Keaton''s eyes went wide with pain as he yelped right there in front of everyone, "Ouch!"

    For a second, the whole family room went dead silent. Richard''s temper just shot through the roof.

    "Ouch, my ass! Did I even touch you? I''m a good ten feet away! You trying to pull a fast one on me now? If I don''t smack you into next week, I''ll call you Daddy myself!"

    Janelle''s sobs grew even louder, her voice cracking,

    "Go ahead, hit him! Try it! Hit him one more time and I swear I''ll file for divorce tonight, I mean it—"

    Mrs. Windham and Mrs. Murphy rushed in to calm things down.

    "Rich, for goodness'' sake, Harold loved his eldest grandson more than anything. Sure, those bottles of whiskey were his pride and joy, but he never let any strangers touch them!"

    "That''s right. If his own grandson drank it, Harold wouldn''t have minded at all."

    Richard was still fuming.

    "He doesn''t get to drink it unless he''s married! That whiskey wasn''t meant for him,

    it was for Harold''s future granddaughter-inw!"

    The room was filled with shouting and chaos. Winona was huddled up next to Keaton, trembling like a leaf.

    A few hours ago, she was a queen. Now she looked more like a stray kitten who''d wandered into the wrong yard.

    She barely dared to breathe, her heart hammering in her chest.

    If she''d known this was how things would go, she wouldn''t have touched that whiskey if it was thest drink on earth!

    No-if she''d known there''d be this much drama, she wouldn''t have bothered checking on Keaton at all. Let him starve!

    The only silver lining? Even though they''d seen the whiskey bottles, no one had noticed her hiding under the nket.

    The old wooden cot was jammed up against the wall in a dark corner. She was skinny enough to curl up beside Keaton and stay out of sight.

    But-

    Misfortune struck in the next heartbeat.

    Mr. Windham suddenly piped up,

    "Wait, hold on! There are two sses! Look-two whiskey sses right in front of Keaton! He didn''t drink alone. Someone else is in here!"

    Someone else...in...here...

    The words echoed around the room like a thunderp, rattling everyone to their

    core.

    The room fell eerily silent.

    Keaton, who''d been ying it cool, suddenly looked a whole lot less calm.

    Winona''s heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

    ss, ss, ss... she chanted in her mind.

    Two sses!

    God, she''d forgotten to hide the sses!

    She''d been so flustered earlier, she stashed the takeout bags behind the old family portraits, kicked the whiskey bottles under the bed against the wall, and even

    veine

    remembered to pick up the napkins off the floor... but the sses had totally slipped her mind!

    Oh God, she wanted to go home. She wanted her mom.

    The silence in that room was

    suffocating. You could pl

    hear the wax melting on the candles by the mantle.

    Every single pair of eyes was fixed on those two sses on the rickety table.

    It was obvious. Two people had been drinking.

    After what felt like an eternity, Richard finally barked,

    "Who were you drinking with?!"

    Winona''s heart was pounding so

    Worri thought she might f Shops him in the side.

    Keaton might rat her

    Keaton: "..."

    It hurts, but hell if I can show it right now!

    He pressed his lips together, biting back the pain and refusing to speak.

    Richard scanned the room, but the old house was too small for anyone to be hiding.

    He turned to Keaton again,

    "I''m talking to you! Who were you sharing Grandpa''s special whiskey with?!"

    Keaton took a breath before answering,

    "I was in here the whole time. Who else could I have been drinking with, if not them?"

    Richard nced suspiciously at the family portraits and urns. "You drinkin'' with the ancestors now?"

    Keaton: "... Yeah, I was feeling down. Figured I''d share a drink with the old- timers."

    Winona: "..."

    Ancestors? Please, let''s not!