Published: 15 May 2025

From the Previous Chapter:

In his bedroom, Ken Thomas felt something good inside of him. He chalked it up to having the woman he wants to marry in the house with him. He only wished that she had already accepted his proposal. But he figured that once the issue with Rusty and his real father is settled, he would again propose to her with the hopes that she would accept this time.

When Ken Thomas finally laid down that Thursday evening, he was very relaxed and he was looking forward to that weekend with Kate. The Cove was peaceful and quiet the entire night and everyone slept well.

Friday morning Ken Thomas woke up refreshed as ever. He attributed it to Kate being there in the house. He only wished that she was with him there in the bed. He told himself that one day that will happen. He was sure of it. But right now, he had to get himself ready for the day.

When Mr. Ken walked out to the Kitchen Nook, Momma Maria had his coffee hot, ready and waiting for him, along with his morning newspaper. The man thanked the woman he’s relied on for him these past many years, and went to unwrapping the paper and separating it, as was his habit.

Then, there, on the front page, above the masthead in the upper right corner was the teaser headline:

Mr. Ken quickly pulled out the Local News Section to read what the article had to say, as he put the rest of the newspaper down.

The article went on to revisit the accident that happened back in July, and almost reprinted word-for- word what it had reported back then. Mr. Ken was disgusted with the way the newspaper had decided to attack him.

He had held Bill and Stewart back from filing lawsuits in Bill’s name against the television and radio stations and the newspapers for the way they had characterized him, and blamed him for the accident even after the Sheriff’s office released the dash cameras footage. Now he was going to set them free to file those additional lawsuits, and let them stew some more, as he intends to take his issue with them nationally.

As the owner of The Cove was reading his newspaper, Matthew, with Sarge and Daisy, and Phillip, with Chief, had arrived in the Kitchen Nook. The two Cover boys immediately went and prepared the pets fresh food and water. What caused the man to notice them was when Sarge gave one of his yelps that there wasn’t ice in his water.

“Good morning, boys,” called out Mr. Ken.

The man received the same back from the boys, as they washed their hands and sat down to a Momma breakfast. It was then that Kate came walking into the Nook, and went over to her boyfriend, and gave him a hug and a kiss. The boys just looked at one another and chuckled.

“I take it that Rusty and Jessy are still asleep,” commented Kate.

“Yes, Ms. Kate,” began Matthew, “Rusty was still sawing logs when I left the room, even after I made all the noise I did getting dressed.” Matthew then snickered at Phillip, as he was still eating.

Phillip then told Ms. Kate that Jessy was still asleep, when he left the room.

Momma had brought Kate her first cup of hot coffee, as the boys told her about the boys. Ken then told her about the short article about his latest lawsuit against the newspaper that she might want to read. That was the first the boys had heard about lawsuits, which made Phillip ask if one of those lawsuits was for him.

Matthew laughed at the question, but ‘dad’ Ken told the boys that because Phillip had been injured during the accident, he had his lawyers talking to the construction company about some sort of compensation for him. ‘Dad’ Ken then added that they were still in the negotiation stage. Hearing that put a smile on Phillip’s face.

Matthew then looked at the clock and told his ‘brother’ that they needed to get a move on. The two boys told ‘dad’ Ken and Ms. Kate goodbye, and before long they were on their way to school.

Momma had gotten Kate’s breakfast order, and was cooking it when the three teenagers came into the Nook. The teens said good morning to the adults, and then sat down and waited for Momma to set their breakfast down in front of them.

Robert asked his dad if he was going into work today, and learned that the man had an important last-minute meeting that cropped up that he had to attend that morning, but he hoped to be back home by lunchtime.

Charles asked his dad if Mr. Ben couldn’t attend the meeting instead of him. But the teen’s dad reminded him that Mr. Walthers, and his family were headed out to visit three of the parks this afternoon, and were busy getting ready to do that.

The teens were eating their breakfast when Rusty and Jessy came walking into the Kitchen Nook. The two young boys first went to their mom to give her a hug, and then Jessy went to the puppies to give them a hug. Momma then told the boys to wash their hands before they sat down for breakfast.

The teens noticed the time and said their goodbyes to everyone, and then they headed out the Front Door to head up the rise to catch the school bus just outside the Main Gate.

“Well, boys … what do you have planned for today?” asked Mr. Ken.

