Published: 12 Sep 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

Ken then explained he had a late afternoon flight, so he had the time to help figure things out with her, but that he did want to go out to Crystal Lake and talk to Arnie about some things he needed to know. Kate said that she understood.

The two shared a close embrace and a few lover’s kisses and then they hugged some more, before sharing one last kiss, before Ken went back to his hotel. The two were becoming more and more an item.

Chief was very pleased that she birthed seven pups and that they were healthy and constantly hungry. She was tired from the ordeal of birth, and she was going to try to rest as much as the newborns would allow that night. The Cove was quiet that night.

Ken Thomas picked up Kate Partlunds at her home that following morning and the two went out for breakfast. They talked about recent events and how it might affect her sons. Ken tried to allay her fears over the boys and the fallout from the events of yesterday. He told her that as long as she kept talking to them about what was happening, they would be okay.

Ken told Kate that was why he had his meetings with his boys virtually every night. He wanted them to be aware of what was happening around The Cove, and how it would affect them. Ken told her that when her boys begin to speculate on what was going on, it would be then that they would become restless and they could start to act out.

Kate told her boyfriend that she appreciated him telling her that, as she probably would not have kept talking to them about what was happening. She said that now she would tell them what she felt they could understand and handle, and love them more and more every day.

After the two finished their meal, they headed over to Amy Ozarker’s office, Kate’s lawyer, to meet with the detective, who was supposed to brief Kate on what they found when they searched Lane’s bedroom the previous day.

Amy was waiting for them and had the coffee hot and ready for them. The lawyer had her conference room arranged for when the detective arrived to update Kate on what they found and how they planned to proceed.

The detective’s name was Westly Wilder. He arrived on time and after the introductions were made and after he had a fresh cup of coffee in hand, the detective took the first half-hour and explained what brought about the judge’s decision to initiate the search warrant, and why he and his partner were at the courthouse yesterday morning. The detective then described how the search went at the Blankenhart’s home.

“Ms. Partlunds … Evelyn Blankenhart … she met us at her home. After opening up her home to us, she gave us free access to her son’s bedroom. She also showed us where Lane would hang out in the home. First … we did a thorough search of the bedroom where we found drugs, such as, methamphetamine and cocaine.

“Then we did a more thorough search of the room. We checked all of the furnishings, then the walls and the floor and hidden under a loose floorboard under his bed … yes, under a loose floorboard under his bed, we found … now get this … we found $50,000.00 in twenty-, fifty- and hundred-dollar bills. That was something we weren’t expecting. A man who told the judge he didn’t have a job.

“Then we searched the area where Lane’s mother told us he spent his daytime hours … when his mother said he was at home. There we found some more illegal drugs. There were baggies of marijuana that he must have been getting ready for sale.

“We did find a larger package of the illegal substance, and some scales, that his mother never knew was in her home. It was probably a packaged pound when it first started out. We explained to Mrs. Blankenhart about everything that we found. She told us that he had promised her that he would change his life around. She was crying when we left. She had no idea that her son had gone back to his old ways.

“We’ll process his cell phone and find his contacts and have a talk with each of them. Or, if they are well known to us, we might watch them to see where they lead us, since Lane did have some serious drugs at his disposal.

“And, there is one item that I am sure that you will be interested in that we did find. Well, we found a video tape and some pictures, that look like they were taken from the video. What I understand is … that these are what Lane was supposedly blackmailing you with.

“Ms. Partlunds … all of us, the other detectives and the district attorney’s office, that is, viewed the video, and, of course, we looked at the pictures. What I want to warn you about is that … well is what the video shows. Do you want me to tell you in front of … in front of the man with you?” cautiously asked the detective.

Kate looked to Ken, who told her that it was up to her. Kate thought about it for a few moments and then she told Ken that he would eventually know, so it was probably best that he knew about it from the outset. So, Kate told Detective Wilder to go ahead and tell her what the video shows.

