Published: 23 Jun 2022
From Previous Chapter:
As the boys talked, they saw Mr. Ken and Mark drive out of the estate. They knew they were going over to the hospital to visit with the boy’s parents and hopefully Billy. Many of the boys hoped they’d be home before they had to go home themselves.
The boys then went back to either skating, playing the games or swimming. Some of the boys even went out on the WaveRunners and a few asked Russell to take them out on the towing tube. When two o’clock came, the barbeque team would burn the burgers and dogs and they’d all eat. Then, after that, they all went back to doing what they were doing.
As the two Covers drove to the hospital, the truck was very quiet inside. Both travelers were lost in their own thoughts. Mr. Ken wondered what the addition of Mark to The Cove was going to have on the boys and the rest of their summer. Mark was wondering about all of the different things he’d seen at The Cove.
Eventually, Mr. Ken got Mark’s attention.
“Mark … you are probably overwhelmed with everything that has happened to you in the past two days … and you probably won’t settle down with it all until you know more about your parents and their recovery.
“I’ll try to get more information about them today, so you can sleep better knowing they will be OK. Do you have any questions for me?” finished Mr. Ken.
Mark looked at his foster dad. He had lots of questions he wanted to ask, but he just didn’t know what he could ask. The boy just sat there.
Mr. Ken saw the look on the boy’s face and knew the gears were working inside his mind. He figured he needed to start the conversation in order to pull the boy out of his bewilderment. The man figured once he got the boy to talk to him, he’d be able to calm him down and lessen any fears he may have at the time.
“Mark … I never had the time to orient you to The Cove due to the circumstances that brought you to live with me and my ‘boys’. I usually tell my new foster son that they had two weeks to decide if they wanted to remain living with me at The Cove. I figured after two weeks you’d either like it there or … or they’d want to go to a less active home.
“Also … when things get settled, you will be responsible for Chief. I think I already told you that, but you need to understand that Chief is an integral member of our household and she can’t feed or get fresh water for herself. That’s where you come in. All the boys have taken on that responsibility, when they first arrived.
“Another thing I want you to know is … that if you have a question that concerns your ‘brothers’ or your eventual friends, you can always pull me aside and ask. We never ask in front of them, because you have no idea what I have planned. Even if we talked in the Study, there still might be something that I am keeping back for another time.
“And, I am sure you know my stance on illegal drugs. Mark … so, if you make friends with someone and you suspect they are using illegal drugs, or they may be abusing legal drugs, you aren’t to invite them to The Cove. Also, you can also ask your new ‘brothers’ to tell you about the other Rules we have at The Cove.
“Of course, anytime you want to invite someone here, you need to give me, or Mr. Wayne, if I am gone, their name, not their nickname, and home phone number, not their cell phone number. I want a home number in order to talk to their mom or dad. It usually takes me about two days to decide if you can invite them here. The reason for that is, again, I might be busy with something else. OK?” asked Mr. Ken.
Mark thought about what his foster dad just told him, and then asked, “What about my friends coming this weekend for a picnic?”
“Well, that is different. They will be here just for the day. It is the friends you might want to come back day after day as your ‘brothers’ friends do, that I want to know more about them. Does that answer your questions?” replied Mr. Ken.
Mark sat there and thought he’d ask a question that was bothering him since Mr. Ken mentioned it earlier. “Mr. Ken … you mentioned earlier that the boys … that they don’t go outside the estate to ride their bikes. Ahh, why … why don’t they?”
“Ahhh, Mark … ahhh, I’m not too sure if I can adequately answer that question for you,” began Mr. Ken, when he was interrupted by his new foster son.
“Is that because of those guys trying to kidnap Kevin and Kyle and Matthew?” quickly asked Mark.
“So, your ‘big brother’ … he, ahh, told you about that?” the man asked back.
