Published: 5 Dec 2024

From The Previous Chapter:

The young man’s Big Bro told Collin if that was what he wanted him to do, then they needed to make some time and sit down and talk about what issues he was having with Jasmine and their relationship. Collin smiled and quickly asked when they could do that.

Ken Thomas knew he had to help his ‘little brother’. But he also had five other boys who needed him and he had to try to fit Collin into the mix. He told Collin he would see what he could do, and left it at that. The two hugged and went in their own direction.

Ken Thomas was glad when he finally arrived in his own retreat. He got himself ready for bed and when he laid down, he was so tired that he fell right to sleep. The Cove was quiet the entire night.

Monday morning Mr. Ken still felt the effects of the long, previous week, but he was up at his usual time, got cleaned up, dressed and went out to the Kitchen Nook for his first cup of hot coffee.

Momma Maria was out there, waiting for the man. As soon as he arrived and sat down, she brought over his favorite cup and then filled it with the hot brew, while he sorted through the morning newspaper.

Mr. Ken reminded Momma that school began that Wednesday and that only Matthew and Phillip would be down early, as the other three teens started school an hour later. Momma Maria thanked her employer for telling her that so she didn’t prepare too much food at first in the morning.

The owner of The Cove also told Momma that when dinner was over, he and Bill were heading out to look at vehicles to replace the one that was destroyed in the accident. He then asked her to fix something simple that didn’t take too long for them to eat, so that he and Bill would have a few hours to spend looking at cars.

The man then told himself that if it weren’t Monday and that he had all those meetings he usually had, that he’d take the afternoon off to go looking at cars. He then made a mental note to look at tomorrow’s schedule to see if he could actually do that.

When Mr. Wayne came to work that Monday, Mr. Ken had already left for the office. The Estate Master wanted the boys to help feed the puppies before they ate breakfast, so he asked momma Maria not to fix their breakfast until he had them help feed the pups. She said she would and she also asked if she could watch.

When the boys came into the Kitchen Nook, Momma said Mr. Wayne had something for them to do before she made them their breakfast. When they asked him what it was, they all moaned when they heard they had to help feed the pups.

But he told Charles that a letter came while he was on their trip saying that he had orientation at the high school at ten o’clock and that Mr. Dennis would be there to take him. The Estate Master asked the teen to go and get himself ready first and then have something to eat and be ready for when Mr. Dennis arrived to take him to the high school.

The man then told the rest of the boys that he bought some puppy toys that they could use to place the dog food on and then use that to feed the puppies with so they don’t get their fingers bit this time out. The boys smiled at hearing that.

Mr. Wayne already had the food made by the time the boys came down for breakfast, so all they needed to do now, was head down to the Great Room and start feeding the pups. Along the way he had Phillip get Chief’s morning bowls cleaned and filled so that she could also eat while her family was eating.

The puppies were yelping for something to eat and Chief wasn’t letting them get to her nipples as they had been nipping at her feeding nozzles and it hurt. The resident pet was happy that the Estate Master was helping feed her puppies to take that burden off of her.

Mr. Wayne then gave each of the boys a toy that was like a spoon that they could place a small amount of food on the end and then offer it to a puppy. The puppy should then lap at it or maybe bite at it, but eventually eat it all, as they were all hungry and had already eaten some of what they were being offered.

The boys selected one puppy and began feeding it. The puppies were so hungry that they didn’t even sniff at the offering. They just went after the morsel and began swallowing. There were seven puppies and only five boys and Mr. Wayne, so Momma got into the feeding process, so each puppy had someone feeding them.

The process went well, but Mr. Wayne realized that the pups also needed water to help wash down their meal, so he took Chief’s water bowl and placed it into the whelping box for them to lap up if they wanted it. A few of the pups did go after the water and then came back for more of the food. Eventually, all of the pups did lap up some water, which was good, and then they were full.

But it wasn’t too long after the puppies had finished their meal that they began to evacuate their bowels and pee and there was a mess for the boys to clean up. Billy ramrodded his ‘brothers’ to get it all cleaned up as quickly as they could while he changed out the whelping box padding. He told them that the sooner they do that, the sooner Momma Maria would fix their breakfast. The boys got at the job real fast.

When both jobs were done, Mr. Wayne thanked the boys, and Momma Maria, for helping and told them while they ate breakfast, he would bring in the small puppy coral he bought to keep the puppies from roaming all over the Great Room and making their messes all over the place.