Jessy quickly said that he wanted to play with Sarge and Daisy, and try to teach them the tricks that his big ‘brother’ was showing him last night. Ken and Kate smiled at what the young boy had to say.

Rusty said that he wanted to go up to the skate park and practice what his big ‘brothers’ showed him the last time he was there. Kate asked her son to wait until his big ‘brothers’ were home so they could watch him, in case he got hurt. Rusty argued that the concrete was smooth, and that he won’t get hurt if he falls. Both adults smiled at his logic.

Chris and Wayne came in right about then and Chris was surprised to see that his boss was still there. He figured the man would be on his way to the office, as he usually was. He didn’t know about the court hearing that morning.

“Boss, what keeps you at home, ahh, other than Kate being here this weekend,” chuckled Chris.

“Chris, ahh … I’ll have to brief you in my Study. Let’s walk there, OK?” spoke up Mr. Ken, as he got up from the table indicating to Chris Dominions that he should follow him. Wayne followed the two men to the Study.

Kate saw that her boys were just about finished eating their breakfast, so she thanked Momma for fixing it for them. The woman then had her boys head upstairs, where she would get them ready for their day.

“Chris, Wayne … Phillip’s mom … she went to the Free Legal Clinic and, get this … she complained about me and Judy not letting her visit with her son. And somehow … that morphed into an emergency hearing this morning in the juvenile court,” somberly spoke Ken Thomas to his Estate Manager and Estate Master.

“What might that mean, Mr. Ken to … to you, to Phillip … his ‘brothers’ and The Cove?” now asked Chris.

“Chris … that’s the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. We, Judy and I … we have no idea what Mackenzie will say, what her lawyer will pull, and what the judge will do. I don’t even know which judge will be hearing this emergency hearing,” replied Mr. Ken.

“Well, isn’t Judge Adam Richards the Presiding County Juvenile Court Judge? He’ll make sure you get a fair hearing, won’t he?” asked Chris.

At school that morning, as soon as Phillip arrived, he told his friends about bringing a light jacket and why. And then he reminded them about bringing some money for drinks and snacks, before his ‘dad’ bought them dinner later that evening. The Cover also told his friends about the bus not getting back to The Cove until at least ten thirty, or maybe even closer to eleven o’clock depending on traffic.

When Rusty and Jessy were ready for the day, they both ran down the stairs. Mr. Wayne heard them, and he called for them to come into the Study. He asked them what they had planned and when they told him the three dogs got up with big grins, and the three humans and three pets went outside. But first Rusty went to the cabinet where they kept the doggie treats, so he could use them during their training of the puppies.

Mr. Wayne, Rusty, Jessy and the three dogs got into the six-seat golf cart and rode up to the Pavilion. This was something new for Daisy, and she enjoyed riding in something different than the car she was in with the Walthers. The Pavilion is where the two boys would try out the simple tricks that Matthew showed them last night.

Rusty started with the command, ‘Sit’. Sarge did it right away, and got his treat. Daisy saw what Sarge did and she remembered from when the big boy wouldn’t give her a treat until she sat, so after a few moments of indecision she sat, too. Jessey gave her a treat then, as well.

The boys did that three, or four times, when Mr. Wayne told them not to overdo it, and to try something different. So, Rusty asked Sarge to ‘Lay Down’. But Sagre didn’t understand the young boy’s voice. Rusty then remembered Matthew showing the puppy the treat, and then putting it down on the ground. So, the almost ten-year-old did that, and Sarge knew exactly what the boy wanted him to do.

Jessy tried to do that same thing with Daisy, but the young puppy didn’t understand. Mr. Wayne suggested to the boy to say the word, and then put the treat down in front of her. Jessy tried that and all Daisy wanted to do was bend her head to get to the treat.

So, Mr. Wayne suggested to Jessy to continue to say the word, and to gently push Daisy down with his free hand, as she bends her head. The young eight-year-old tried that, and as Daisy went down to get the treat; he gave it to her.

Rusty did the same trick with Sarge, and then Jessy tried it again with Daisy. Sarge did it with no problem. But Daisy needed that gentle prodding. Jessy was persistent, and the young boy did that with the visiting pup six or seven times, and by then she had gotten the idea that if he said ‘Down’ she got a treat.

Mr. Wayne recommended that after two tricks the pups might want to play. So, he asked the boys to have the puppies run after them, or to chase them. The boys then chased the puppies around for about ten minutes. Then, when they stopped doing that, the pups then started chasing them

All four were tired out and Mr. Wayne saw the pups needed a cold drink, so he filled Chief’s water bowl with water and ice, and Sarge and Daisy almost emptied it. Rusty and Jessy both got water out of the drink machines to quench their thirst.