“Well, he did some, but my dad … he googled your name and then … and then he had me and my mom do the same thing. So, I read about some of the things that happened at The Cove. Is that why you have the guards there?” asked Mark, turning the onus back on the foster dad.
Mr. Ken smiled at the response, and then told the boy a little more about the reason for the guards and why the boys don’t ride their bikes, or go outside The Cove. Mark then asked about getting a locker up at the Pavilion. Mr. Ken told the boy to remind him after dinner, and he’d make sure he got one and the Cove Skate Park gear, too. Mark smiled at hearing that.
As the two drove along, they talked more about the boy’s parents, and Billy, and their injuries. It was during that drive that Mark told Mr. Ken about what the boys said when they learned that he had talked to Kaden’s mom. The boy also told him what some of the boys said about Kaden and about his being shot. Mr. Ken understood their anger at Kaden, and by speaking up he hoped they were able to get it off their chest.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the Covers were again met by news reporters. They asked the same sort of questions they threw at them the previous day. Both Covers refused to answer any of them, as they headed straight into the building.
Upon arrival at the ICU, Mark learned that his mom was now awake. He quickly ran to her room calling out, “Mom, mom, mom.”
When Mr. Ken arrived at the room, he heard a crying Mark say, “Mom, I’m … I’m so sorry for giving Kaden our address. If … if I hadn’t given Kaden our … our address, none … none of this would have ever happened.” Mark then broke down and cried on his mom’s shoulder.
Miriam held her son and let him cry. She knew it wasn’t her son’s fault for what happened. Those men were out to get Billy, and they would have eventually found out where he lived. All her son did was speed up the inevitable.
Mr. Ken stood at the door frame, watching, while mom and son reunited. Mark was almost hysterical in his crying; he was so distraught over what he felt was all his fault. After a few moments, Mr. Ken felt he needed to try to help calm the boy down.
“Mark,” began Mr. Ken, “Kaden … he had been planning what happened for weeks … and it was only a matter of time before they would have found Billy. None of what happened was your fault, son. I’m sure Doctor Doug will help you understand all that.”
Miriam looked up at the man and then asked him who he was.
“Oh, yes … I’m sorry … I am Ken Thomas. I’m Mark’s foster dad until you or your husband can take care of yourself and your son,” responded Mr. Ken.
“Ohhh, but how? How … how is it that you are involved? Is it because of … of Billy?” asked a tiring Miriam.
“Well, because Billy is in the CPS system, I drove Ms. Judy, Judy Turner, that is, over to your home when we found out about the attack. She needed to check on Billy, not knowing what might have happened there, to see what CPS needed to do for him,” began Mr. Ken before Miriam asked him about Billy.
“Ahh, Billy … the men … they severely beat him. He has black eyes, a busted lip, broken nose, which they fixed, and cracked ribs, and he’s bruised all over his body. They are also treating him for potential internal injuries. He’s on the Pediatric Ward right now,” revealed Ken Thomas.
“Mom, you should see him. He looks really bad. At least they didn’t’ shoot him as they did Kaden. But … but they did talk about doing that. They walked into my room and … and I heard them through the ‘Safe Room’ wall what they were going to do with him.
“But … but before they could do anything, one of the men, for some reason, he went running down the stairs. Then, there were some shots and a second man raced down the stairs. Then there were some more shots and that’s when the third man raced down the stairs. That’s … that’s when I heard a whole bunch of shots, like what we hear when we were at the shooting range.
“I … I waited until it got really quiet and then … and then I snuck out of the ‘Safe Room’ and I went to check on Billy. Mom … he was bloodied all over. They beat him really bad. I heard them asking about some guys named ‘Smokey’ and Greaser’, and they hit him when he didn’t give them the answer they wanted to hear. Mom … every time they hit him, he cried out in pain,” explained Mark, as he began to cry over rethinking of what happened to his ‘big brother’.
“Mom … he … he had me get his coin and … and squeeze it. He then … he then told me to get back into the ‘Safe Room’ and I was to wait until Mr. Ken came,” Mark spoke out of turn, as he wiped the tears out of his eyes.
