Published: 8 Jun 2023

From The Previous Chapter:

The boys asked their ‘dad’ where they were going next. He told them he was stopping at a convenience store where they all could get a drink and a snack and from there, they would head to their next stop which would be revealed when they get there.

The boys all booed knowing their ‘dad’ wasn’t going to tell them. But they told each other that they were already happy with their first stop and if that was any indication of what was coming next it should be fun.

After the Covers all got a soft drink and a snack, they all loaded back into the van and Mr. Ken had Bill drive over towards Four Corners. The boys thought they were going home, but when they arrived at Four Corners, ‘dad’ Ken had Bill drive up towards the new construction and stop to the left of the new supermarket that was going up.

As the boys got out of the van, Mr. Ken told them that what they saw in front of them was going to be a seven-bay car wash that he was building. He told them six bays would be a self-service car wash while the seventh would be an automatic car wash and he expected the facility to be completed and operational around the end of June. The man then told them to stay close and he would explain everything to them and for them to ask questions as they went along.

The boys could see the building had all of its walls up and the inner concrete bases poured, but there weren’t any roof support beams yet installed. The back parking dry-off and vacuum area only had the concrete vacuum support stands installed, but nothing was situated on the bases as of yet, nor was the parking lot paved.

Mr. Ken began by explaining to the boys the general concept of the self-help car wash. He told them how the patron would drive up, enter an empty stall, get out, pay the amount of money he felt he needed to wash his vehicle and then proceed to use the high-pressure wand and/or the soft brush to wash the vehicle, or a combination of the two.

Mr. Ken added the person could always add money when a buzzer or bell rang so he could continue without having to pay the minimum charge. He also told the boys there would be different selections on the car wash dial, such as: High-Pressure Soap, Low-Pressure Soap, Soft-Brush & Soap, Wax, Soft Water Rinse, High-Pressure Rinse and others.

As they walked around, the boy’s ‘dad’ told them that the wash bays should accommodate motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), recreational vehicles (RVs), boats, and anything else the user can fit inside the bay and wash it.

The boys asked how much would it cost. Their ‘dad’ told them the initial cost would be about two dollars, but depending on the size of the vehicle the customer would spend much more.

Mr. Ken then told the boys that the automatic car wash would probably start at six dollars and top out at twelve and would offer things like Ultraviolet Protection, Tire Clean & Shine, Clear Coat and Wax and Surface Sealant which would add to the cost of the car wash.

Phillip asked if the vacuums would be free. The foster dad told the boy that the customer would get five minutes of vacuum for fifty cents, two quarters. The man also said that the customer could also use his credit card for the self-service and automatic car wash bays, but that they would need the quarters for the vacuums.

The Covers spent about forty minutes at the car wash and when the boys had all their questions answered and they had seen everything there was to see, Mr. Ken had them all load back into the van and he had Bill drive over to their next stop.

“Why are we stopping at this vacant lot that looks like it’s going to be a parking lot, Mr. Ken?” asked Phillip.

“Well, that’s because it is going to be a parking lot, Phillip. Come on boys, get out of the van and let me explain,” added ‘dad’ Ken.

“Boys … this is the last piece of property that I own here in the Four Corners area. And what I am doing here is building a boat storage lot. When it is finished, and we line it out, it will have between fifty and sixty parking spaces for boats ranging from fourteen feet all the way up to forty-two feet,” explained Mr. Ken.

“But why are you building a boat storage lot, Mr. Ken?” asked the newest Cover.

“That, my newest son, is because I am also building a marina across from Four Corners. And this will be the closest storage lot for those who cannot afford to dock their boat at the marina. They will be able to store their boat here and launch it using the marina’s free boat launch ramps,” was how the foster dad answered his foster son’s question.

Charles asked what the little building was for. The teen’s dad told him and his ‘brothers’ that it would be an office, but that it will also house some tools and trailer boot locks for those who haven’t paid their storage fees and overstayed their time. Mr. Ken also told the boys the storage lot would have a large air compressor for the renters to use to help keep their tires aired up.

Billy asked Mr. Ken how would the renters pay. Mr. Ken told the teenager that it would be done over the internet. The man explained that the renter would pay for the minimum of three months and then get an access code, or establish one that would be good for ninety days or whatever length they rented for.

Billy then asked if there would be someone who would take care of the parking lot. Mr. Ken told the teen that there would be and that person would make sure the renters didn’t do anything illegal, keep the storage lot swept and clean and they would also put a tire boot on any trailer that went over the rental period without paying.

