Keaton waspletely stunned.

    "Dad, seriously? Grandpa, Great-grandpa, and all the ancestors are looking down on us right now-are you for real?!"

    Richard''s voice was ice-cold. "Do it. Now."

    Keaton shouted at the top of his lungs, "You better think this through! I''m thest Huber! If you throw me out, it''s game over for the Huber family tree!"

    "You''ll be the one the old Hubers curse for eternity! You can bet they''re rolling over in their graves right now!"

    "And you, Mom! You''re just as guilty! Grandma and Great-grandma aren''t gonna let this slide!"

    Richard and Janelle''s faces were ashen, but they yelled even louder, "Out! Get him out of here—far as you can! And don''t let him step foot in this house again unless I say so!"

    The house guards, terrified, rushed to drag Keaton out-and made sure to toss him as far away from the grand front porch as they could.

    By 9 p.m., Keaton was slumped over a park bench in front of a pile of luggage, looking utterly pathetic.

    Even the stray cats nearby were meowing at him like he was one of their own.

    He never imagined there''d be a day his own parents would boot him out.

    All because he didn''t want to get married! Was that really such a crime? Seriously, talk about old-fashioned.

    It was pretty obvious now-there was no way his family wasing to his rescue. So Keaton pulled out his phone and called Tarquin Bradford for help. No answer.

    He tried Gale next. Gale picked up, but immediately started yelling,

    "You''ve got some nerve calling me! My parents are chasing me down half the block, threatening to kill me!"

    "You ratted me out for cheating-that''s real brotherly of you, Keaton!"

    "Seriously, what a privilege to know you. Thanks, man. Thanks to you and your whole damn family! Crap, they''re catching up to me—gotta go—beep beep beep..."

    Gale hung up on him.

    Keaton rolled his eyes and tried Booker.

    From the other end came Mrs. Murphy''s wailing,

    "If you bring that girl home and y daddy, your father and I will just

    drop dead! Let the whole wolle

    how you killed your parents heartbreak! Boo hoo hoo..

    Booker''s voice came on, panting,

    "Keaton, you bastard! You sold me out!"

    "You want to be some kind of anti-marriage hero? Screw you! I hope you fall

    madly in love with some girl and she doesn''t even know you exist!"

    "I hope you''re head over heels and she never gives you the time of day! I hope it makes you cry!"

    Keaton started, "Booker,e on, can you just "

    "Don''t you e on'' me! Lose my number, we''re done! I don''t even know you! Beep beep beep..."

    Booker hung up, too.

    Keaton slumped over his bench again, sighing, miserable, shivering in the night wind.

    He knew he''d sold them out, bute on-Mrs. Windham and Mrs. Murphy loved to gossip! If they''d seen Winona, who knows what rumors they''d start? Getting them out of the way was for Winona''s sake. He had to give them something juicy to distract them.

    What, was he supposed to abandon a gorgeous girl and save his buddies instead? No way. That wasn''t Keaton''s style.

    He was just about to try calling someone else when suddenly a car horn red.

    "Beep beep-"

    He looked up. A red sports car screeched to a stop in front of him.

    Winona, with her wild curls and oversized sunsses, sat in the passenger seat, staring at him in disbelief.

    Keaton felt mortified and tried to leap up, but his back screamed in pain and he broke out in a cold sweat.

    The driver jumped out. "Sir!"

    Keaton winced, his neck stiff, "Don''t touch me hurts!"

    Winona pursed her red lips,pletely at a loss for words.

    Honestly, out of all the spoiled rich kids she knew, Keaton was the only one who managed to get kicked out by his parents at thirty-after getting beat up no less.