Upon his mentioning the coin, Mr. Ken squeezed the boy’s shoulder to get his attention. When the boy looked up at the man, Mr. Ken just shook his head telling him he shouldn’t have said anything about the coin. Mark then put his hands to his mouth.
“His coin?” asked an incredulous Miriam.
“Yes, it was his good luck coin that I’d given him,” responded Mr. Ken, not saying anything more.
“I saw the man shoot the boy,” began Miriam. “He told him that this is what you get for not doing your job. Or, something like that. Then, he shot him in his back. Levi took advantage of the man being distracted and he shot him. The teen, how is he doing? Did he … survive?” Miriam wanted to know.
Mark looked at his foster dad to answer since he talked with the teen’s mom.
“Miriam … the teen did survive, but when I talked to his mom yesterday …she told us he still hadn’t awakened. We didn’t go into his room, so we didn’t see him. Maybe we can stop by after we talk to your husband and then Bill,” offered Mr. Ken.
Mr. Ken then told Mark to continue to talk to his mom while he went and talked to his dad about a few things. Mark’s foster dad told the woman that they would stop by tomorrow to see how she was doing. The woman smiled and thanked him for bringing her son to see her. She then let out a few tears.
When Mr. Ken entered Levi’s ICU room, Delta Oxtter was there talking to the man. Upon seeing the foster dad, she told him that they would love to visit on Saturday and that the Wrockman’s would also like to come.
She also told him that she wasn’t too sure about the other families, but that she would know something later tonight. She told him she would call after dinner to let him know how many people would be there on Saturday. The woman then decided to leave, so the two men could talk.
Mr. Ken told Levi that his son was talking to his wife and would be there as soon as he was finished there. The foster dad then told Mr. Golderson, that he would need to get a remediation company in, to clean up the master bedroom and Billy’s bedroom. He explained that all the carpet will need to be removed and the bedspreads replaced and possibly the beds themselves.
The owner of The Cove also suggested the man hire a construction company to come in to repair the bullet holes and check the electrical system to ensure that none of the bullets struck an electrical line that could possibly cause a fire in the future. Mr. Ken then suggested he might consider doing any other small jobs, like painting and getting that Panic Button that didn’t work fixed, since it didn’t work when Mark pressed it.
Levi inquired about the Panic Button and then asked Mr. Ken if he knew someone who could check out the system and figure out why it didn’t work that night. Mr. Ken explained he asked his friend in the Sheriff’s Department to check it as well. Levi then told the foster dad that the security company was supposed to return to fix it, but since he isn’t home during the day, he’d asked his wife to monitor that.
Levi then asked Mr. Ken if he could have his construction company go in and take care of the cosmetic repairs. The owner of The Cove asked the man how he knew he had a construction company. Levi told him that Billy mentioned it, along with other things the teen was proud of, such as his amusement parks, hotel, office building and what he was going to build at Four Corners.
Mr. Ken smiled at hearing how Billy didn’t hold a grudge against him for banning him from the Cove. He also told Levi that he’d have to ask his construction supervisor to look at the job and tell them if they could handle it.
Mr. Ken further explained that they normally didn’t do that small of a job, but that the guys do like working on small things like that to keep up all of their skills. The owner of The Cove then described how the men showed up to help build the ramps and then helped install the lockers at the back of the Pavilion.
The foster dad also told Mr. Golderson that he’d have his security company send people over to do an independent inspection of his security system and prepare a written report. Mr. Ken told the injured man that he had a great law office he could recommend if he felt he needed one. The two men laughed.
Mr. Ken asked Levi if there were any family members that he might want to have to take care of Mark while he and his wife healed. Levi told him that they’d want to use the house while they were here and, if it needed to be repaired, they would not want to come there. The man also said that if he sent his son away, he and Miriam wouldn’t be able to stay in touch with him.