By then Kate had come up to the Pavilion and had watched the two boys playing with the two puppies. Then, as she sat talking to Wayne, Chief came over to her and placed her muzzle on her lap wanting some behind the ear scratches, which Kate willingly gave the resident pet.

After the two pups had drunk enough water, they both laid down together and relaxed. But the two boys were still full of energy, so they wanted to get their skateboards and get out on the skate park, and try what they’d learned the last time they were there. Mr. Wayne drove them down to the house to get their boards.

When the boys came back up to the skate park, they carefully got on their boards and pushed off. Kate and Wayne watched as the boys rode their skateboards on the smooth concrete surface.

Rusty was the most daring, but he was also the one that Billy had spent the most time with trying to teach him how to better ride his board. Jessy was still a bit unsure of himself, but he wasn’t going to let his older brother be out there without him.

The boys rode for about forty minutes when the two pups came over to them. Daisy was the most curious, since she’d never seen skateboards, and would chase the boys. Wayne went over to the young pup and put her lead on to keep her from tripping up the boys and hurting them. Sarge knew what the skateboards were all about, and all he did was watch and when the boys fell, or jumped off, he would chase the errant board.

Jessy, though, got bored with riding, and he wanted to play some with the pups. So, he asked for Daisy’s lead, and the two of them went over to where Rusty wasn’t riding. Jessy then rolled down the slight hill that the skate park had. Daisy chased after him and licked him. Jessy did it again and Daisy chased him again.

This time Jessy told Daisy, ‘Down’ and the young pup listened. Jessy brought out a treat and the young pup quickly ate it. Jessy then told Daisy to ‘Sit’ and Daisy got right up and sat and received another treat.

Wayne and Kate watch from afar, and they were surprised that the young pup, who had only been at The Cove for less than 24 hours had learned, what they figured, were two new tricks.

Rusty saw what his younger brother was doing with Daisy, so he stopped riding and he got Sarge to try a different trick that Matthew told him the resident puppy could do.

“Sarge … ‘Stay’!” commanded Rusty, and the boy walked about ten feet away.

Then the nine-year-old commanded, ‘Come’ and Sarge went right to the boy. The young pup received a treat for his action.

Rusty did that trick again, but this time he walked about twenty feet away and, again, Sarge waited until he was called. The resident puppy received a treat for being so good at remembering how to do that.

Jessy wasn’t going to be outdone. So, he tried to do the same thing with Daisy. But the young pup didn’t understand what the eight-year-old wanted her to do. So, Jessey decided to say ‘Sit’, which Daisy did, and she received a treat for. And this time Jessy held his hand up in a stop, or wait, action, and then he walked about five feet away hoping Daisy wouldn’t follow. She didn’t.

Kate and Wayne watched and wondered what Jessy was up to and then they saw Jessy call to the young puppy to ‘Come’, and when she did the young boy also said ‘Sit’ and when Daisy did, she received two treats. Daisy had a big grin on her muzzle when she finished both treats.

Jessy tried the trick again but this time he walked about ten feet away, and when he called Daisy to him, she came right away, and the young pup received two treats. Kate and Wayne were surprised, but also amazed that Jessy thought to do that. So, mom went over to her son and hugged him for thinking of doing that. Jessy did it one more time to make sure Daisy remembered.

Ken Thomas met Judy Turner at the courthouse, and the Director of Children’s Protective Service was surprised to see Stewart Russell arrive. Ken explained to Judy why he invited the lawyer, and then the three of them talked about how they wanted to proceed against Mackenzie’s lies, and use the investigation report that Diamond Security had amassed on the woman. Hearing about the report really surprised Judy.

When the three entered the courtroom, Mr. Ken and Judy noticed that Mackenzie had brought along her mother, Adeline. They told Stewart who the older woman was, and that they figured she needed her for moral support. The three smiled at the thought.

At ten o’clock, the bailiff called the courtroom to order. Ken and Judy were surprised when Judge Adam Richards did not appear on the bench.

“Please be seated,” announced the judge, who did step up on and behind the bench.

“Judge Adam Richards,” began the judge, “saw that there could be a conflict of interest in hearing this issue today, so he asked me to sit in. I am Judge Alaina Gonzales, who will now be presiding over this emergency hearing.