By the time the boys had finished their breakfast, the Estate Master and Mr. Chris had the three-foot high puppy coral set up in the Great Room and it encompassed the area under the stairs and went over to the pool wall. The area the puppies would have would be about 10-foot by 12-foot for now to walk around and get used to doing that.

Mr. Wayne further explained to the boys that they would help walk the puppies outside that weekend, to give them some experience with the outdoors. He stated that the puppies needed to be exposed to new things other than what they had only seen under the stairs and inside the Great Room.

The Estate Master stressed upon the boys that for now he didn’t want the boys to over stimulate the puppies, but to just let them get a feel for the new space. The man also said he didn’t want them to scare them for any reason and for them only to pet them softly and let them know that they were safe with them. Mr. Wayne said that they would let the puppies outside for about ten minutes twice on Saturday and maybe fifteen minutes twice on Sunday.

At the office, Mr. Ken had his meetings as he usually did every Monday. The reports that he was most interested in, though, were Four Corners; its revenues, the new operations building plans, and how the Restaurant and Games Group had incorporated the Storage Lot and Car Wash managers and revenue control into their oversight.

It was then that Mr. Wayne remembered that the boys all had dentist appointments that morning. He told them to hurry up and get their showers, while he called to see if he could at least get some of them in today and the rest tomorrow.

The Estate Master called the dentist office and explained that the boys just got back from a weeks’ long trip and they totally forgot about the appointments. He asked if some of them could still come in and they get the rest tomorrow, if there wasn’t enough time today.

The receptionist looked at the schedule and since this was only a check-up, they could probably fit them all in and then schedule them back for any further problems. Mr. Wayne thanked them and said that they’d be there as soon as they could be.

The Covers were only 45 minutes late for their check-up appointments and the technicians took them back for their x-rays first and then the dentists who had the time took them in individually to see what, if any, cavities they may have.

Charles would have his orthodontist appointment later in the month, so only four Covers were seen that Monday. Mr. Wayne thanked them for fitting the boys in, and when they left, both Billy and Phillip had to come back to take care of some cavities that were found.

The Restaurant and Games (R&G) Group Manager reported that he had met with both managers and they have established a method for reporting revenues, inventory and how to have needed supplies ordered in a timely manner. The R&G Manager said that the men had already established those and were happy to have someone for the oversight of the funds and any needed supplies. Mr. Ken told the man to stay on top of them and that he would like a full report on both businesses next Monday detailing their revenues and expenses from the very beginning.

When it came to Four Corners, Mr. Ken said that he noticed the discussed change in prices at the amusement park had been implemented and he was curious if the revenues had increased, stayed the same or fell with them.

Nelson was there that Monday and he told the owner of the park that the people continue to come to the park and that it was making money as projected. The operations manager revealed that the slight change in prices did not deter the people from riding the rides or playing the games and he added that he thought that people were actually playing the games even more now. He also added he just wished he had more rides he could offer and that he could charge for parking. The change for parking put a smile on Ben’s face.

The big concern was if they could build the operations building into the ground, so that it wouldn’t stand out so much on the upper right corner of the park. The construction engineer told Mr. Ken that they did a few core drillings last week and that they felt that they could recess the building, but in doing so it would add about 15 to 20% to the cost. Mr. Ken said that it was the cost of doing business and that he didn’t want a monstrosity overshadowing the park. He asked them when the preliminary plans would be ready.

The Design Group said that they began working under the assumption that they would build one level down and that the preliminary plans should be done by the end of August or the first week of September.

When asked why so long, the manager said that they would plan them to be almost final with all the footings, load bearing walls, electrical, plumbing, and everything in between, so that when everyone sits down for the review, that it would be easier to make any changes than to have to totally start from scratch. Ken Thomas and Ben Walthers liked the way that man thought.

With his meeting over, it was after twelve, noon, as it usually was, so Ken Thomas called Kate to see how she was doing. The two talked about the District Attorney again wanting her to press charges, but her telling him, again, that she did not want to get the boys and her mother involved in any harassment and undercurrent what will undoubtedly come from it.

Ken told her that he would support any decision she makes and that somehow, they would eventually find a way to learn who Rusty’s real father was. Kate smiled when she heard what her boyfriend told her. He was always so positive no matter how dire things might seem and for that she was very grateful.

Ken told her about the puppies and how much they had grown and that with the boys starting school on Wednesday, Wayne and Dennis will have their hands full feeding the puppies. He also told her that he and Bill would go out later tonight and start looking for a replacement vehicle for the Taurus.