Mr. Ken told Levi that he was going to stop by their house tomorrow to gather up Mark and Billy’s clothes and anything else they may want. He then asked if there was anything he wanted. Levi asked the man to get his and Miriam’s cell phones and chargers, so they could contact their families and tell them about the home invasion and where Mark was staying.
It was then that Mark came into his dad’s ICU room. The two hugged and Mr. Ken told the two he’d leave them alone so they could talk. As the man walked out of the room, he heard the boy tell his dad about how his mom looked and how well she was doing.
Mr. Ken went out into the hallway to make some phone calls to ask his construction supervisor if they would want to look at the Goldersons’ home repairs. They agreed and said they’d meet him there tomorrow to look it over.
Mr. Ken then called Jules Diamond. He explained to Jules what happened last Sunday night and about the Panic Button that didn’t work. He asked the security man to have his team go over there and do an independent inspection and then write a report. Jules agreed to do that.
Mr. Ken still hadn’t watched the videos of how Kaden got into the house and planted the drugs. So, he called Dan Fischer and invited him over for dinner and to watch the videos with him. The Lieutenant eagerly accepted.
Mr. Ken then called Wayne to tell him about the invite and for him to tell Momma. That was when Mr. Ken learned that the Bandera DA called to set up a time that he could interview the twins and Robert. Wayne told his boss that the DA was planning on starting Parker Parchsons trial the first week of August. That was not something he wanted or needed to hear.
When Mark was finished talking to his dad, the two Covers walked over to the Pediatric Ward to talk to Billy. When they arrived, they found the teen in better spirits and was very happy to see them.
“Billy,” yelled Mark when he saw his ‘big brother’, and then ran to him to hug him.
“OWW, OWW OWW,” said Billy, as he was being hugged. “Remember, sport, I have cracked ribs and when you squeeze me, they hurt.”
“Oh, sorry,” quickly said Mark.
“So, how are you feeling today, Bill?” asked Mr. Ken.
“I’m still sore all over, but the good news is that I am not peeing blood. But they are still monitoring me. The doctor told me that on Thursday they will do an MRI to see if they could tell if any blood was leaking into my stomach area,” replied the teenager.
“Everybody can’t wait until you come home,” excitedly spoke up Mark.
“And, I can’t wait until I get home, Mark,” smiled the teen. And I hope it will be this Friday. I miss Momma’s cooking, but your mom’s cooking was good too.”
Billy then got serious and asked about Kaden. Mr. Ken told the teen that he saw Anna Stylers yesterday, and that as of when they left the hospital, he still wasn’t awake. The foster dad reminded the teen that Levi wasn’t the one who shot him. The man said he was going to try to visit with his ex-friend before they left for the day.
Mr. Ken told the boys to talk and that he was going over to Kaden’s room to see if he could talk to the boy. When the man got there, Mrs. Stylers was coming out of the room. He asked her if he could visit with her son. Anna nodded as tears were streaming down her cheeks. She then walked away.
When Kaden saw the man enter his room, he was surprised at the sight. He never figured he’d ever see the man and, now that he was there, he wanted to apologize for what he did.
“How are you doing Kaden?” quietly asked the owner of The Cove.
“I … I hurt pretty bad. If it weren’t for all the medications, they’re giving me, I … I don’t know how I could stand all the pain. The bullet … it went in on an angle through my back, into and through my lung, and it broke a rib. It shattered it actually. It then exited into the wall or the floor. I don’t remember anything after I felt this burning pain in my back. I guess I passed out. I only woke up this morning,” revealed the injured teen.
It was very quiet after Kaden described his injuries. Then the teen decided to speak up.
“Ahh, Mr. Ken … I … I want to … I want to apologize for what I did. I know it was stupid of me to plant those drugs in Billy’s room. I wish I could take it all back,” offered a tearful Kaden.
