Published: 25 Apr 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

Yes, he reminded himself that Robert had been attacked at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, by one of the boys who had attacked him and Logan at the Lakeside Water Park, and that the boys were almost kidnapped, and for as much as he’d tried to protect his ‘boys’ things had happened to them. He knew he just had to try to protect them as best he could, while letting them have as much fun as they could stand.

The Covers all slept well that night, including Ken Thomas who told himself not to stress over what happened to Richard, but to continue giving his ‘boys’ what he had set out to do and that was give them what they were missing by not being with their original families.

Sunday morning, the boys were up, had eaten breakfast, showered and gotten dressed, then headed up to the Main Gate to wait for the local neighbors to stop by to receive their Carnival Gift Packages. Today they didn’t need to be there until twelve noon and when they arrived, Mr. Wayne was there waiting on them to help them with any ornery mothers who forgot their invitation card or identifications.

Billy just ate breakfast and then dressed in his work clothes, as he had to meet Lonnie up at the Main Gate at ten o’clock, as the two would continue to power wash the estate walls. The two were about a third of the way finished with the inside of the estate wall that separated the estate from the linear park, but they still needed to do the top, before they started the outer side.

The Cover’s friends came over as usual, but with the boys busy with passing out the wrist bands, food coupons/vouchers and game tickets, Eric was the de facto Cover over at the Pavilion. The barbeque came off as usual, and the boys at the Main Gate took turns grabbing a quick burned burger or dog and then got back to helping with the Carnival Gift Packages.

Mr. Ken called Kate that morning and the two talked, as they usually did most days of the week. He told her all about the problems with the new Four Corners Amusement Park, and that the twins and their aunt, uncle and cousins would be there for the 4^th of July Carnival.

As they talked, Kate told Ken about the trouble Lane was starting and that she expected to get a court order, or at least to have a court hearing over the boys traveling over the 4^th of July Holiday. Ken told her to work with Amy, and her investigator, and tell her everything, no matter how embarrassing it might be, because that was the only way she would get Lane off her back, and hopefully out of her life for good.

Kate agreed that she would be open and honest with Amy if it meant that Lane would leave her alone and be gone for good. Ken told Kate that he would fly over there, if need be, to help her get that man out of her hair. They agreed to talk later in the week.

After they finished their talk, Mr. Ken quickly called Amy Ozarker and told her what Kate just told him. He asked the lawyer to get as much incriminating evidence on Lane as possible, as Lane was probably going to push his parental rights into court before the 4^th of July.

Momma Maria came back to work on Monday, to the welcome back hugs of all the boys. The woman made them pancakes and crisp bacon for that first breakfast, and promised she would make fresh sweet cakes for them to have when they wanted something to nibble on later.

Mr. Ken told her about Billy wanting to drive more and that he was to be her driver whenever she needed to fill her pantry. She loved that idea and thanked Billy for volunteering to do that, as she would now have someone to help load everything into the vehicle and carry it into the house. Billy just smiled at the extra work he also signed up for.

During the week, the Covers, after almost two weeks of eating out, got to again savor Momma Maria’s wonderful cooking. The woman made them all of their favorites, including spaghetti and meatballs. She also made it a point to have Billy help her serve a meal up at the Pavilion.

The two, together, made sausages with red and green peppers along with sauteed onions and grilled vegetables. They also had a salad with different dressings and Italian rolls and butter. The Cover’s choice of drinks came out of the soda machines. For dessert,Momma had made a birthday cake to celebrate a belated Birthday for Robert, since his birthday happened while he was on their trip.

On Monday, Mr. Ken got with Ben and Nelson and had them contact their previous parks. He had them ask the operations managers to copy the main building plans and send them. That was so Mr. Ken’s design team could start designing an operations building to be about 40-45% smaller for the Four Corners Amusement Park. He told the men that from design, to permitting, to completion, would probably be 9-12 months before the building would be ready to move into.