When Ken got off the phone with Kate, he called Amy Ozarker, the lawyer he had working with Kate. He asked her how her investigator was doing in getting any DNA samples from the four men, one of which who might be Rusty’s dad.

Amy told Ken that her investigator had been able to get the two local men’s samples, but would now have to go out to where the other two men lived and find them and somehow get their samples. The lawyer told Ken that it could take as long as two weeks, if not longer, since they both lived in different cities.

Ken told her to do it as fast as possible and when she had all four samples, to let him know as he might have to fly out there when she tells Kate what they want to do. Amy said that it might be a wise decision on his part. Ken agreed and hoped it wouldn’t be around the Labor Day weekend, as he always has a big party planned then.

Phillip’s friends arrived and they immediately started to play. Phillip had Bryce help him with putting his guitar over his head and on his shoulder, as the shoulder was still stiff from the injury and the young Cover couldn’t readily move that right arm to put the guitar over his head yet.

The rest of the Covers’ friends did what they usually did. The cooking team got to work while the others either skated or got out on the PWCs, sailed, or played on the water toys. A few even convinced Jordan to tow them behind the Sea-Doo.

The Covers also told their friends about their beginning to feed the puppies their softened food and how last night the pups would nip at their fingertips. The friends still wanted to see the puppies but the Covers told them that until their ‘dad’ or Mr. Wayne says they can, the puppies will remain inside.

Then the Covers told their friends that beginning that Saturday, they are going to start bringing the pups outside for about ten minutes to give them a new experience. The friends asked if they could see them then. But the boys said that they would probably do that right after they feed them, so that the puppies do their business outside instead of inside the Great Room. The friends all agreed that would be the best place, since cleaning up dog poop and pee can’t be a fun chore.

When Lonnie arrived, he talked to Billy and told the teenager that he’d practically finished all of the power washing. He did say that there were some areas that needed to be gone over, and Mr. Wayne had pointed them out to him on Saturday. So, the two teens got busy that Monday morning to finish up their summer job.

The summer was coming to an end for the Covers and their friends. They had a very different summer than the one they had last year, and they would probably have a very different one next year. The one thing that they had already talked about, that caused this year’s changes, was that they were all getting older and their needs and desires were also changing.

After the boys ate, Phillip didn’t swim with his friends. He told them that he didn’t want to injure his shoulder any more than it was. But his friends told him that swimming would probably help loosen the muscles and tendons if he didn’t overdo it. Phillip told them that he’d talk to his ‘dad’ tonight and that maybe he’d swim with them tomorrow.

While his friends went swimming, the young Cover walked inside and found Mr. Wayne and Mr. Chris feeding the pups, so he stopped to help them. They appreciated the help as they had just started. As the three fed the puppies, Phillip asked the men which one did they think his ‘dad’ would keep for The Cove.

The two men looked at one another and Mr. Wayne told the boy that Mr. Price gets to pick his two first and then Mr. Ken gets to pick his next one. So, as the Estate Master began to explain, whichever of the males were left his ‘dad’ will get to pick from. All Phillip said was, “Oh.”

The Covers’ friends left on time and dinner was put on the table a few minutes after six o’clock. As Ken had asked, Momma Maria made a simple meal of a salad with different dressings, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and creamed corn. Dessert was vanilla cupcakes with white icing and sprinkles of different colors.

And as soon as Mr. Ken and Billy had eaten, the two washed their hands and faces, then they left The Cove to go out and search for a vehicle to replace the destroyed Taurus.

Mr. Ken had the teenager drive the F-150 to the first car dealership and stop near the used cars. The two got out and began looking at the different available cars. Mr. Ken asked the teen what he would look for in a car.

The question took the teen by surprise, but Billy recovered and said that he’d want a car that had a good safety score, good gas mileage, low mileage, was comfortable and had the minimum of blind spots. Mr. Ken smiled and told the teen that he had a good idea of what they were looking for.

As the two Covers were walking around and looking at the vehicles, a salesman came over to them and asked if he could help them. Mr. Ken told him that they had just started looking for a replacement vehicle and wanted to see what he had on his lot and that they were not buying tonight. Hearing that they were ‘not buying tonight’ the salesman walked away.

Billy watched the man walk away, and then asked his foster dad, “Mr. Ken … why would the man just walk away like that? Wouldn’t he want to try to help us and that maybe we would like and come back to buy it later?”

“Bill … yes, I think at first, he felt as if we were here tonight to buy. But with me telling him we were not buying tonight he didn’t want to waste his time with us. He is not a very good salesman, that’s for sure,” reasoned Mr. Ken.