Detective Wilder took a deep breath and then began. “Ms. Partlunds … the video … it shows … it shows you being … what might be construed as being … as being raped … by four men.”

Kate gasped at what she just heard and Ken immediately hugged her. The woman then began to cry. It took her about a good minute to calm herself down before she asked the detective to continue.

“I’m sorry that you had to hear that, Ms. Partlunds … but from what we see on the video … that is what it looks like. I say that because … because it doesn’t look like … it doesn’t look like you were even awake during the act.”

Kate took a moment and thought about what Westley had said, and then she remarked, “Then that must be … then that must have been why I had such a bad headache the next morning. So that bastard … he drugged me and then … and then he shared me with his best friends.”

“I bet Lane … I bet he put something in what we were drinking and even though I knew we were planning to have sex, he probably had his buddies waiting somewhere close, so they could join in. Yes, I bet that’s what that son-of-a-bitch did! Mr. Wilder … did you find any date-rape drugs in Lane’s room?” now asked Kate.

“No, no we didn’t. But we weren’t even looking for something like that, because … well, we weren’t told to. We only took what we knew were illegal drugs after testing them, and the video and pictures. We might need to go back there, though, now from what you just told me, and do another search for any date-rape drugs he may have in that room, or where he hangs out,” offered the detective.

Amy then asked the detective if they could have a copy of the video. The detective said that it wouldn’t be possible. The lawyer then asked if they were able to identify who the men were. Westley told them that the video was shot at such an angle that the faces weren’t really visible.

Amy Ozarker told the detective that she knew who Lane’s best friends were, during that time frame, and her investigator had talked to three of them. She explained that the other two had moved out of the area.

Westley Wilder acknowledged that and told her the district attorney gave them those names and he thanked her and Ms. Partlunds for providing them. Kate then asked him if there was a way that they could get DNA samples to see which one is her son’s father. The detective said that they couldn’t do that without a search warrant, and without a clear face on the video no judge would give them one.

Amy Ozarker then asked if Kate could look at the pictures. The lawyer said that Kate knew Lane’s friends, and argued that she might be able to identify Lane’s friends from the pictures, if there are any identifying marks showing. The detective told her that it sounded good to him, but that the decision was definitely above his pay grade, and that he’d have to talk to the DA and see what he says.

Kate thanked Detective Wilder for his time and for telling her what they found during their search of Lane’s rooms. After Westley Wilder left, the three, Ken, Kate and Amy, talked about what they heard and what, if anything, they could do.

Ken suggested they could do a sneak attack DNA search. He explained that Amy’s investigators could collect a thrown away cup, or something those local three men used, and do one of those quick DNA tests like Lane and Rusty did to see if there was a match.

Amy rolled her eyes at the suggestion. But Kate spoke up and asked, “Why not? We aren’t the police. We don’t have to abide by certain rules. If your investigator can get something with DNA on it, and we can submit it along with Rusty’s and send it to one of those places, let’s see what they can give us? What do we have to lose?”

Ken chuckled and told the women that he agreed with that plan. He then mentioned that he had a three o’clock flight and he wanted to go out to Crystal Lake and talk to Arnie. So, he asked Amy if she could drive Kate back to her home.

Ken and Kate shared a hug and a kiss and Ken then reminded her to talk to the boys and tell them what was going on, so they felt like they were being included in the mystery. Kate told him that she would. Then they shared another quick kiss and Ken was gone.

At The Cove that morning, the boys hurried down to the Great Room, even before they ate breakfast, to check on Chief and the puppies. They had changed the bedding the evening before as the vet had instructed. They saw that it was still fairly clean, but that they would watch it and change it as they saw fit. Then they hurried up to the Kitchen Nook before Momma got out the ‘spoon’.

Matthew and Phillip talked about the miracle of the birth of the puppies, while they ate their breakfast. They were more fascinated than their older ‘brothers’ were about what happened yesterday. They both told their older ‘brothers’ that they wished they could show their friends the new puppies.