Ben Walthers suggested that the building he was proposing might be a bit too small for their needs. Mr. Ken told them that they’ll figure that out when they get the two operations building plans to work from. The boss then told them that the Miniature Golf Course footprint is all the space they had to work with, so they had better be able to fit in what they need in that area. Ben and Nelson knew the facility might be tight for space. The three talked about possibly having two levels then, with the offices, revenue, public affairs and wardrobe departments being upstairs.

Also, beginning that week, Nelson Sanders, the operations manager for the Four Corners Amusement Park, had begun advertising for responsible men and women, who could pass a background check and a drug test, to work at the park. He also advertised for ride mechanics, electricians, revenue and accounting personnel, safety and security people, and individuals who could work around and supervise high school aged workers, who were willing to learn how to operate the many rides at the new Four Corners Amusement Park, as well as teach others how to operate them.

Nelson also finished siting the remaining rides, game booths, refreshment stands and the ticket kiosks, then had the electrical contractor begin hooking all of them into the power grid. The ops manager intended to begin testing the rides and begin the training of his new park supervisors when the ride representatives arrived. In the meantime, the contractor would finish installing the walkways, landscaping, water fountains, park benches, picnic pavilions, etc.

Ms. Jackie and Ben also hired the two people they liked to operate the car wash and boat storage lot. They had them get in contact with their respective company’s representative to learn about their new jobs equipment and to get their facility ready to open and then prepare it to hold a Grand Opening by the weekend. Ms. Jackie told them she would assist them in setting that up.

Many of Richard’s friends began to stop by the hospital to visit him during the week, to the chagrin of his father. But the boy’s recovery was going very well, and the teen was soon moved to a regular ward. The teen was told that he might be allowed to go home that weekend, as long as he promised he would do nothing strenuous.

The Covers and their friends began using the PWCs and playing more and more out in the cove. And Jordan used the new Sea-Doo GTX Limited 300, that Mr. Ken bought for the boys that Christmas, that came with 300 horsepower and a top speed of 65 mph, to tow the three-person water tube out on the lake for the fun of the boys.

Charles did take Phillip out in a sailboat during the week and the young Cover had fun learning all about the ins and outs of sailing. It was after one or two sailing lessons that Charles put his younger ‘brother’ through some of the early sailing lessons that he and the other trainees went through. The teen Cover taught his younger ‘brother’ how to right the sailboat, if he ever capsized it, and also how to tie some of the knots he needed to know. Phillip was having fun learning all of that.

Billy and Lonnie continued to power wash the inner estate wall that defined the estate from the linear park. By the end of that week, they had finished the entire inside wall and had begun cleaning the top. Mr. Wayne then did his inspection and he pointed out where they needed to use the power wands to get around the wall accent lights and into the nooks and crannies where the rotating surface cleaner didn’t get into very well.

Dennis Florkert researched how to change the individual soda/water columns in both soda machines from Free Vend to an actual price. He set different prices for the various sodas and flavored waters, then tried them to make sure that he had done the set up properly. Unfortunately, when he left that day, he’d forgotten to reset the machine back to Free Vend.

It was the next day, when the boys went to get a drink, that they found they needed money to get their drink of choice. Then they saw that all of the soda and water columns had prices set for them now and they showed it to Robert and Charles.

The Covers explained that their dad had Mr. Dennis figure out how to price the columns for when they hold the 4^th of July Carnival. The Covers went and got the keys and opened the machines for their friends to let them get what they wanted. When Mr. Dennis came to work that day, they asked him to change the machines back to Free Vend. Everyone had a good laugh while he changed the machines back.

Ken Thomas also called a meeting of his Marina Project partners for that Tuesday. He had the contractor there to brief them on the status of the parking lot, the public restrooms, the bait shop building and the seafood restaurant, they discussed when they thought they could finally open up the marina, bait and scuba shops for business and start renting the boat slips.

The partners all had agreed to try to have the contractor finish the bait/scuba shop building and have everything else, with the exception of the seafood restaurant, done by the first week of August. The contractor mentioned that there had been lots of materials missing which had slowed the progress, especially on the bait/scuba building. Before he left the meeting, the contractor told the men he would do what he could to speed things up.