Billy then asked if he or any of his friends would be considered to work there, or at the car wash. Mr. Ken told him that he hadn’t thought it out that far, but probably wouldn’t because the person would need to be available during the day and with him and his friends still in school, they would not be able to take care of issues at either place. Billy was disappointed at hearing that.

With no more questions, Mr. Ken asked the boys to get back into the van so they could go to their next and last stop. That surprised the boys that they were going to another place. They talked to one another and they couldn’t think of another place that their ‘dad’ was building. It wasn’t until they drove up to the gates at the Marina Project that they remembered he was building it.

Billy stopped at the locked gate. Mr. Ken told him to blow the horn. When the security guard didn’t appear right away, the principal investor/owner of the Marina Project pulled out his cell phone and called the number he was given. When it was answered, he told the man who he was and that he was there to inspect the project. The guard said he’d be right there.

In a minute or two a disheveled man dressed in a security guard’s uniform arrived at the gate and unlocked the gate and opened it to allow the van inside the work area. Billy drove in and found a parking space and stopped and everyone got out.

“Ahh … ahh Mr. … ahh yea, Mr. Thomas … I … I thought you and … and your … your family were … were going to be here … ahh here earlier,” stumbled out the security guard.

“There was never a set time for me and my boys to be here. But now that we are here, I’ll show them around and we’ll let you know when we’re ready to leave, so you can lock the gate after we leave. You can go back to … to wherever you were and whatever you were doing when we arrived,” announced a somewhat agitated Mr. Ken.

As the guard walked away, Charles turned to his dad and said, “Dad … is that man … drunk?”

The other boys heard the question and they were also interested in the answer. They too heard how the man talked, but they could also smell his breath, they saw his disheveled clothes and they could also smell the alcohol as it emanated off them.

“Son … ahh … I don’t want to make a hasty judgment, but … we all saw and heard him and we all have our own idea of what we think we know. I’ll make a phone call before we leave, son,” answered the teen’s dad.

“OK, boys, let’s walk over to the bulkhead and start our tour from there,” announced ‘dad’ Ken.

As they all walked over towards the water, Mr. Ken hung back, pulled out his cell phone and called the number he had used to set up the day’s tour. When the person answered, he told them who he was and asked for the day supervisor. The person on the phone balked at the request and Mr. Ken told them he’d better do what he asked or he’ll be looking for a job tomorrow.

Mr. Ken had never used his position before, but he was very pissed at the appearance of the security guard, and the fact that it appeared he had been drinking on the job, and at one of the most important building projects he ever had going, the Marina Project. It was because of that that he was not going to put up with some piss-ant at the security office who didn’t want to upset his supervisor.

Thirty seconds later the day supervisor came on the line and demanded to know who it was that wanted to talk to him. Mr. Ken asked him if his company was responsible for the security of the marina construction project at Four Corners. The man said they were. Mr. Ken told him he was one of the owners/investors and told the man that his guard at the site appeared to have been drinking on the job, and he wanted him replaced within the next thirty minutes.

The supervisor said he couldn’t get someone there that fast. Mr. Ken told him then he expected him to be there and to take over while the replacement was getting ready to respond. The supervisor balked and said that he couldn’t leave the office unmanned. Mr. Ken then asked him who was it that answered the phone.

Mr. Ken then told the supervisor if his company wanted to keep that contract, he will be here in thirty minutes, or they will be minus the contract tomorrow. The supervisor began to argue, but Mr. Ken hung up on him.

The boys heard their ‘dad’s’ part of the conversation and couldn’t believe he said what he did. They never knew him to be that intensely angry, ever, but seeing for themselves the state of the security guard they could understand why their ‘dad’ was so upset at the security company.

When Mr. Ken came over to the boys, he had regained his composure and began to explain what the marina was going to look like. He told them they could already see where the fueling station, with at least 2 grades of fuel, plus diesel, was located and that the two free boat launch ramps were already finished.

Their ‘dad’ pointed out that there would be 12 piers holding approximately four hundred boats in total, but that the piers were only now just being installed. He told them the piers would be lighted and there would be fresh water taps provided to all boat slips and that fire hoses and life ring cabinets would also be stationed along the piers for safety purposes.