“I see the petitioner is represented by a lawyer from the Free Lawyer Clinic, who filed this request for this emergency hearing regarding the plaintiff not being able to have access to her son. It says here that the petitioner … that she is being rebuffed by the foster parent and Children’s Protective Services in allowing her to see her son, when she wants to. Hmmm, I see.

“I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for why the foster parents and CPS are not making the son available. So … let’s get started. Will the lawyer representing Mackenzie Flores please begin,” announced Judge Gonzales.

The lawyer got up and explained how his client wanted to visit her son last weekend, and this coming weekend, but the foster parent, a Mr. Ken Thomas, told her that her son was not available at the time and day that she wanted to come to visit. The lawyer went on to say that it was imperative that the mother and son maintain a close relationship, while the boy was in the CPS system.

The lawyer further argued that since Ms. Flores works most days, and often works overtime in order for her to accumulate enough money in order to eventually be reunited with her son that the foster parent should make every and all effort to accommodate her schedule, and not the other way around.

All the while the lawyer was speaking, Ken Thomas was sitting there seething at what he heard the lawyer had to say, as he sat there in his chair. He knew the truth and couldn’t wait until he had the opportunity to tell the judge exactly what had transpired between him and one Mackenzie Flores, over the past two weeks, as he tried to get the woman to come and visit her son.

The judge listened to the lawyer, and then had Mackenzie go to the witness stand and attest that what the lawyer had to say was the truth. The judge then gave Stewart Russell, the lawyer representing the foster parent, and also in effect CPS, the opportunity to cross-examine Ms. Flores.

Stewart Russell, using the information he received after talking to Mr. Thomas, and what he gleaned from the investigative report, assembled by Diamond Security Services, went up to Mackenzie Flores, and just looked at her and smiled.

“Now, Ms. Flores … are you sure … that what you just attested to is the truth?” asked Stewart.

Mackenzie quickly answered, “Why wouldn’t they be the truth? That is the way I know them to have happened.”

“Ms. Flores … didn’t Mr. Thomas … didn’t he attempt to contact you, on numerous occasions, during the last week … in order for you to come and visit your son, Phillip, last weekend?” directly asked the lawyer.

“Well … I work so much you see … I don’t really remember any such phone calls,” answered the woman.

“Let me refresh your memory, then, Ms. Flores. On the 25^th of September, didn’t you call Mr. Thomas that evening … say around six o’clock during which time he talked to you and asked you to make arrangements to visit with your son that coming weekend?” suggested Stewart Russell.

“Well, I don’t really remember,” answered Mackenzie.

“Ms. Flores … can I see your cell phone?” then asked the lawyer.

“You most certainly may not!” yelled Mackenzie.

“I object your Honor,” now spoke up Ms. Flores’ lawyer.

“If it would please the court, your Honor. I just wanted to use it to refresh Ms. Flores’ memory that she did indeed talk to Mr. Thomas, the night of the 25^th, for about seven minutes,” offered Stewart Russell.

“OK, OK, yes, I did talk to Mr. Ken. What of it?” now asked an irritated Mackenzie Flores.

“Yes, Mr. Thomas … during that phone call … he wanted you to call him sometime later during the week to set up a time to visit with your son, on that coming Saturday. But … when you hadn’t called him later during the week; he called you Sunday morning and when he pressed you to come over to The Cove to visit with your son, Phillip, you told him that … that you had already made other plans, didn’t you?” pressed Mr. Russell.

“Well, since I work so much, I … I do try to use my time off to relax. And when my friends have the same time off, we … well, we try to get together, and go out to dinner, share stories and just try to live a little. Doesn’t a girl get to do that?” offered an obviously irritated Mackenzie.

“Yes, she does. But you seem to do that just as much now, or maybe even more, which is what got your son in the Children’s Protective Services system in the first place,” matter-of-factually stated Steward Russell.

“I do NOT!” shouted Mackenzie.

“Oh, but you do! And I have (And Stewart goes over to his table and picks up a folder.) the proof right here in this folder. It is a private investigator’s report of your after work and free time activities ever since you decided to keep your son in the CPS system back after the Labor Day weekend meeting with Mr. Thomas and the Director of Children’s Protective Services, Ms. Judy Turner,” continued the lawyer.

Mackenzie got furious that someone was watching what she was doing, and she accused Ken Thomas of doing that and threatened to sue him for everything he had.

