the ice rink and stepped over it. It didn’t break or crack.

“Well, I’ll be,” said Morty. “I guess our kids’ day wasn’t ruined after all!”

Donna and Morty left to get their kids.

“Hey,” said Ethan, pushing Kevin with his shoulder. “Here.”

Ethan slipped something into Kevin’s pocket. Kevin reached into his pocket. There was something velvety inside his pocket. Kevin pulled the item out and opened it quickly, looked at what was inside, and pocketed it again.

“Dude,” hissed Kevin. “I can’t accept that.”

“You can use it,” said Ethan. “It’s just cubic zirconia — but it’s better than nothing. You’ve found your mate. That’s the next step — well after you claim her.”

“Let’s make this quick,” said the woman, waving a hand to make the sleigh appear once more. “For turning a kid’s ice rink into a frikkin’ sauna, you’re back on The Naughty List, Ethan.”

“And…who are you?” asked Kevin, following the woman toward her sleigh.

“You were expecting someone else?” asked the woman, getting into the sleigh.

“Yeah, Santana — the guy with the thing for red velvet and white fur, known for his sugar cookie addiction and the fact he sneaks into people’s houses and somehow, we’re all just cool with this random man sneaking into our houses on a holiday,” said Kevin. He took a passenger seat behind the woman, as shotgun was presumably already taken by her boyfriend, that ‘Jack’ guy.

“Well, I’m his kid,” said the girl. “Pandora Claus, at your — well, I suppose I’m not at your service — you’re at my service.”

“What?” asked Kevin.

“Pops doesn’t want to have to deal with this drama down at The Wreath, so I’m the one handling it now,” said Pandora. “Besides, Kevin – we need you. Somebody has to pull my dad’s sleigh during The Ride…and I don’t think Nivek’s up to the job. Boreas Winter didn’t train an extra shifter to pull the sleigh this year, and I have a feeling Donner’s rather attached to you anyway. If Krampus couldn’t get Donner out of you, well, I don’t know who can. Because you’ve been relieved of your duties by Krampus, you technically don’t have to do The Ride.”

“I’ll do it,” promised Kevin. “I made a commitment.”

“You might not be as Naughty as that mark on your chest claims,” said Pandora, raising an eyebrow. “Now, get that ass of yours in the sleigh. Jack and I have coffee waiting for us at Bear Claw Bakery, and it’s getting cold.”