As the two continued to look over the vehicles, they couldn’t get into any of them, as they were all locked, but Mr. Ken did write down the makes, models and years of the ones that he felt might fit the bill for The Cove. They then moved onto another car dealership.

At the second dealership used car lot, the salesman stayed with them and when he saw they had some interest in a few cars, he asked them to wait as he went to get the keys. Mr. Ken liked that the man walked with them and answered his questions, then went and got the keys to three cars.

Mr. Ken explained to the salesman that they just started looking tonight, but those three vehicles interested them and getting a look inside and seeing the mileage and feeling how it felt behind the wheel was a good beginning to their search.

After checking out all three vehicles, Mr. Ken thanked the man, and asked for his card. They shook hands and the two Covers walked over to their truck and drove away.

As the two drove back to The Cove, Mr. Ken asked Bill what he learned from the experience. Billy told his foster dad that he shouldn’t be in a hurry to buy the first car he sees, to check out what’s available and when he gets home, we’ll check on line the cars we looked at and see what the people have to say about them. Mr. Ken told the teen that he liked the way he was thinking.

When the Covers returned to The Cove, Mr. Ken gave Bill the list of the cars that he wrote down and asked him to check them out on the internet and then they’d talk about them tomorrow. Billy smiled at his ‘homework’ and he began to hurry up to his room to get on the world wide web to check out the six cars that Mr. Ken wrote down. But Mr. Ken asked him to go to the Study first.

When all the boys were in the Study, Mr. Ken reminded Phillip that he had a Doctor Doug appointment tomorrow at ten o’clock and that the boys started school on Wednesday. He then told the boys that he did schedule his Labor Day Picnic for the Saturday of the three-day weekend and for them to talk it up with their friends.

‘Dad’ Ken then told the boys that after this morning’s meetings with all of his Group Managers, he might have to go back east around Labor Day, but that he won’t know when until a few days before he has to go. He told them that it had to do with the new coasters that they were installing.

Robert asked, “Dad, why doesn’t Mr. Ben go? Isn’t he the President of Three Finger Entertainment, and shouldn’t he handle all of those types of issues instead of you?”

The teen’s dad found himself caught between a rock and hard place with that question and he had to come up with a quick answer. So, the man told him that he and Ben would both have to go answer any questions about the coaster installs at the parks, but only if there were some site problems at the parks.

‘Dad’ Ken also thanked the boys for helping out with feeding the pups. He told them that he will continue to need their help over the next two to four weeks until they pups are fully weaned and are home with their new masters. He then qualified that by saying that all but one of them, because he was keeping one of the pups for The Cove. But the boys already knew that.

Mr. Ken asked the boys to make sure Chief had fresh water before they went to bed. Billy also said they needed to fill the puppy’s bowls in case they wanted some water, as well.

When he went up to say goodnight to the boys that night, Billy thanked the man for taking him out to look for the replacement for the Taurus. The teenager told his foster dad that it had been a long time since they had done something together and that it felt good to him, to have that one-on-one time with him tonight. The two hugged and Mr. Ken saw the tears sliding down the teen’s cheeks and he knew that he’d done the right thing with the teen, despite what his son wanted.

In Robert’s room, the teen’s dad looked at his son and said, “Son … Bill … he thanked me for taking him out to look for the replacement for the Taurus. Bill also reminded me that it had been a long time since he and I had done something together and that it felt good to him to have that one-on-one time with me tonight.

“Son … there are five of you that I have to try to find time to spend with. Please … please don’t be jealous if I do something with one of your ‘brothers’ that sounds like it would also be fun for you to do. One day … it will be your turn to go out and look for a car.

“But right now … it is Bill’s turn, so please … please let him have this moment. Let him savor the memory of doing something with me. Son … can you give him what you have wanted … needed yourself?” ‘dad’ Ken appealed.

Robert stood there not knowing what to say. After hearing what his dad had to say, he now felt ashamed by his asking his dad to let him go with him and Bill to find the replacement for the Taurus. It was true that he also missed doing those same things with his real dad, and he wanted to experience them all now with his new dad, but he forgot that his new dad also had other responsibilities to his ‘brothers’.

It was also then that Robert remembered back to a conversation that Mr. Wayne had with all of the boys one time, about the things that happen in large families and this was just one example of what can happen.