Stewart inwardly smiled and not missing a beat continued, “Now getting to this coming weekend, didn’t Mr. Thomas … didn’t he attempt to get you to come over to The Cove and visit with your son? And, didn’t Ms. Judy Turner, the Director of Children’s Protective Services … didn’t she also talk to you during the week … to encourage you to make arrangements to visit with your son, Phillip?”

“Yea, they both talked to me. But I wanted to visit on Saturday. But Mr. Thomas … he … he wouldn’t allow me to do that!” now screamed Mackenzie.

“You do know why he told you that you couldn’t visit with your son on Saturday? You do know why, right?” calmly asked Mr. Russell.

“It shouldn’t matter what he told me! It should be when I WANT to visit my son, not … NOT when he wants to allow me to see him,” demanded Mackenzie. “I am busy with work and overtime, and can’t just visit when he wants me to!”

“Well, if you had made arrangements for the previous weekend, and gone and seen Phillip, as Mr. Thomas had tried to get you to do, then this court hearing probably wouldn’t have been needed, then. And … and if you hadn’t decided that your partying … that your previous plans … that they were more important than your son, on that Sunday that Mr. Thomas tried to get you to come over, and visit your son, we probably wouldn’t be here right now, would we?

“Your Honor … Mr. Thomas, her son’s foster father … he had already scheduled a trip for her son, along with his two sons, foster sons and all of their friends and chaperones, a total of 52 people, to go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the day, tomorrow, Saturday. That is why Mr. Thomas would not allow Ms. Flores to come over tomorrow to visit with her son.

“This trip … it had been scheduled for more than six weeks, and Ms. Flores … she was told about that trip when she and Mr. Thomas talked about why she wouldn’t be able to visit with her son tomorrow, Saturday.

“Yet … Ms. Flores … she feels it is her right to visit whenever she wants to and it … IT, mind you … it is her right to visit whenever she wants, which trumps anything anyone else has scheduled even though she wouldn’t change her own schedule, the previous weekend, for her OWN son,” argued Stewart Russell.

“May I see that folder Mr. Russell?” asked the judge.

After a few minutes of reviewing the folder, Judge Gonzales asked Stewart if this information could be verified. The lawyer told the judge that Diamond Security Services had done the investigation, and that they were a very reputable company with many large companies and influential people as their clientele.

“Do you have any more questions for this witness?” asked the judge.

When Mr. Russell said that he didn’t, but would reserve the option for redirect, if necessary, the judge asked the Director of Children’s Protective Services to stand. Judge Gonzales then asked Ms. Turner to explain to her why Ms. Flores’ son was in the CPS system.

Judy Turner, the Director of Children’s Protective Services pulled Phillip’s CPS folder from her briefcase, and she proceeded to disclose to the judge the reason why Mackenzie Flores’ son, Phillip, was entered into the CPS system, initially.

Judy Turner talked for about ten minutes going through the high points of the reasons why Mackenzie’s son was taken from her and entered into the Children’s Protective Services. Then, before the judge could ask, Judy continued and decided to relate what happened at the meeting between her, Ken Thomas, Mackenzie Flores and her mother, Adeline Flores, that kept Phillip in the CPS system.

After listening to, and asking questions of the Director for about twenty minutes, Judge Alaina Gonzales sighed, wiped the frustration off her face. The judge then thanked the Director for the briefing on the grounds surrounding Phillip Girroads entrance, and continued residing in the CPS system.

“Ms. Flores, please stand,” began the judge. “I understand your wanting to visit with your son at your convenience. But … you have to understand that there are three people, you, Mr. Thomas and your son, in this visitation equation.

“Mr. Thomas … he had reached out to you to plan a visit with your son, for the previous weekend. But somehow you … you didn’t make the effort to call him and make any arrangements, and when he called you on Sunday you had already made some plans that you were unwilling to change. Am I correct there?” asked the judge.

Mackenzie just stood there not answering. The lawyer nudged her to say something. “Yes.”

“What was that? I didn’t hear you, Ms. Flores,” commanded the judge.

The lawyer again nudged Mackenzie to answer, and this time she said, “Yes, your honor.”

“Mr. Thomas,” started the judge, (Ken Thomas immediately stood up.) “I want to thank you for all you’ve done for young Phillip. Even though nothing was discussed in court here today, I know who you are, and your reputation when it comes to fostering.