He then turned them around and showed them where the marina store would be located and explained it would not only sell the typical fishing gear, fishing lures, boating supplies, ice and coolers, but it would also have a scuba diving section that would sell and service scuba gear and possibly offer scuba training.

Matthew asked ‘dad’ Ken if they would be able to take scuba lessons. ‘Dad’ Ken smiled and told the boy that he would think about it once he knew who the operator was and what type of reputation they had. Matthew smiled at hearing that and Charles also smiled hoping he could take the lessons as well.

The group walked around and Mr. Ken pointed out where the restaurant would be located up the slight hill and that he hoped it would primarily specialize in seafood, but would probably also sell steaks. He described the parking lot which would be broken up for the restaurant, pier rental customers, general daily parking and boat trailer parking for those who used the boat launch ramps. He also told the boys that there would be public restrooms located out in the parking area for people to use.

Phillip looked around and he couldn’t believe the size of the marina property. He asked Matthew if Mr. Ken owned it all, but the slightly older Cover didn’t know, so the youngest Cover asked Robert. Robert told him that his dad had bought all of the land at Four Corners and was responsible for what he was seeing there and across the street at the shopping center, the restaurant/diner and the Go-Kart Track, Miniature Golf course and the apartment complex where Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dan lived.

Phillip was awestruck that his foster dad had owned all that. He now understood that the young man was very rich and could do everything he had shown them today. He was now looking forward to that trip to the amusement parks his ‘brothers’ told him about.

As the boys walked around some and looked everything over, Collin and his Big Bro talked. Collin asked him about the phone call he made concerning the security guard. He wanted to know if he really was going to have the security guard fired.

Mr. Ken told his Little Bro that the man had a job to do, and that he couldn’t very well do it if he was drinking on the job. The man then asked Collin how he would feel if the man had to confront someone and was carrying a gun, instead of just a nightstick and mace, and had been drinking. Collin thought about what his Big Bro was saying and he had to agree that the man could not properly do his job if he was drinking.

While the Covers were still looking over the work site, the security company supervisor finally arrived. Mr. Ken saw when the man arrived and he walked over to talk to him. The boys wanted to walk over and listen, but Collin told them this was an issue their ‘dad’ needed to handle in private. Collin then reminded them that you, “Praise in public and chastise in private.”

Phillip didn’t understand, so Billy explained it to him. After a few moments of explanation, the young Cover said he understood why they needed to let the two men talk alone.

As the Covers were leaving the marina work site, the original security guard was also leaving. The boys saw him getting into his vehicle and slamming his car door. The two vehicles were at the traffic light together and when the light turned green, the security guard slammed down his gas pedal and left some of his tire rubber on the street as he rushed away from the stop light.

Mr. Ken had Bill drive up towards the Go-Kart Track and Miniature Golf Course and told him to find a parking space. When the van was parked, ‘dad’ Ken had the boys file out.

“Boys … this is our last stop on our Family Day. Today … I wanted to show you what I am involved in locally, so you know … so you know why I am so busy at times. This … this is our last stop.

“Tomorrow … tomorrow I am meeting Ben Walthers and Ms. Jackie, my Projects Manager, right here … and we are going to walk where I want to place the miniature train I always wanted here” announced ‘dad’ Ken.

The boys started talking amongst themselves about what their ‘dad’ just told them. Robert knew that his dad always wanted a train there and now he was happy it would finally happen

“Boys … there is something else that I am going to do here. Besides the train … I am also going to have some family and children’s rides also placed here in the open space. Ben and Jackie … they have been working on this project all winter and after our meeting tomorrow, I hope to have the rides here and operating by the beginning of June. The train … well, it probably won’t begin to be installed until the fall and it will take all winter.

“And Bill … here is where you and your friends, or at least teenagers sixteen and older will be able to work, I suppose. But, as you know, I won’t be doing the hiring. Ben Walthers … he will be responsible for hiring an operations manager, like we have at the amusement parks, and they in turn will hire the workers.

“I don’t know myself what rides will be coming here, so please, please don’t ask me. We will all have to wait until they get installed and the people trained before the rides are ready for their first customers.

“Well, boys … there you have it … our Family Day. I know you all asked, countess times, what we were going to do today, and I hope what we did do was well worth it. So, what say we all head down to the restaurant and get ourselves a good steak?” finished ‘dad’ Ken.

At dinner the boys talked about their day. They mostly talked about the shooting range, but Phillip told his ‘brothers’ that he liked being shown all of the projects his foster dad is working on. He added that he always wondered what Mr. Ken did to earn his money and now he knew why he was so rich.