It was while all this came rushing through his mind that the teenager began to cry. Dad Ken saw the tears begin to fall and he pulled his son to him and Robert began to outwardly cry hard and apologize for being so selfish by wanting what Billy got to do with him. Dad Ken just held him and hugged him and told him that he loved him and that his turn would come.

Robert’s crying was heard by the other boys and they all came out into the hallway looking to see who was crying and they wanted to know why. They all wound up at Robert’s room and saw that their ‘dad’ was holding Robert and they heard their ‘dad’ telling him his son that he loved him and that his turn would come.

The boys usually formed a ‘group hug’ when one of them was hurting, so they joined together and hugged both Robert and their ‘dad’. It was then that Robert realized that his crying was heard by all of his ‘brothers’ and they were also hugging him to help him get through whatever was making him feel so hurt inside.

When he had gotten control of himself and had stopped crying, Robert told his ‘brothers’ that he was crying because he was jealous of what Bill got to do with his dad tonight. He told them that he’d forgotten that their ‘dad’ has to spread his time between all of them. He also told them that he’d also forgotten what Mr. Wayne had told them about what large families go through and that everyone can’t have what everyone else has or gets at the same time.

The teenager then apologized to Billy for being so selfish and self-centered and for wanting to jump into his time with their ‘dad’. Billy told him to forget it and the two hugged. The two then went over to Billy’s room to talk some more.

Dad Ken then walked with Charles to his room and the two talked about what Charles just saw and why it happened. The teen’s dad explained that Robert had wanted to go out searching for the car as well, but that he wouldn’t let him and the crying and apology was a result of his realizing that he, his dad, had to be shared with all the boys and it was Bill’s turn.

Charles admitted to his dad that he saw that coming as Robert has been wanting to do more, like work at Four Corners and not travel so much, anymore. The teen’s dad told his son that they were all getting older and their interests and needs are changing and just like his, he will have to adjust to them as they arise. The two hugged and then dad Ken kissed his son on the forehead and when they parted, the dad moved onto Matthew’s room.

Matthew was waiting for his ‘dad’ to get to his room. The pre-teen asked him if there were going to be more instances of jealousy like that as time moved on. ‘Dad’ Ken told the young boy that they all have needs and when one of them gets something before they do, it can cause some resentment and feelings get hurt. The foster dad reminded Matthew that in large families, little tiffs, such as this, are bound to happen between them and he just has to try to settle them the best way he can. The two shared a hug and ‘dad’ Ken also kissed the boy’s forehead before he left for Phillip’s room.

Phillip was strumming on his guitar when the foster dad arrived at the bedroom door. The boy was working on his guitar lesson for that coming Saturday, and he wasn’t focused on when his ‘dad’ would arrive.

“Can I come in, Phillip?” asked the foster dad.

“Oh, yea, ‘dad’, come in. I was practicing my lesson for Saturday and not even focused on when you’d get here, since you had to deal with my older ‘brothers’ and all,” replied the young Cover.

‘Dad’ Ken came in and sat down on the youngster’s bed. He asked the boy how his shoulder was doing. It was then Phillip asked his ‘dad’ if his swimming would help his shoulder loosen up some and make it easier for him to move it.

‘Dad’ Ken told him that maybe they needed to go and see Doctor Powers and let him decide what he could do. But Phillip wanted to know now as he was missing out on swimming with his friends and he was tired of his shoulder holding him back.

‘Dad’ Ken said that maybe after dinner he could go swimming in the indoor pool with his ‘brothers’ and slowly see how his shoulder reacts to him moving it in the water. But in the meantime, he was going to have Mr. Wayne make an appointment with Doctor Powers anyway as he needed to be seen by him for a check-up.

Phillip then asked his ‘dad’ about what happened between Billy and Robert. ‘Dad’ Ken told him that things like that happen between ‘brothers’ in big families. The man told the youngster that it is just something that everyone has to be aware of and to try not to let their individual needs and desires cause them to be jealous of one another.

Phillip wanted to know if he would ever feel something like that. ‘Dad’ Ken told the youngster that if there is something that he wants and one of his ‘brothers’ also wants it and gets it first, then he might feel resentful against that ‘brother’, especially if that ‘brother’ knew that he wanted it but went and got it first just out of spite. Phillip said he sure hopes that never happens because he didn’t like how Robert felt after he said what he did about wanting to do what his foster dad did with Billy instead of him.

‘Dad’ Ken hugged the boy and told him that as long as they continue to talk, as they do at night, and let one another know what is bothering them and what things they would like to do, then they could potentially head anything like that off before it happens.