Mr. Wayne spoke up just then and told them that it was not going to happen, and for them to forget about it for at least the next three weeks. The two younger Covers said that they understood and went back to eating.

It was Matthew who then said that he guessed that having one or two of their friends staying over was out of the question now. The pre-teen’s ‘brothers’ all looked at one another as if Matthew’s statement woke them up to the realization that it would now be at least four weeks before they could have some of their friends spend the night.

When Billy finished eating, he thanked Momma and then headed out to work on power washing the estate walls. He and Lonnie had been working on the wall that adjoined the neighbors and they should finish it up either today or tomorrow.

“Mr. Wayne,” started Phillip, ‘is what Matthew said … is what he said … does that mean that we can’t have a friend spend the night for … for about four weeks?”

Mr. Wayne thought about the question and then told the boys that he would have to talk to their ‘dad’ to see what he would say about that. The Estate Master did tell them, though, that they could probably count on at least three weeks because that is when the puppies would begin to open their eyes and start crawling around more in the whelping box.

The boys accepted the answer knowing that their ‘dad’ would be the one who would eventually have to make the decision. But seeing that Chief just had her puppies, they knew not to even think about asking for at least two weeks at the earliest.

When Robert and Charles finished eating, they told their ‘brothers’ that they were going to go down to Mr. Chris’s office and talk to him about scheduling their trip to Fiesta Texas and/or SeaWorld for their Halloween and Christmas themes. Mr. Ken had mentioned that the boys might do that to Wayne earlier and now the boys were going to see what they could work out with the man who usually handled setting up those trips.

Phillip decided he’d better use the free time to practice his guitar lesson for Mr. Bindy for that Saturday. Yes, he’d been playing his guitar with his band all week, but he hadn’t been practicing the chords that Mr. Bindy had given him for that Saturday, and he knew that he’d better do that.

The rest of the day started out as a typical day at The Cove. Their friends arrived around twelve, noon, the band practiced their new sheet music, the barbeque went off as scheduled, the boys either skated or swam. But around four o’clock the four men who helped installed the original lockers stopped by The Cove to help change out the bullet riddled ones with the new lockers.

The four men, Arlo Gomez, Myles Gooders, Carlos Martinez and Milo Gleese, quickly surveyed the job and then they had the boys empty the lockers. When that task was done, the men showed the boys how to unscrew the bolts they used to fasten the lockers to the Pavilion wall.

Once the lockers were loose from the wall, the men had the boys line up the new and old lockers in order to align the holes so they could drill them and make the reattachment easier. The entire undertaking took over two hours and the boy’s parents patiently waited for their sons to finish what they started knowing that Mr. Ken rarely asked for their boys help and when he did, they knew they should willingly support him.

The construction men, along with Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis, thanked the boys for all their help and they thanked the parents for their understanding in letting their sons stay and help finish the project.

Ken Thomas’ air charter plane took off on schedule, and the limo was waiting for him at the Austin-Bergstrom Airport, which had him home just as the Covers sat down for dinner. When the boys saw him, Matthew jumped out of his chair, went to the man and hugged him, as he welcomed him home. Mr. Ken welcomed the hug and then had Matthew sit back down.

It was a very boisterous dinner that evening. The boys all wanted to know what was the outcome of the court case that Kate had to go to. ‘Dad’ Ken told them that the dinner table wasn’t the right place for that type of discussion. When the boys heard him say that, and in the tone of voice that he said it in, they knew to drop it.

The boys then asked about Rusty and Jessy. ‘Dad’ Ken told his ‘boys’ about taking them out to Crystal Lake and getting them Fastest Passes and putting them on the rides. He told them how Kate and he took them on the Scrambler, the Swinging Boat, the Airplanes and the Carousel. He mentioned how the two youngsters asked about them and that they couldn’t wait until they came back there again.