With those issues discussed and decisions made, Mr. Ken then suggested that they all select five or six boat slips that they could hold back for themselves, or families and friends. He continued and said they deserve that privilege to identify the best situated slips to use as they saw fit, at a reduced price, of course. The four other men agreed wholeheartedly to set aside six boat slips each. They all knew that they could use them as enticements in their business dealings, as a way to gain favor with politicians, or with other businessmen.

Mr. Ken then introduced his guest at their meeting, Jules Diamond, of Jules Diamond Security, to them. He made it clear to them that his guest was the owner of the security company, who was monitoring the security cameras, that he personally had placed there months ago.

Mr. Diamond got up in front of the partners and disclosed to the men that it was Mr. Thomas who contracted with his company to install multiple cameras all over the Marina Project property and for his security company to watch for any wrongdoing at the Marina Project, or the theft of any materials. Mr. Diamond revealed that after the cameras initially went up his men didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary for the first few weeks.

Jules Diamond then told the partners that once the bait/scuba building was started and the building supplies began being delivered, on a regular basis, his men saw how day-by-day more and more of the easily pilferable items began showing up in the workers trucks and going home with them at night.

The security company owner told the partners how at first it was just scraps of wood. Cut-off pieces of 2x4s and other wood waste, such as plywood sections, but that as time went on whole full length eight-foot 2x4s and full sheets of decking and other building materials, such as bricks, hurricane clips, boxes of nails and screws began to wind up in the men’s trucks.

Jules told them he has the vehicles’ license plates numbers, as well as pictures of the men who took the items, and a list of what they took. He added that some stuff also went out the gate at night when a certain security guard was on duty. The security company owner elaborated that the security guard would open the gate and allow a truck to come in and let the person load up whatever he wanted, receive an envelope from the driver and then the driver drove off.

Mr. Diamond told the gathered men that they had a serious theft problem on their hands. He suggested that they immediately fire the security company, then show them and the project contractor the videos. He then recommended that they have both companies refund the cost of the stolen items and do what they need to do with the men involved.

Mr. Diamond added that if the companies hesitate or balk at paying for the stolen materials, they need to have their lawyer ready to sue them and have the District Attorney ready to issue warrants on all of the men involved and have the Sheriff Deputies serve them.

After Jules left the meeting, Jasper Bentson apologized to the other three partners because he had used that security company on all of his projects and had accepted the loss of supplies on his projects as a cost of doing business. He told them that he had no idea that they were systematically ripping him off all of those years.

Jasper also revealed to them that he and Ken Thomas had a meeting a while back about the security company and the loss of supplies, which prompted Ken to hire the Jules Diamond Security company to install the security cameras and monitor them, at his own expense.

Mr. Bentson then asked the partners for forgiveness for forcing his security company on their Marina Project and, as such, said he took full responsibility for the way they acted. He told the group that it was his folly in not vetting his security company, over all the years he used them.

Mr. Bentson announced that he was in favor of firing the security company immediately, and holding them and the contractor liable for the excessive loss of building supplies. He also said he was going to reimburse Mr. Thomas for his initial cost of the security company, as it was only right.

The other three men were aghast that they weren’t informed about the security cameras being installed and why. Mr. Ken told them about his run-in with the inebriated security guard one Sunday, and the lackadaisical attitude the office supervisor had in replacing the drunk man on duty.

The primary partner in the Marina Project told them that interaction put a bad taste in his mouth about the security company. He added that with that, he wanted to know if they were involved in the loss of any materials from the work site. Mr. Ken told them that he contacted Jules Diamond and had his company install the security cameras, at his own expense, and that he was going to accept the total cost if it was proven that he was wrong.

After much discussion, the three other partners accepted Mr. Thomas’s reason for installing the security cameras on his own volition. Jasper then announced that he would be the one who would inform the security company that he usually used that they were being released from the Marina Project and why. He added that he would show the security company’s president the video evidence and ask them to reimburse them for the stolen materials and leave it at that.

The five men then all agreed to hire Jules Diamond Security, since they already had the cameras in place and were already monitoring them. The men figured that for them all they needed to do now was supply the on-site manpower. They also decided to talk to the main contractor and show him the videos and give him the option of either replacing or refunding the cost of the materials stolen or having most of his crew arrested.