The two hugged and ‘dad’ Ken reminded the boy to drain his dragon before he goes to bed. The man then walked back to Bill’s room to check on him and Robert to see if they had settled things between them.

The two teenagers were laughing when ‘dad’ Ken came to the doorway and stuck his head in. He quickly asked if they were going to be OK. They both said that they were, so he told them not to stay up too late talking and he left them alone to deal with their issues.

As Mr. Ken walked to the top of the stairs, Collin was there, as he had been as of late, waiting on him. The young man asked him if he had time to talk to him. The man said that he did, so the two went to Collin’s guest suite.

Collin got right to the point and asked his Big Bro if he thought he was doing the right thing with him taking all that time talking with Jasmine. Mr. Ken heard the seriousness in the way the young man asked the question, so he knew not to take the question lightly.

“Collin … you and Jasmine … you both seemed to hit it off that first time you both met. I looked at it as a young crush, something that would be a one-day infatuation. I have to tell you that I was amazed when you and she spent so much time together when we visited in June. What really took me by surprise was when you asked me if it was OK if you took her out to dinner.

“Collin … you know that Kate and I … that we are doing a long-distance romance, and I want you to know it isn’t all that easy. And the most difficult thing about it is not knowing if she had the same feelings that I had for her.

“I will admit that I was taken aback when I first met her. I wanted to be with her and I asked her out to dinner with us that night. But she had already met everyone and the twins had ridden a few of the rides with her boys, so it was almost a natural transition to them joining us for dinner.

“I tell you this, because … well, because you have to know how much energy you want to expend on continuing to get to know Jasmine. And are you wanting to pursue her on your own, when I’m not traveling to the Discovery Kingdom Amusement Park?” finished the young man’s Big Bro.

“Mr. Ken … I … I really like Jasmine, and … and I think she likes me. It’s just … I don’t know how to proceed. What should I do next? How do I keep her interested in me? I’m so confused at doing this, Bro. That is why I wanted to talk to you?” confessed Collin.

“Collin … have you two talked any, besides when you are at the park?” asked the Big Bro.

“Yes, some, but not as much as I would like,” revealed the young man.

The young man’s Big Bro then asked, “Does she seem happy when you do call her?”

“Oh, yes, Bro. She always seems giggly and we talk and talk. She’ll talk and talk. We’ll talk about anything and everything,” disclosed Collin.

“Let me ask you, Collin. Are you interested in settling down before you finish college and what about her? I think I mentioned that to you once before. So … what are you really wanting to do?” stressed Big Bro Ken.

“Bro … I just want to keep her in my … in my world. And, no, I’m not interested in getting married just yet. But I like what she’s told me about herself, and what she wants to do when she graduates. There’s something that interests me about her and … and I want to see where it can go in two or three years when we both are out of college,” confessed Collin.

“My ‘little brother’ … all I would suggest for you to do, right now, is to continue talking to her. Call her at least one or twice a week. Keep her as interested in you as you are in her. You both will have college classes soon and that should be where both of your focus is right now. Make sure she knows that is what your focus is going to be and that if she doesn’t hear from you, it is because you are studying. Does that give you any answers to what you want?” asked Mr. Ken.

“Bro … just you talking to me has settled me down a lot. I was so confused about all of this. Yes, I dated Shelley, but I never had the same feelings for her, as I now do for Jasmine. And thank you for taking the time to just sit with me and give me some direction and ideas of what I should do. I really needed this talk. I love you, Bro!” offered Collin, as the tears began to leak from both of his eyes.

Ken Thomas had seen lots of tears fall from all of his foster boys, and they were usually from an emotional event, like what Collin went through. The owner of The Cove pulled the young man to him and just hugged him as he figured he hadn’t had that kind of close personal interaction in a very long time and he needed to know that he was loved as well.

The two hugged for quite some time and then the young man’s Big Bro said that he needed to go to bed as he had to go to the office in the morning. After Collin released the hug, he wiped the tears off his cheeks and then thanked his Big Bro again for talking with him.

Ken Thomas finally got to his retreat and got ready for bed. When he laid down on his bed, he reviewed what he experienced that evening. He knew that these boys all needed to be loved and given the chance to experience things that they wouldn’t have gotten if they had stayed with their parents. He told himself that he was up to the challenge and that if he had to forgo his businesses for a while then so be it. He was going to make sure that these boys, and Collin, if necessary, succeeded in whatever they wanted to do when they graduated from high school.

All of the boys slept well that night, as did Collin and Ken Thomas. The Cove was quiet and awaited another day.

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

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