When dinner was over and the Covers were in the Study, Mr. Ken told them little while lies about the court case. He told them that Lane had wanted to keep Kate from taking the boys out of the state, and that he was doing so by asking for custody.

Mr. Ken swallowed hard when he told them that Lane had been in prison a number of times and that the judge had denied Lane custody, because he was still on parole. Then ‘dad’ Ken had to explain to the boys what parole was all about.

‘Dad’ Ken told the boys that Kate was afraid that Lane would still come back. seeking custody of the boys after he was off parole, but he was arrested yesterday on more drug charges. The man added that Lane was taken back to prison to finish serving his current sentence, and that he will then go on trial for what they found in his mother’s home where he was living.

The boys then wanted to know if they were still going to visit their ‘dad’s’ amusement parks. ‘Dad’ Ken told them that they still needed to find someone to watch over Chief and her little brood of puppies, and until they do that, they can’t all go. The boys were all bummed out upon hearing that.

Robert and Charles then told their dad that they talked to Mr. Chris about setting up some possible dates to go to SeaWorld and/or Fiesta Texas for their Halloween and Christmas themes. They told him that they picked the last Saturday of October and the Saturday after school gets out for the Holidays.

Mr. Ken took out his calendar and looked at the dates. He saw that the October date would work. But when he looked at the December date, he told the teenagers that it wouldn’t work, as it was one of the weekends for his Holiday Parties. The boys asked when would be a good date then. Their dad told them to figure it out.

After their meeting, the Covers all went down to check on Chief and her puppies. Chief still had that big smile on her face, while her pups were eating. Billy looked over the bedding and said that it looked as clean as it did that morning, so he didn’t think they needed to change it yet.

Billy then mentioned to Phillip that he needed to fill Chief’s bowls tomorrow morning as it looked like she did eat and drink what he set out for her today. The teen also suggested that his younger ‘brother’ check the water bowl later in the day and before he goes to bed, as Chief might need more fluids, since she is making milk for her babies.

After checking on the resident pet and her young brood, the boys all went up to their rooms to relax some before going to bed. Mr. Ken and Wayne went back to the Study to talk before going up to say good night to the boys.

“Wayne … do you want to know the unadulterated story of what really went down back east? Or, do you want to go back to your apartment and relax from having to deal with the boys for three days?” teased the Estate Master’s employer.

Wayne said he was all ears and then motioned for his boss to sit opposite him in the leather chair next to him. Ten minutes later, Wayne Mitchell was appalled at what he had heard, and he couldn’t believe that Lane had done that to Kate. But he was happy that it all caught up to him and that he would eventually be put away for a very long time. The Estate Master then told his boss that he’d see him in the morning, then left The Cove for his own apartment.

Mr. Ken said good night to his boys that night by himself, telling the boys that Mr. Wayne needed some alone time after being with them for three days. When he talked to Bill, he reminded the teen that they needed to be at Bill Jackson’s office at ten in the morning. The teen said that he was looking forward to having a few dollars in the bank after tomorrow. The two had a good laugh over that.

In Robert’s room, the teen asked his dad what he and Billy were laughing at. Dad Ken told him that it was an inside joke and for him not to worry about it. Charles asked him the same question and got virtually the same response.

Matthew hugged his ‘dad’ when he arrived in the pre-teen’s room. The two talked some and then the man was off to Phillip’s room. There, he heard the youngest Cover playing his chords which he figured were his lessons for that coming Saturday.

Phillip told his ‘dad’ that the band was learning the new sheet music songs and he felt they were doing much better as a band. The young Cover told Mr. Ken that the one thing that he will miss the most, when he goes back to living with his mom, will be the band and playing with them.

‘Dad’ Ken reminded the boy that he told him that once he gets back with his mother that he needed to see which boys, or girls, in the neighborhood played instruments and for him to try to get them to form an informal band, as he had there. Phillip hugged the man for doing all that for him. When they separated the boy had tears running down his cheeks.