“Ms. Flores,” the judge now directed her attention to the plaintiff, “if you had worked with Mr. Thomas on visiting with your son the previous weekend, this hearing would not have been necessary, and wasted the courts time.

“And because this is a court hearing, and like it or not, I am ordering you, Ms. Flores … you are to visit with your son at least once every two, or three weeks, and more if possible, beginning this Sunday, or Monday. It can be on the weekend, or on a weekday, as long as it won’t interfere with what Mr. Thomas has already planned for his foster son, as he has on this Saturday.

“And Ms. Flores … if it is your intent to be reunited with your son … then I strongly, and I emphasize the word strongly, suggest that you curtail some of your … your after work hours activities and devote that time towards saving that money, as was indicated that you were doing, towards making a better life for you and your son, for when you finally are reunited. Do you have any questions for me?” finished the judge. She then held out the folder for Stewart Russell to take back.

Mackenzie’s lawyer whispered something in her ear, and then Ms. Flores shook her head and then answered that she didn’t have questions for the judge.

The judge then asked Mr. Thomas if he had any problems with the conditions, she had set just down for Ms. Flores to follow. Mr. Ken told the judge that he could easily work with them, as long as he and Mackenzie can coordinate the times and days.

With that all said, Judge Alaina Gonzales gaveled the emergency hearing to a close. When she rose off the bench everyone stood until she was out of the courtroom.

Ken and Judy could tell by her attitude that Mackenzie Flores wasn’t happy with the outcome of the hearing. Mr. Ken went over to her, though, to see if he could get her to commit to stopping by on Sunday to talk with her son.

“Mackenzie … can you stop by on Sunday? If you came after twelve, noon, you can listen to your son’s band play before you talk with him,” suggested Ken Thomas.

Mackenzie felt as if she was caught between a rock and a hard place, after the ruling by the judge. But she knew she better make an attempt to visit with Phillip, so she agreed to stop by The Cove after twelve, noon on Sunday.

Mr. Ken told her that he would let her son know, and that he would be thrilled that he would finally be able to talk with her. The man told her to be ready to answer her son’s questions, which would center around why she decided to leave him at The Cove for the foreseeable future.

Adeline was right next to her daughter and told Mackenzie that she would be able to get through any of those questions by telling Phillip the truth. The daughter smiled and asked if her mother could also come along with her on Sunday. Mr. Ken told both ladies that he felt that Phillip would be happy to see them both.

The Free Lawyer Clinic attorney and Stewart were talking, when Mr. Ken walked away from Mackenzie and Adeline. They two lawyers were talking about general topics, and not about what had just transpired in the courtroom.

When Ken and Judy got together, Judy told Ken that she felt that the morning was a pure waste of time. But Ken disagreed with the Director. He told her that this might have been the extra kick in the pants that Mackenzie needed, because the judge might have gotten Mackenzie’s attention to hopefully make time to see her son more often, and to stop spending so much time partying. Judy told her friend that she hoped that is what happens.

It was close to lunchtime when Mr. Ken returned to The Cove. When he drove into the estate, he saw Wayne, Kate and the boys over at the Pavilion, with the three dogs. And as soon as they saw him enter through the Main Gate, they all loaded into their golf carts and headed down to the house.

Mr. Ken waited for them at the garage, and Kate greeted him with a kiss, while the boys greeted him with a hug. Chief, of course, wanted some behind the ear scratches, while the pups just wanted to be noticed and petted some. The large group then walked into the house.

Momma greeted the entourage, and told them that lunch was almost ready, and for them to wash their hands, and come and sit down at the Nook’s table. But Wayne went to fix the puppies a small snack of their own. The boys saw what he was doing and asked to help.

Mr. Wayne told them they could and proceeded to tell them what they needed to do. Kate watched, as the boys did what the Estate Master had them do. She smiled at how they smiled at being able to help take care of the puppies. Then, when they were finished, Mr. Wayne had them all go and wash their hands.

By then Mr. Chris had joined Mr. Ken, Ms. Kate, Mr. Wayne, Rusty and Jessy for a Momma Maria lunch. Today, she offered them a choice of beef tacos with shredded lettuce, cheese and diced tomatoes and quesadillas made with beef, cheese, refried beans with sour cream and guacamole on the side for the diner to add to either if they wanted. There were also extra refried beans, as well as chips and dip on the table. To drink was sweet iced tea.

Lunch was like a family affair, with the boys taking center stage. They told how they played with the pups and then skated, and they told everyone how they were training Sarge and Daisy.