There was some chuckling at Phillip’s description of their ‘dad’ being ‘rich’, but Collin quickly spoke up and told them that it was good that his Big Bro took them all around and showed them what he’d been working on. The oldest ‘brother’ continued and said they were lucky they had someone who would take the time to spend the entire day with them and let them know he cared.

Mr. Ken heard what Collin said and knew, not only from what the teen said, but how he said it that he knew the college student was hurting inside. The loss of Grammy after the Holidays, and now her not being there for Easter, has sent the college sophomore into a feeling of loss which was why he came to The Cove, to be with his Big Bro and people who loved him and cared about him. The man wished again that there was a way he could get Doctor Doug involved in talking with the teen to get him refocused on what was important right now; moving on with his life and working on his future.

After hearing what Collin had to say, the boys began talking about the places they stopped at. They took them one by one and told one another what they thought of each of them. Billy lamented that he couldn’t work at any of them except at the amusement rides that he thought would get boring after a while.

As they were returning home, they stopped at Mr. Ken’s Kreamy Kone to get Chief her dish of vanilla ice cream. Collin would be the one to give it to her when they returned to The Cove.

When the Covers returned to the house, Collin went in first and called for Chief to come and get her ice cream. When Chief saw Collin had her ice cream, she not only barked, but she went round and round in circles she was so happy that her first boy had gotten her, her favorite treat.

Chief sat when Collin asked her to and then she lapped up the cold concoction as fast she usually did. The resident pet then went to Collin and gave him some of her cold doggie kisses as she always did to the person who gave her the cold treat.

While Chief ate her ice cream, Robert and Phillip went up to the younger boy’s room to set up his new cell phone. Robert had the boy do all the steps; all the teen did was oversee the process. Once the boy had done everything, all he had to do was wait until he received the call through the cell phone that it was connected.

Once Phillip received the notification ring, the boy was to make a call. Robert had him call his cell phone and once the call went through, Phillip’s cell phone was all ready to go. Robert then gave the boy all of his ‘brothers’ phone numbers to program into his phone. The teen then gave the boy The Cove’s main number, Mr. Ken’s office number, and Mr. Wayne’s phone number to program into his new cell phone.

Phillip then wanted to go down to the Great Room and play on his new guitar. The two Cover’s headed down to the bottom level of the house and Phillip strummed on his new guitar and realized it was out of tune. Robert told him their ‘dad’ had the rest of the guitar’s accessories up in his room, so Robert phoned his dad to ask if he would get them for Phillip.

Mr. Ken went out of his Study and called Phillip from the top of the stairs and told him to come up and get the accessories. Phillip hurried up the stairs and followed his foster dad to the room off the master bedroom where the extra strings, strap, picks, padded carry bag, tuner, cleaning cloth, Allen wrench and A-frame music stand was waiting for the boy. Mr. Ken had even gotten the boy a couple of guitar music books to play from.

That was the first time Phillip was ever in that part of the house and he was amazed at what he was seeing. He asked his foster dad what that room was for. He was startled when he learned it was the baby’s room for if the man ever got married and they had children of their own.

Phillip took the extra accessories to his room and then came back to the Great Room to tune his guitar. While he did that, Mr. Ken and Collin talked in the Study.

While his Big Bro gave Phillip his guitar accessories, Collin had gone up to his guest suite and brought down the preliminary plans to change Wilkinson and bring it into the 21^st Century. The teenager wanted to show them to Mr. Ken and get his feedback.

“Bro … I brought the rough first draft plans to bring Wilkinson into the 21^st Century with me and I want you to look at them with me and give me your thoughts,” announced Collin, when his Big Bro came back to the Study.

“Well, yes, Collin, I want to see them. Spread them out and let me see what your architect has suggested,” eagerly replied the teen’s Big Brother.

While Collin and Mr. Ken looked over the first draft plans of the redesign of the Wilkinson Estate, they could hear Phillip playing on his new guitar from down in the Great Room. They could tell the boy knew how to play it and that he rarely stopped and started all over again.

In a short time, all the boys came to the Study. They wanted to know if their ‘dad’ was going to have his usual meeting with them before they went to bed, but when they saw the plans, they wanted to look them over, too.

Collin invited the boys to look the plans over as well. The boys had been to his estate a few times, so they knew what they were looking at. That is all of the boys except Phillip.