‘Dad’ Ken told the boy not to forget to drain his dragon before going to bed. That put a smile on the youngster’s face and for that he got another quick hug. Then ‘dad’ Ken was out of the room heading to his own retreat.

Collin was waiting for his Big Bro at the stairs. He asked him if he was going to get a good night hug too. The two did hug and Mr. Ken apologized for not paying any attention to him as he did have a lot on his mind.

Collin told him that he understood and that he hoped that they could all visit his parks before school started four weeks from now. The young man’s big brother smiled and asked if he was volunteering to stay back and take care of Chief and her family, while he and the boys visited the parks.

That question caught Collin off guard, as he wanted to go as badly as the boys did, so he told his Big Bro that he wasn’t a volunteer. Big Bro Ken smiled and then hugged the young man and told him to sleep well.

With the owner of The Cove back home, the boys all slept well that night. But Ken Thomas, knowing what Kate was going through, tossed and turned throughout the night. Chief, on the other hand, was still very pleased with her first time at motherhood. She and her seven pups slept well that night.

Ken Thomas still felt tired when he got out of bed that Friday morning. He knew that he hadn’t slept well the previous night, due to what he knew about Kate and what she was going through.

Getting out of bed, the owner of The Cove used the facilities and then took his shower. He knew he and Bill needed to be at his lawyer’s office for the meeting with the lawyers from the alarm company at ten o’clock, so he wanted to be ready to go when it was time.

Breakfast was the usual fun time at the table with all of the boys talking with their ‘dad’ as he tried to read his morning newspaper. Billy ate fairly quickly that morning, as he knew he needed to get his shower and be dressed in time for he and Mr. Ken to drive over to Bill Jackson’s office. The two Covers departed The Cove at 9:20 for Bill Jackson’s office.

At Bill Jackson’s office, the two Covers waited for the alarm company’s lawyers to arrive. When they did, the pleasantries were handled and then they all got down to the particulars of why they were all there.

The alarm company had loads of papers for Billy to sign. But Bill Jackson made sure that he read though them all before he allowed Bill Dirketson and Ken Thomas, as his guardian, to sign them.

The one stipulation that caught the lawyer’s attention was that Billy could not talk about the settlement. Bill Jackson took exception to that condition and told the alarm company’s lawyers that, as a minor, William Dirketson could not be held to that proviso.

The alarm company’s lawyers argued that as a sixteen-year-old, William Dirketson could be considered as an adult in the eyes of the law. Bill Jackson jumped on the words ‘could be’ and then gave the alarm company’s lawyers some reasons why William Dirketson was not an adult in that situation.

Lawyer Bill Jackson told the other lawyers that in Texas, you become an adult at age 18 and that an individual who is 16 years old, or older, can consent to their own medical, dental, psychological, and/or surgical treatment if, and Bill Jackson stressed the word, if, they are living apart from their parents, or legal guardians, and are managing their own financial affairs.

Bill Jackson told the other lawyers that William Dirketson is presently under the control of Children’s Protective Services, with Ken Thomas as his appointed guardian, and, as such, the teenager is not considered an adult in this instance and cannot be held to that non-disclosure provision in the settlement agreement between the alarm company and William Dirketson.

The alarm company’s lawyers discussed between themselves what Bill Jackson had just told them. They were perplexed by this turn of events, as they had forgotten that William Dirketson was a ward of the State, a foster child, and they would be prevented from enforcing the non-disclosure aspect of the settlement, because of that.

Bill and Mr. Ken talked about why the alarm company lawyers would want the non-disclosure condition in the settlement agreement. Mr. Ken told his foster son that the alarm company didn’t want him going out and yelling from the tree tops that he got a considerable amount of money from them. Billy laughed that he wouldn’t go out and do that. He told his foster dad that all he wanted to do was get all this behind him.