Mr. Ken stood there thinking of what he was going to say. Then, he addressed the teenager.
“Kaden … I don’t accept your apology! This wasn’t a spur of the moment thing … what you did! You were planning on getting Bill for weeks for those men from the time you were arrested with them. And then … then you drove past his new foster home numerous times. It was all caught on a camera … from across the street.
“If you really, really felt sorry, it should have been back when you were first arrested. You should have worked with the Sheriff’s Department then to help them unravel the drug trade that those men reconstituted after ‘Smokey’s’ demise.
“But you chose to work with those three men instead, and now … now one of those men, Santiago, died right there, at the entrance to the bedroom. The man who shot you was also hit by Levi defending himself and his wife. Unfortunately, he didn’t shoot until after that man, Weston, had already shot you … in the back. That’s what kind of friends those men were to you!
“Now what are you going to do? If you haven’t been arrested yet, you will be. And I’ll bet some of those charges will be breaking and entering, kidnaping and attempted murder. Yes, the Goldersons’ son … he WAS in the house. He was hidden in an upstairs Safe Room and he heard everything your so-called friends had planned to do.
“Mark … he heard those three men beating on your friend Billy, who now has two black eyes, a broken nose, a busted lip, busted eardrum, cracked ribs and is being monitored for internal injuries to his kidneys, liver and spleen.
“Mark also heard those friends of yours talking. They had intended to kill all of three of the people, Levi, Miriam and Bill, before they left the house. If Levi hadn’t broken free from his bonds and attacked you, you’d would be facing murder charges, when they caught up with you.
“Kaden … you’re actions that night, no matter what they told you and what you believed, everything you did will now cause your mom … to be all alone. She’s been crying her eyes out for you, and all you did … and all you did was spit in her face! You thought only about yourself and the money you were getting for delivering those drugs to all those high school students.
“Yes, the Sheriff knows everything about that night and how you helped those men get into the house. The only suggestion I have for you is to tell the detectives everything you know about Bennett. Where he might be hiding and everything about his drug operation, including where he gets his drugs and from whom and where he hides them.
“If you didn’t already know … Bill … he’s just down the hall. But seeing you are both hooked up to IV lines, urine collection bags and you with monitors you won’t be able to see one another. If you owe ANYONE an apology … it is Bill. He didn’t do anything to deserve the beating he got.
“Oh, and by the way, no one … no one ratted on ‘Smokey’. He’d been arrested earlier that night during last year’s 4th of July carnival and he was on the Sheriff’s radar after he came back to my carnival and tried to kidnap someone from my estate. You should have done better information gathering when you were at The Cove.
“I’ll wish you good luck, young man. I think you’re going to need it,” finished up Ken Thomas, before exiting the young man’s room.
Anna Stylers was standing just outside her son’s hospital room listening and when Ken Thomas came out of the room, she stopped him. She asked him directly if everything he told her son was true. Mr. Ken told the distraught woman that unfortunately it was. The woman then burst out into tears. Mr. Ken held the woman and let her cry.
The traveling Covers were very quiet during their return trip back to The Cove. They were both lost in their own thoughts of what they observed that afternoon. Then, just as they arrived at Four Corners, Mark asked his foster dad if he talked to Kaden.
The man didn’t know what, if anything, he should say. But he knew the boy needed some closure to what happened, so he told him about the teen’s injuries. He also told his newest foster son some of what he told the juvenile delinquent, just not all of it.
The two Covers arrived back at The Cove before the boys had to leave for the day, so Mr. Ken let Mark out of the truck and the youngster walked over to the Pavilion. All of the new Cover’s ‘brothers’ and their friends were waiting on him. They wanted to know about Billy and anything he might know about Kaden.
Mark told the boys that Billy was healing nicely, and that they hadn’t found any blood in his urine, yet. The youngster told the group that his ‘big brother’ was scheduled for an MRI on Thursday and that if they didn’t find anything wrong then he could be home Friday afternoon. All the boys cheered after hearing that.