On Wednesday, the company that Mr. Ken selected to install the train around the entire Four Corners Amusement Park to include the Go-Kart Track and where the Miniature Golf Course is now located stopped by to talk about signing a contract.

It was agreed that the company would provide two battery/electric trains. The larger engine along with 5 coaches, would carry anywhere between 110 to 150 passengers depending on the mix of adults and children, and a smaller train along with 4 coaches, carrying anywhere of 90 to 125 depending on the mix of passengers for the smaller one. Two of the coaches, one on each train, would also be adapted for wheelchairs.

The train company would also install all the track, switches, sidings where indicated, signals, crossing/warning lights, bells and arms, bridges, where needed, all in accordance with acceptable state mandated standards and specifications. The contract stipulated that the track installation would begin anytime between the signing of the contract and no later than the first of September and be completed and pass inspection by a professionally qualified inspector by the insurer required with inspection certificate submitted to the Texas Department of Insurance for review by the first of April.

During the week, Phillip did get over to see his mother and he got to spend much more time with her. He noticed that she was speaking better and that she was walking around without the help of a walker. He did ask her if the doctor had told her when she would be released and would be leaving the rehabilitation center.

Mackenzie told her son that the doctor hadn’t told her anything official yet about her being released, but she reminded her son that when she is released, they will not be able to see one another until she completes all of the judge’s requirements. Phillip told her to let him know when she is going to be released, so that they can see one another one last time then.

The boy’s mother smiled at hearing that her son wanted to see her at least one more time before she had to attend all those training courses. Mackenzie told Phillip that she would try to let his Mr. Ken know as soon as she knew. The two hugged before Phillip had to leave to go back to The Cove for dinner.

Also, during the week, Charles showed their Cover friends the last three DVD videos he made of his dad’s amusement parks. There was the Discovery Kingdom, Crystal Lake and Edgewood. The boys enjoyed seeing the differences between the two parks that were actually opened and watching their Cover friends riding the rides, but in particular the roller coasters.

What the friends really liked, though, were seeing the behind the scenes of how Edgewood was being prepared for its opening day. They saw what had already been done and at the same time they saw the rides that were practically taken apart to be fixed and The Wooden Roller Coaster that was going to be renamed Patches, and they could actually see why the name would change.

The boys saw some rides that they’d never seen before, like the Head Over Heels, which had two riders face one another in a circular, or wheel like, gondola, the Whip, which was an elongated ride that when you came to the end the ride car swung around 180 degrees to go back towards the other end, and the Roll-O-Plane, that consisted of a rotating arm mounted to a pivoting hinge on a central support column that turned in a vertical movement and then a horizontal one.

All of the Cover’s friends were jealous that their friends got to go and not only visit their ‘dad’s’ amusement parks, but they got Fastest Passes, too, so they didn’t have to wait long to ride any of the amusements in the parks. They all wished they could go with them, at least one time, to experience it all.

Phillip and his friends continued to play as a band during the week, when they weren’t swimming and enjoying the water toys or riding the three-person water tube behind the Sea-Doo GTX Limited 300. They found that the more they played as a band, the better they felt they had become. Then they started talking about learning some of the newer music/songs that were being played on the radio.

Mr. Wayne did take Chief over to her veterinarian for a check-up to see how she was doing, since this was her first time carrying a litter of pups. The vet told the Estate Master that Chief was in good health and that it appeared that she was about three weeks into her pregnancy. He told Wayne that Chief’s appetite will increase and her nipples will become slightly enlarged, and she may start showing affectionate behavior.

The veterinarian recommended that he bring Chief back next week for an ultrasound to see how many growing puppies she may have inside her. He also said he wanted to do a blood test to check her hormone levels. The vet did tell Wayne that Chief may start to have clear vaginal discharges, so they will have to watch out for that and then clean up after her.

Wayne asked if the doctor knew about when they should start watching for Chief to begin birthing her pups. The vet gave the man a guesstimate of around 20 July to begin watching their resident pet for signs of wanting to nest and they should have a place ready for her.