Bill Jackson then spoke up. “Gentlemen … we have an agreement in principle. Cross through that one provision, we’ll all initial it and then we’ll sign the papers, and then you can hand over the checks. Believe me … William is not going to go out and preach from the highest hill top. He just wants to get this all behind him, and move forward with his life.”

The one lawyer asked to talk to Billy. Mr. Ken asked Bill if he wanted to answer any of the lawyer’s questions. Billy told his foster dad that he’ll answer them as long as they pertain to the settlement and nothing else.

The lawyer heard Billy’s answer and said he agreed to those terms. The man then asked Billy if he would ever tell anyone about this settlement. Billy honestly answered that he’d probably tell his ‘brothers’, because they would bug him to no end until he told them. The lawyer smiled at the answer and then asked if he would tell anyone else. The teenager told him that, as a foster kid, he doesn’t have that many friends and that all he wants to do, right now, is get this whole thing behind him.

The alarm company lawyers talked some and then they all agreed to cross through the non-disclosure provision and have everyone initial it and then have all the parties sign the agreement and then they would pass over the checks.

Ten minutes later, William ‘Billy’ Dirketson had his check for $1.31 million dollars in his hands, and a big smile on his face. Handshakes were exchanged all around and Mr. Ken told Lawyer Bill that he needed to take Bill to the bank to get the check deposited.

Billy still had a big smile on his face when his foster dad took him to the bank. When the two walked in, Mr. Ken asked for the new accounts manager. Everyone at the bank knew who Ken Thomas was, and if he asked for the new accounts manager, he would have that person assist him.

As this would be a new account, for one William Brooks Dirketson, it took quite some time to establish, as the new accounts manager tried to convince Billy to place his new found wealth in different types of investments versus standard bank instruments. But Mr. Ken told the manager that Bill will forgo those for now and, as his guardian, he would place the money in Money Market Accounts, Certificates of Deposit and Savings.

When the two Covers departed the bank, Billy couldn’t believe he had all that money. And as they drove back to The Cove, Mr. Ken asked his foster son not to go out and brag about his new found wealth. The foster dad did say that he could mention to his ‘brothers’ that their meeting today was to settle with the alarm company, but Mr. Ken asked him not to specify the amount of money he received.

It was close to one o’clock when the two Covers returned to The Cove. Billy drove the F-150 down to the garage where Mr. Ken took the keys from the teenager and then drove the truck to the office, as he told them that he would be there.

Once he entered the office, Ken Thomas told his secretary to hold his calls and then he immediately called Kate. He wanted to know how she was doing after yesterday’s revelation.

Kate was glad that her boyfriend had called. She was afraid that after he learned that she had been raped, and that was how Rusty was conceived, that he would have abandoned her. He hadn’t and he had stayed with her and he wanted to know how she was holding up.

After learning that Kate was doing okay, Ken asked her if she had talked to her sons. Kate told him that she had, and that she told them about Lane being arrested for having drugs at his house and was going back to jail. She told Ken that they didn’t need to know any more about how Rusty was conceived. Ken agreed.

Kate did tell Ken that the district attorney agreed to allow her to view the grainy pictures taken off the video on Monday. She said that he agreed that since she knew Lane’s best friends, and it appeared that she had been drugged and was obviously unaware of what was happening to her and thus raped, that it was possible that she might be able to identify the men.

Ken was happy that she would have the chance to see who the men were and might be able to recognize the men who were sharing her. He asked her to talk to the DA and see if he could also charge Lane with something that led to his taking the video and letting those men use her. Kate said she and Amy had already talked about doing that come Monday.

After Ken got off the phone with Kate, Rosemary Martin, Ken’s executive secretary, came into his office with his messages. She told him that there was an important one from the archbishop’s office. She explained that they were looking to schedule the dedication and blessing of the new vocational building before school began, and they wanted to know his schedule. The secretary told them they wanted an answer by Tuesday of next week.