Then some of the boys wanted to know if he talked to Kaden. Mark told them that only Mr. Ken had and then the boy told them what he remembered his foster dad telling him about the teen’s injuries. The boys wanted to know more about Kaden and what his prognosis was and what would happen to him. Of course, Mark didn’t have any of those answers.
Dan Fischer was the Covers’ guest for dinner that night. Kyle was extremely happy that his mentor was there and made sure he sat by him during their meal. The boys were all surprised at the reason for the lieutenant being there. The boys then asked if they would be able to watch the videos as well.
After dinner, because of the number of people who would be watching how Kaden entered the house during the night of the 4th of July, Mr. Ken decided to have it shown down in the Theater. Everyone then headed there.
Once everyone was seated, the observers watched four different CCTV camera views. They all saw how the teen used the darkness between the fireworks to gain entrance. They also watched him enter the garage and then go up the backstairs.
It was Matthew who asked how the teenager was able to get into the house. Mr. Ken told his ‘boys’ that the side garage door was always unlocked when they were home. He let that sink in some. The man then told the boys that, since Kaden knew that, he used it to his advantage to gain entrance to the house, while everyone was busy watching the fireworks display.
Robert knew that with someone gaining access to the inside of the house, the way they did, there would be a change coming and soon. He figured there would be a cypher lock installed by the weekend.
After they watched the videos, ‘dad’ Ken sent the boys up to the Study to wait for him. He told them he and Mr. Dan needed to talk privately. The boys were disappointed they couldn’t hear what that was all about.
Once the boys were all gone, Ken told Dan and Wayne what he told Kaden at the hospital today. The two men were surprised that the man would go that far, but understood Mr. Ken was mad as hell at what the boy did and what he caused to happen.
The three men then talked about what action should be taken against the teenager for his trespassing and planting illegal drugs in Bill’s bedroom. The lieutenant told his friends he would talk to Matthias and Roberts and ask them to talk to the DA to see if he wanted to add those charges to the serious ones Kaden was already facing. That satisfied Ken Thomas.
Dan Fischer thanked his friend for the dinner invitation then decided to head on home. As the two men were outside, at Dan’s car, Mr. Ken told his friend about the picnic on Saturday and that if he wanted to, he could stop by. Dan said he’d think about it. The two shook hands and they both went in separate directions
Mr. Ken thanked the boys for waiting on him, when he arrived in his Study. Once the man was there, Mark reminded his foster dad that he would get him his own locker. Mr. Ken smiled and then asked Robert to take Mark out to the garage and get him a Cove Skate Park helmet and set of pads before they headed up to the Pavilion to get the newest Cover his own locker.
When Robert and Mark headed out to the garage, the rest of the boys had to go as well. It was while the boys were out in the garage that Mr. Ken’s phone rang at his desk. Upon answering it he learned it was Delta Oxtter calling to tell him who all was coming to The Cove on Saturday.
The two talked some about Saturday and what the families should expect. The owner of The Cove told the woman to remind everyone he would serve what the boys ate every day, hamburgers and hot dogs, plus some sides he was having brought in because of the number of people that would be there.
He also told the woman to remind the families to bring swimsuits, towels, skateboards and comfortable chairs as there were only wooden picnic benches and concrete seats out on the Cove Skate Park. The man added that he’d call her later in the week if there were any changes.
The woman thanked him for the invitation to The Cove and that her family, and all the families, were looking forward to meeting him in person, and seeing everything that Billy had told them about. The two hung up just as the boys came back with Mark carrying his new Cove Skate Park gear.
“Boys … while you were all gone, Delta Oxtter called to tell me who all would be here on Saturday. Mark knows the names, so for his benefit I’ll tell him who all would be here. Of course, the Oxtters, then the Wrockmans, the Arkeres, the Boemiellers, the Huggerts, the Konnelles, the Kypkers, and the Splicers.