“Mr. Ken … is … is that … is that Collin’s … house?” tentatively asked Phillip.

Mr. Ken thought about what he wanted to tell the boy, but he figured he didn’t need to tell him much, so he said, “Yes, Phillip … that is Collin’s home.”

“Wow … his home is almost as big as yours, Mr. Ken. Is … is he as rich as you?” naively asked the foster boy.

“Phillip … Collin … he, ahh, he’s had a rough life,” began Mr. Ken, before he was interrupted by Phillip.

“Was that because … because of when you and Chief found him out on the Patio?” innocently asked the boy

“Oh, Phillip, there is a lot more to it than I can tell you. And, to answer your other question … to be honest with you … I don’t really know how much money he actually has,” answered the foster dad.

“Boys, look at what time it is. We all had a big day, today, and it is getting late, so how about you all head up to your rooms, and I’ll be up in a short time to say goodnight,” announced ‘dad’ Ken.

The boys complained that they had to go up to their rooms as they wanted to continue looking at the plans some more. Collin told them that these were the first draft and when he came back, he hoped to have a closer to final design of what the house would look like after he did the renovations. He added that they could check them out some more then.

Mr. Ken and Collin looked at the plans for a few more minutes before the man headed up to say goodnight to his ‘boys’. Collin went with him saying he was going to drive back to the college in the morning, and this would probably be the last time he’d see his ‘brothers’ until the next time he visited again.

As ‘dad’ Ken talked to each boy, Collin talked to his ‘brothers’. When he talked to Phillip, the boy asked him about what it was like when he lived there after Mr. Ken and Chief found him out on the Patio.

That question took Collin by surprise, so he asked his newest ‘brother’ how he knew that.

Phillip told him that Robert told him that he was found out on the Patio during a bad storm. The boy also told Collin that Robert wouldn’t tell him anything more and that he was supposed to ask him about his time living there with Mr. Ken.

Collin told Phillip that he was leaving tomorrow to go back to college, so he didn’t have time to sit down with him and tell him about how he got to live at The Cove with his Big Bro and Chief. The teenager saw the boy had a computer in his room, so he told the boy to Google Three Finger Cove and read about the happenings at The Cove and he would begin to understand when they get the chance to talk the next time he’s there.

Phillip hugged Collin and thanked him for talking to him. The boy told him he hoped he could go with them when they visit the amusement parks after school is out. Collin told the young Cover he’d see him at least at one more time and he’d see if he could make it two.

When Mr. Ken and Collin went back downstairs, the man told the teen that he heard what he told Phillip. He asked the teen if he was ready to tell Phillip all the sordid details of his life at The Cove.

Collin said he’d probably not tell him everything, but give him some of the highlights of the great times he had there, like finally having a life and friends, and being involved with politics and the trips and getting his driver’s license. Mr. Ken smiled at the examples the teen chose.

Mr. Ken took that time to tell his Little Bro that he wished he could get Doctor Doug to sit down and talk to him some more. Collin’s eyes lit up at hearing that. The teen asked if there was a way that he could set something like that up. The teen’s Big Bro told him that if he knew when he was coming back, he’d make the appointment.

Collin asked his Big Bro if he could come to his Memorial Day Picnic and if he could that maybe he could come Thursday night and have an appointment on that Friday. It was now the Big Bro’s turn for his eyes to lite up and he said he’d love for his Little Bro to be there and he’d call Doctor Doug’s office tomorrow and get the appointment set for that Friday. The man asked the teenager if he wanted a morning or afternoon appointment.

It was getting late so Mr. Ken told Collin to go to bed and they’d see one another in the morning. The two hugged one another and they went their separate ways. Chief, knowing that Collin was going to bed, hurried down the stairs to go out and do her business. The resident pet then hurried back up the stairs and joined her ‘boy’ in the guest suite for the night.

Monday morning Mr. Ken was up at his usual school day time, relieved the pressure in his bladder, dressed in his usual nylon running shirts, t-shirt and Crocs and went out and retrieved his morning newspaper. He greeted Momma Maria who had his first cup of coffee ready for him.

The three boys came down for breakfast around 6:30 that morning and Phillip immediately took care of Chief’s water and kibble bowls, but Chief was nowhere to be found. The boy knew that the resident pet had stayed with Collin last night, but at least when she did come down to the Kitchen Nook, she would have fresh water and kibble.

“So, Phillip, I didn’t hear you playing your new guitar very much at night,” spoke up Mr. Ken.