Mr. Ken then got with Ben on the potential new operations building at Four Corners. The President of TFE told his boss that he and Nelson met with the architect and they felt a two-story building with the wardrobe, locker room, showers, laundry, seamstress and dry storage on the second floor with the maintenance areas, main office, public relations, revenue, and cold storage on the first floor would work for them.

Mr. Ken asked Ben to show him the rough building plans, so he could study it before he would approve it. He then asked the President when he planned to make the announcement of the new upgrades for the parks, including which park got what coaster and Crystal Lake getting the water park.

Ben Walthers told the owner of Three Finger Entertainment that he felt the first week of August would be a good week to do that. The man said that he was working on a video that he would release that would highlight all of the coasters and to which park they would go to, as well as show what the water park was to look like at Crystal Lake.

Mr. Ken then told Ben that Chief had her pups the other day and now it appears that he and the boys aren’t going back to visit the amusement parks unless he can find someone to stay with Chief and help her take care of her little family. Mr. Ken did add that he’d still go, but that the prospect of all of his boys going along doesn’t look good at that time.

Mr. Ken then asked if he had planned to visit the parks, as he asked him to. Ben answered him honestly and told him that with setting up Four Corners, getting its operations building established, along with the countless other projects that came up to support the new park, including getting the new coasters on line and finalizing the paper goods and food contracts for the next season for all of the parks, he didn’t see a way that he could do that this summer.

Mr. Ken was inwardly disappointed, but he knew Ben was stretched thin this summer, with the addition of Four Corners, and he wouldn’t be finished with it until all the new buildings are installed and the train is working.

Ken then wondered how Jackie and her family were enjoying their trip. They weren’t due back until next Friday, so he wouldn’t get her report until the following week and by then, he might be out visiting the parks again.

After returning home from the lawyer’s office, Billy went into the house and up to his room in order to change into his work clothes. That was so he could go out and join Lonnie who was out power washing the remaining sections of the estate walls. When the Cover teen joined his friend, Lonnie asked Billy if he was able to take care of everything at the lawyer’s office. Billy, with a big smile, said he did.

At dinner that evening, the boys asked Billy what he had to do at the lawyer’s today. The teen looked over to Mr. Ken to see if he should answer. Getting a head shake that now wasn’t the time, Billy told them that he better wait until they were in the Study talking.

The teen’s ‘brothers’ were disappointed, but they knew not to push the question, so they talked about what they had done during the day. Billy did tell everyone that he and Lonnie had finished the long portion of the estate wall that separated The Cove from its neighbors and that they needed to talk to Mr. Wayne tomorrow to see which area he wanted them to work on next.

Mr. Wayne was sitting there at the dinner table, and he snickered at the comment by Billy. The Estate Master spoke up and told the teenager that he’ll inspect the wall first and then he’ll decide where he and Lonnie will head next.

The boys then told their ‘dad’ how it was a standard day at The Cove with them skating, burning the burgers, swimming, riding the water tubes, playing King of the Raft and listening to Phillip and his band.

Once the Covers sat down in the Study, Billy’s ‘brothers’ quickly asked him what he had to go to Mr. Jackson’s office today. The teen looked to Mr. Ken to see if he should tell them. Then, getting a nod, Billy told them that he and Mr. Ken went there to sign the settlement papers on his lawsuit against the alarm company.

The boys all congratulated their ‘brother’ on not having to testify at a trial in order to get the money. But then the boys wanted to know how much money he got from the alarm company. Billy told them that he had to sign a nondisclosure agreement, so that he wasn’t allowed to tell them how much he actually received. Mr. Ken inwardly smiled at what the teen told the boys.

But Billy did tell them that he and Mr. Ken went to the bank and he opened an account and cashed the check. The teen then told his ‘brothers’ that Mr. Ken allowed him to keep enough money in his savings account so that he could buy his first old beat up used car. The teen’s ‘brothers’ all laughed.