At Edgewood, the State regulators and inspectors had come to the park and they certified the rest of the rides. What impressed them the most was the thorough record keeping the I&R companies had on all of the rides they worked on. The folders had a list of all the parts replaced and any repairs done including the name of technician/workman who performed the work.

With all of the rides now available to start training on, Jason had Braxton Carter and Tucker Clark, his right-hand men at the park, get the ride supervisors to begin the re-certification of the ride operators, so they could eventually have a ‘soft’ opening of the park.

The only ride that they couldn’t train on was the Twister Coaster, which was presently being painted in the dark blue with a light blue accent color that Mr. Ken and Ben Walthers had chosen. The coaster and its cars wouldn’t be ready until early next week.

Jason also learned that the Philadelphia Toboggan Coaster company had finished redecorating the coaster train they sent them in to the new Patches design, and that it would arrive Friday. The Coaster company would also send along a loner coaster train the park could use while they refurbished the other one and made it into another Patches coaster train.

The I&R company indicated they could have the new coaster trains on the track over the weekend and they would start running and calibrating them to the track. They told Jason they would send the old train back to be refurbished, once both trains were on the track.

Ms. Jackie and the Realtor from Mr. Ken’s Three Finger Real Estate Group had previously gotten together and planned the Grand Openings for the Car Wash and the Boat Storage Lot. Then all they needed to do was coordinate with the new hires for those locations to set up the canopies, balloons and banners, and then pass out the promotional items they had purchased for the occasion.

The Grand Openings were scheduled to be held on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 12, noon, until 5 p.m. What Ms. Jackie learned was that the managers needed at least two people to help them to first set up the 12-foot by 12-foot canopy in the morning, at about eight o’clock, and also help straighten up the area. That would mean a total of 15 hours of work, with 9 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday.

The Projects Manager understood that at the start of the Grand Opening, the two people would help pass out the promotional items, while the managers helped their customers. The Boat Storage Lot manager said he would be answering the customers questions about the boat storage lot and possibly renting a space, while the Car Wash manager said he might have to help vehicle owners with change for the self-service car wash and vacuums, or possibly help them purchase a monthly wash pass for the automatic car wash.

Ms. Jackie talked to Mr. Ken to see if he knew of at least four teenagers, two for each of the new opening businesses, who could work for those fifteen hours over the coming weekend. She explained they would help set up the canopy and banners and flags in the morning and then only hand out the promotional items they bought for the Grand Opening for that business over that coming weekend. The business owner asked if she had t-shirts for the workers to wear. She said she did.

Mr. Ken immediately knew that Robert and Eric would jump at the chance to do that. But he told himself that they already had the job of cutting the field, so if he was going to ask any of the fifteen-year-old teenagers it would be four of their friends.

But Mr. Ken knew that if he only selected four of his son’s friends the other four would somehow feel rejected. So, the owner of the new Car Wash and Boat Storage Lot decided he’d hire all eight of the teens: Brad, Gordon, Chuck, Trevor, Logan, Cody, Josh and Isaiah.

Since he was at work, he gave Rosemary, his executive secretary, the phone numbers of all the teen’s parents and had her call every one of the teen’s parents and then had her put him on the line. He explained to the parents about the job he had for their son for that weekend and what it entailed . All of the parents appreciated that he had thought to ask them first before talking to their son.

They told him that their sons would do it for free after everything he had done for them. But Mr. Ken told the parents that their teenage sons were now in high school and they needed pocket money for all of the incidentals that come up, like football games, dances, extra milks at lunch and the many other sundry things that come up.

The parents relented to their sons being paid and Mr. Ken asked them to tell their son that they had an easy paying job that weekend and they could call Ms. Jackie, who would tell them which new business of his they would work at. He then gave them his Project Manager’s work phone number.

After Ken Thomas had gotten through to all the parents, he called Jackie to his office. When she got there, he told her that he hired eight fifteen-year-old teenagers to work the Car Wash and Boat Storage lot Grand Openings that weekend, and that she needed to make sure she had enough t-shirts for them.