“Yes, sir, I got busy with Robert setting up my new phone, and thank you again for that, and after that, as you know, I went to your room and picked up the rest of the guitar’s accessories. Then after taking them up to my room, I went down to the Great Room and began tuning up the guitar and then I started playing some chords and some songs I remembered. The thing was my finger tips are getting soft and they began to hurt, so I didn’t play very long. I’m going to have to play more every day to get them toughened up again,” answered the foster boy.

As soon as Phillip stopped talking, Momma Maria got the boy’s attention and told him to, “Eat, eat!” The woman then looked at Mr. Ken with a knowing scowl that told him to, ‘Let the boy eat as he had to catch the school bus.’

Mr. Ken, with a smile on his face, put his hands up as if to say that he surrendered. Momma then turned away from the breakfast group and went about getting the two high school student’s breakfast ready to cook for when they came down in about forty minutes.

“Ahh, Phillip … if you would like … I can get a guitar instructor, or teacher, to come by and see how far along you are in learning to play. He can then give you some pointers, you know, on how you can move forward in honing your playing skills. Would you like me to do that for you?” asked the foster dad.

“You … you’d do that … for me?” asked the now surprised Phillip.

“Why yes, I would. You are a part of my ‘family’, Phillip, and … and if there is something you need, like a guitar, I’ll get it for you. So, what do you say? Would you like to have someone to stop by and help you learn to play the guitar better than you can, now?” asked Mr. Ken.

Phillip readily agreed to have a guitar teacher stop by The Cove and he got out of his chair, went over to his foster dad and hugged him tight. Mr. Ken thanked him for the hug and told him to hurry up and finish his breakfast and he asked if the boy wanted to have the man over after school on Thursday or on Saturday morning at nine o’clock. Phillip said either day would be okay with him as just getting the chance to have someone teach him would be worth it.

The three boys finished their breakfast and quickly thanked Momma with a hug, washed their hands, used the half-bath by the Foyer and then headed up to the Main Gate to catch the school bus.

Billy and Robert were getting out of bed around the time their ‘brothers’ were leaving the house to catch their bus to school. The two teenagers came downstairs, around 7:30 for breakfast. Collin and Chief weren’t too far behind.

“Good morning, boys,” happily chimed up ‘dad’ Ken, as the two teens came into the Kitchen Nook. “And you, too, Collin and Chief,” added the man as the two late comers arrived.

Momma smiled when she saw Collin arrive in the Kitchen Nook. She then told the three teens to sit and eat while Chief went over for a quick drink and a couple of bites of her fresh kibble. Mr. Ken kept reading his newspaper.

As the boys were eating, Collin looked over to Robert and kiddingly asked, “My Big Bro hasn’t changed reading the morning newspaper at the table, has he?” All three teens laughed. Mr. Ken just ignored them.

Robert asked his big ‘brother’ if he was going to be late for his classes. Collin told Robert that he didn’t have anything important that morning and that he had everything covered. The college sophomore told the two high school teens that the semester was almost over and all he needed to do was finish some papers and take the finals and he would be finished. Then he told the two teens that he would be back for the Memorial Day Picnic.

Robert was very happy to hear that Collin would be back and asked him if he was staying for the whole weekend. Collin told his little ‘brother’ he would probably go to his home on Monday, but he’d be there for the Picnic and some family fun.

When Robert and Billy left to catch their school bus, Collin went up to his guest room to pack, so he could leave to go back to college. As the college student was doing that, Mr. Ken went to his private retreat to get ready for his day.

Mr. Wayne and Mr. Chris also arrived during that time and they were both surprised to see Collin there. While they were sitting down having their first cups of coffee, he came into the Nook. The three talked as they waited for Mr. Ken to finish getting ready for the day.

When Mr. Ken came into the Kitchen Nook, he said hello to his employees, then he got a fresh cup of coffee. And before starting any conversations with Wayne and Chris, he called his office to tell Rosemary that he would not be at the office until after he met with Ben and Jackie at Four Corners for lunch.

He told her he had some issues at home he needed to address and that she should only call him if there were ‘world ending’ issues his other businesses couldn’t handle. Rosemary said she understood what he wanted her to do.

Mr. Ken then walked with Collin out to the teen’s car. The two talked some, shared a hug and then Collin drove out the Main Gate. The Easter weekend was over for the Covers and their week had just begun.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com

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