With the meeting over, the Covers all went down to check on Chief and her brood. Phillip quickly checked the bowls and filled the one with fresh water and he even put some ice in it. Billy decided to change the bedding, as it was still early, and Chief did cooperate by letting Wayne move her pups to the clean side once Billy finished adding clean sheets to that side. With that all done, the boys went up to their rooms, while Mr. Ken, Wayne and Collin talked.

The owner of The Cove told Wayne and Collin that the teenager got a substantial amount of money from the alarm company, and that he had him put it into Money Market Funds, Certificates of Deposit and a savings account for now. He mentioned that as time goes by, he’ll consider looking at investing the money for a better return.

Wayne asked if the savings account was where the money would come from for the teen’s first car. Mr. Ken laughed and said that he had promised Bill that he would allow him to do that. Collin then asked if that first car would be something like that Taurus, that he bought for him to learn how to drive with. The young man’s Big Bro answered by saying that was exactly what he would do for Bill.

Once they were up in their bedrooms, Robert went over to Billy’s room to talk to him about the settlement. The teen asked his older ‘brother’ if he received a substantial sum and their ‘dad’ told him not to tell them how much.

Billy told Robert that Mr. Ken didn’t want him to brag about the amount, but that they did want him to sign that nondisclosure agreement, but Bill Jackson said it didn’t apply, as he was a ward of the State and not considered an adult.

Robert then told Billy that he had a lawsuit settlement once, too, and that his dad told him to do the same thing about telling his friends about how much money he’d gotten. The teen told Billy that it wasn’t in the million’s, as his probably was, but every dollar in the savings account helps. The two then shared a laugh.

After their talk downstairs, Wayne decided to head back to his apartment. Mr. Ken and Collin went up the stairs and while Collin went to his bedroom, ‘dad’ Ken went to talk to the boys.

‘Dad’ Ken didn’t stay long in Bill’s room. He did thank the teen for how he handled the issue with telling his ‘brothers’ about the amount of money that he’d gotten. The man gave Bill a hug, then went over to Robert’s room.

Again, ‘dad’ Ken didn’t stay long in Robert’s or even Charles’ rooms. He thanked them for being great sons and asked them to continue to do their best. As to their question about going to visit the parks, he told them he had no answer just yet.

Matthew loved when he got to talk to ‘dad’ Ken alone. He was still clingy, but after his talks with Doctor Doug he wasn’t as much. He too, wanted to know about going to visit the parks, but again ‘dad’ Ken had to tell the pre-teen that he had no answer for them yet.

In Phillip’s room the youngster asked a different question. The younger Cover asked if his ‘dad’ had heard anything about his mom finishing any of her required classes and when they might get back to living together again,

‘Dad’ Ken told him that he’d have to talk to Ms. Judy and see if she had heard anything. Phillip said that he understood. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boy that Mr. Bindy would be there in the morning, so he’d have to be ready for him by nine o’clock. The two then shared a hug and Mr. Ken walked out of the room going to his retreat.

Along the way to his sanctuary, Collin was waiting for him. The young man, told his Big Bro that he couldn’t believe how he was able to handle everything that he had to do with his businesses and then stay on top of five boys.

All Big Bro Ken said was that it happened over time and he was able to compensate along the way. He then kiddingly said for Collin to try it some time. But in his defense, he also told Collin that if it weren’t for Wayne, he wouldn’t have been able to do a lot of what he has been able to do. The two shared a hug and then they both went to their respective areas.

Ken Thomas sat on his bed and thought about what Collin had said to him. He realized that he was spread thin at times with his businesses, and with all the needs of his ‘boys’. But he looked back at all the fun times and ‘life’ the boys had put into The Cove and he knew that without the boys he wouldn’t be as happy as he was.

The Cove was quiet the whole night through. Chief and her puppies were content down in the Great Room and the Covers slept well, dreaming of what they hoped would be a wonderful trip to visit all of their ‘dad’s’ amusement parks.

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

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