Ms. Jackie was surprised that he hired so many teens to do such a simple job of passing out promotional items. Mr. Ken explained to her why he did it and then she understood. She said it wouldn’t be any trouble to procure additional t-shirts. He then told her that he’d given the parents her work phone number for their son to call her to learn which business she wanted them to work at that weekend. He then gave her the names of the teens who would be calling.

That Thursday afternoon Brad, Gordon, Chuck, Trevor, Logan, Cody, Josh and Isaiah all received phone calls from their parents telling them that they have the opportunity for a weekend job, and for them to call a Ms. Jackie, and then they texted them the phone number.

The teenagers learned that the job would be either at Mr. Ken’s new Car Wash or Boat Storage Lot from 8 to 5 on Saturday and 11 to 5 on Sunday and they had to call a Ms. Jackie, and she would tell them which business she needed them at. The teens began to call and of course Ms. Jackie could only take one call at a time and they either got through, or were put on hold, or they got a busy signal.

Robert didn’t know anything about the jobs and he was disappointed that his dad didn’t ask him to be one of the teens working at one of the new businesses. So, as his friends were trying to call Ms. Jackie, Robert called his dad.

It was then the teen Cover learned why his dad didn’t ask him, or Eric, to work at either new business. Dad Ken then also reminded his son that they would be passing out the Carnival Gift Packages that weekend. Robert was still a little disappointed, but he was happy that his friends would have a chance at earning some money. The Cover then pulled Eric aside and explained to him why they weren’t asked to work.

Towards the end of the week the ride manufacturers for the rides at the Four Corners Amusement Park scheduled with Nelson Sanders to have their ride operators/trainers arrive the following week to begin training his ride operator/supervisors. Nelson soon found himself under the gun to quickly hire men and women to fill those positions.

Nelson also had to schedule the Texas Department of Insurance in to certify the rides before he could actually have anyone ride them. He didn’t expect any problem there as the rides were brand new from the manufacturers, but it was a formality that he had to deal with. When he called to schedule them in, they told him they would be there next week.

During the week, Collin took his Big Bro up on contacting his friends from high school and went about setting up a get together with them for the following week. He told them it wouldn’t be anything elaborate, but a chance for them to get caught up on what they’ve been doing since high school. The friends he contacted said they were looking forward to getting together.

Towards the end of the week, Kate and Ken talked. Their conversation centered around Lane and him having her served with a court summons to explain why he wasn’t given access to his sons for certain Holidays during the year. She told her boyfriend that the court hearing was scheduled for Friday the 30^th of June.

Mr. Ken made sure that Kate and Amy had talked about this development and he asked her if she knew if the investigator had been doing their job of tracking down everything they could on Lane. Kate told him that he would have to talk to Amy.

Ken then reminded Kate that he had his Grand Re-Opening of Edgewood on the first of July and as the owner he had to be there, but that he Charles, Ben and Rylan, Ben’s son, would be over to pick her and her mom and the boys up right after the ceremony.

Kate was feeling down just then and told Ken that he might as well change his flight plan. She told him that Lane would do everything he possibly could to ruin any possibility of her taking the boys away, unless he got something for allowing it. Ken told the woman he had fallen for that he wasn’t going to change his plans, and that she needs to trust that everything will work out for the best.

When the two finished their phone call, Mr. Ken immediately called Amy Ozarker to get her take on this latest development with Lane and the court hearing. He also asked the lawyer if she knew what Lane was holding over Kate’s head that kept her from fighting him for sole custody.

Amy said that Kate told her what it was, but that there was no proof that it existed. The lawyer said that she talked to Kate about seeing if there was a way to confirm it to see if it was true. Mr. Ken asked her if she would tell him what it was.

But Amy Ozarker told him that until she could confirm it, she wasn’t going to tell him and she had her investigator trying to uncover it, if it existed at all. The lawyer then added that if it turns out to be true then she will ask Kate to tell him, as it would be best if it came from her.

Ken Thomas wondered what Lane could possibly have over Kate that has the woman so scared that she would not fight the man. He figured that when the time was right, he hoped the woman that he was falling for would tell him everything, but for now, he needed to come up with a way to try to get Lane off Kate’s back.