“It seems all of the Goldersons’ main friends will be here. The kids ages range from five to sixteen, and a few girls are in the mix. That means that besides all of your friends being here on Saturday, there will be approximately 32 more people. Nothing new, huh?” teased ‘dad’ Ken.
“Before we head up to the Pavilion, I want you to know, Mark and I will be heading over to his house tomorrow at ten. After talking to his dad today, I decided he could go with me and then that way we can leave to go to the hospital directly from the house.
“We will get his and Bill’s clothes and any other items they want. I know what Bill wants, and now Mark can get what he wants. I am also meeting a few other people there to talk to them about the house. Mr. Golderson would like to have a few things done before he, his wife and son return back there. Now, let’s head up to the Pavilion,” sort of directed the man, as he stood up in order to go out to the golf carts.
Out at the golf carts, Mr. Ken and Mark took the four-seater. The man had the young boy sit in the driver’s seat and asked him if he was ready to drive it up to the Pavilion. Mark was ecstatic at hearing he was going to be able to drive the golf cart. Mr. Ken told him only the Covers can drive them, and, as the newest Cover, he needed to know how to do it, too. Mr. Ken then sent the rest of the boys, and Mr. Wayne, ahead of them.
Mr. Ken explained to Mark what he needed to do to get the parking brake off, and then he had the boy to gently push the gas pedal down. The duo started out slow, which was what Mr. Ken wanted. As they drove up the slight hill to the driveway and the Pavilion, Mark had picked up a little more speed, but he wasn’t too sure of himself, just yet, and wasn’t going to mess up and never get to drive them again.
“What took you so long?” asked a smiling Kevin.
All Mark did was stick his tongue out at his new ‘brother’, and then walk with Mr. Ken over toward the Lockers. All the boys and Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne laughed at the antics.
There were five lockers remaining that were not being used. It was Charles who spoke up and said that Kaden’s locker was still full of his things and they could empty it and give Mark six lockers to choose from.
Mr. Wayne took the four-seater cart and drove down to the house to get the pass key and check the listing of who had which locker, so they could empty that particular locker. He returned with the needed information and went directly over to Kaden’s locker and opened it.
Charles took the skateboard, Cove Skate Park gear, swimsuit and towel out and placed them in a box that Mr. Wayne also brought with him. Mark then went over and looked at the locker, as well as the other empty lockers. He decided to take a lower one of the available six.
The new Cover then placed his Cove Skate Park gear in the chosen locker and Mr. Ken told him how to set the code. The man had him lock and then unlock the locker a few times, so the boy knew his code and how to open it.
Once Mark had his locker and all of his gear all locked up, they all began walking over to the golf carts. Mr. Ken and Mark took the four-seater and Mark drove it back down to the Parking Coral. Mr. Wayne brought all of Kaden’s things down to the house and stored them in the garage. The Cover’s all met in the Study, then.
“Boys … it has been a very long day for me. So, I would like for us not to do our normal talk tonight. OK? Let’s just head to our own spaces and I’ll be up in a bit to talk to you all,” offered ‘dad’ Ken with a big yawn.
Mr. Wayne left for his own home at that time, since he was going to be going to the Goldersons tomorrow morning, he wanted some free time for himself as well. The next day he would load up the van with what Mark and Billy wanted and then bring it all back to The Cove.
Mr. Ken did go up and talk with all of the boys. When he got to Mark’s room, the boy asked if Matthew could go along with them in the morning. The newest Cover explained that Matthew was concerned about Billy, and that it would be nice to have someone with him tomorrow. Mark also said that way Matthew could talk to Billy and find out for himself how well his older ‘brother’ was doing.
Mr. Ken told Mark that he would think about it and tell him at breakfast. But that the boy should make sure Matthew was showered and ready to go. Mark smiled when he heard that. He then hugged his foster dad.
It was all quiet at the Cove that night.
The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net
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