So, Ken asked Amy outright if she thought that Lane might be open to accepting some sort of financial incentive to allow Kate and the boys to leave the state for the 4^th of July Holiday.

Amy said that any financial incentive he mentioned sounded more like a bribe and that she would have nothing to do with it. Mr. Ken asked her if she thought that Lane might be enticed to ask for such a monetary incentive to let this ‘little thing’ go away. The man then asked Amy if she knew who in Kate’s office was giving Lane information on when Kate got paid.

Amy said they have a good idea, but they weren’t 100% sure. Mr. Ken then gave Amy a scenario where her investigator might do some additional inquiries at Kate’s office and just drop a hint, or two, near that person to see if Lane, or that second party, takes the bait and Lane comes to either the investigator, her, Kate or possibly even calls him to see if they could work out some sort of deal.

Amy was intrigued by what her client was suggesting. She said that as long as what he was suggesting isn’t construed as entrapment and Lane freely comes to them with a request for some kind of monetary consideration to either drop the court hearing, not show up for the hearing, or just simply asks for some sort of monetary inducement, then they would have him for requesting what could be a payoff of some sort and then they could go to the judge.

The lawyer and the client worked out the scenario for what the investigator could casually mention during his information gathering at Kate’s office in the hopes that it gets back to Lane and he comes to one of them. Amy, Kate, the investigator and Mr. Ken, were to be aware of the off chance that Lane might attempt to contact them in the hopes of getting a substantial sum of money to allow Kate and the boys to leave the state for the 4^th of July Holiday.

When Robert’s friends came to The Cove on Friday, they were all late in arriving. They had all stopped by the business where they would be working earlier that day. That was so they could meet the manager, talk to him and get an idea of what they would be doing the next day, when they showed up for work. They also wanted a chance to see what the business looked like.

When Robert’s friends arrived at The Cove, they were all ecstatic about having a job that weekend at either the Car Wash or the Boat Storage Lot. Robert knew a little more about it as his dad had told him and his ‘brothers’ during their evening meeting last night. What the Cover didn’t know was which friend was going to work at which business.

The rest of the Covers friends all wanted to know about the jobs that Brad, Gordon, Chuck, Trevor, Logan, Cody, Josh and Isaiah had landed, so they got all of them to tell them about which business they would be working at and what they would be doing.

First up were Brad, Chuck, Logan and Isaiah who told everyone that they would be working at the Boat Storage Lot, that they would help set up a 12×12 foot canopy, a Grand Opening Banner and some colorful flags, folding tables and then set out the promotional items they would be handing out to the customers and the people who stop by to learn about the Boat Storage Lot.

Then Gordon, Trevor, Cody and Josh told the gathered boys that they were going to be working at the Car Wash and they too would set up a 12×12 foot canopy, setting out the Grand Opening Banners and flags as well as the folding tables, and that they too would set out the promotional items for the Car Wash customers and anyone who stops by to learn about the monthly automatic car wash pass.

The gathered boys wanted to know what were the promotional items that they were going to pass out. Gordon said that all they saw were the boxes and boxes of items in the office that they would have to carry out to the area where they set up the canopy and Grand Opening Flags.

Brad told the boys that he only saw one of the boxes opened where they were going to work and he said that it was full of pens that said Four Corners Car Wash on them. He told the gathered group that he figured that the rest of the items probably had the Four Corners Car Wash logo on them as well, but he had no idea what they were. He told them to try to stop by to see what they were.

Throughout the week, Billy’s friends did stop by The Cove when they weren’t working. Brett had landed a job at the Acme/Ace lumber store stocking shelves, sweeping and cleaning and running errands around the store. He told Billy and Lonnie that he was working about 35 hours a week so far.

Gabe and Jamie also stopped by. They had gotten jobs stocking shelves at the new grocery store that was scheduled to open very soon down at Four Corners. The two teenagers told their friends that they were working long hours and had already put in over 60 hours since school got out.

The two friends said that they were also offered positions as baggers, when the store finally opened, and then they would have regular hours. They did say that they missed coming over to The Cove, but added that, as they are getting older, they have to start saving for college and a car. The teens all had a good laugh over that.

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

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