Of course, Jessy had to tell everyone how he trained Daisy to stay and then come to him. But Rusty had to add that his little brother had to use two treats to get her to do that. All the adults laughed at the sibling rivalry.

When lunch was over, the boys asked if they could go swimming. Mr. Ken said that he would take them, but first he needed to talk to Mr. Wayne and Mr. Chris. Kate told her boyfriend that she would get the boys ready, and then meet him at the pool. With that decided everyone thanked Momma for the great lunch, and then everyone headed to where they needed to go. The pups followed the boys, while Chief went with the men.

“Guys … well, the hearing … it went better than I expected. And … I didn’t even have to testify. As the plaintiff, Mackenzie … she had to go first, and just about every time she answered Stew’s questions, she put her foot into her mouth,” explained Mr. Ken.

“Stewart Russell, the boy’s lawyer, was there? I would have thought Bill Jackson, your lawyer, would have been there to represent you?” stated Chris.

“Bill was busy when I called yesterday, and Stewart … he was available, and when I explained the situation to him, it dawned on us that, as the boy’s lawyer, as you put it, Stewart Russell, was the obvious one to be there today. And he did a great job, too.

“The end result was that the judge ordered Mackenzie to visit with Phillip at least once every two or three weeks, either on the weekend, or a weekday. Oh, that’s another thing. Judge Adam … he recused himself. That was probably because he knew that I was one part of the two defendants of the hearing.

Judge Alaina Gonzales sat in for him. At first, I was concerned that this lady judge would lean in Mackenzie’s favor. But when Phillip’s mom began to open her mouth and answer the questions, boy was she ever her own worst enemy.

“After the hearing was over, I did go over to talk to Mackenzie and … and I got her to agree to stop by The Cove on Sunday after twelve o’clock. I told her that way she could get to listen to Phillip’s band, and then talk to him. I also told her to be prepared to answer her son’s questions, as to why she decided to leave him with me for the foreseeable future.

“Gentlemen … the boys are waiting for me to go swimming with them, so if you will excuse me,” offered Mr. Ken, as he got up from behind his desk.

Just then, Dennis came to work and he had with him two balls for the boys to use to throw for the pups to chase and maybe train them to bring back to them. Chris was doubtful that the puppies would do that. But after what Wayne saw this morning, he was hopeful the boys would get the pups to do it. Chris told him, “Good luck.”

Mr. Ken joined Kate and the two boys down in the indoor pool, and low and behold when he entered not only did Kate have the boys in the water, so were Sarge and Daisy. The man laughed to himself knowing that the puppy master would have a conniption, when he learned that the puppies were in the chlorinated water.

“Mr. Ken, come on, get in and swim with us,” yelled Jessy.

And Ken Thomas did just that, and began playing with Rusty and Jessy. Of course, Sarge and Daisy got into the act by getting out of the pool at the beach end, shaking off the excess water and then they would run around and they would jump back in where the boys were.

Ken and Kate were having a good time with the boys. At first, Mr. Ken would pick up the boys and throw them, and the dogs would swim after them. But Mr. Ken told the boys he wanted to make sure they knew how to swim when they were in his pool, so he asked to see how well they swam.

Rusty was a fair swimmer and Jessy was less than that. So, Mr. Ken began showing them some simple swimming strokes that would help them build their strength, in order to swim better. And one thing that he worked with Jessy on was to get him to stop holding his nose when he went under water.

Jessy was adamant that the water would get up there if he didn’t hold his nose. So, Mr. Ken had to get him to lightly blow bubbles out of his nose, when he went under water. It took some time, but after a while the young boy got used to doing it that way.

Sarge and Daisy wore themselves out jumping into the water, getting out and repeating that process. The two pups finally shook off the excess water, and then curled up together against the window where the light was bright, and then they took a nap. Chief had decided to stay up in the Study with Wayne and Dennis.

But before long Rusty and Jessy were tired, as well, so Kate decided to take them up to her room and get them changed, and then get them to lay down for a few minutes, since they were going out to dinner and the Four Corners Amusement Park later tonight.

The two pups stirred when Kate and the boys began to head up to get changed, but Mr. Ken told them that they had to stay there to get the chlorine washed out of their fur. So, he made them go with him to the Men’s Locker Room, where he proceeded to give them both a bath.

The pups remembered getting a bath there, and they eagerly got into the shower and let themselves be sprayed with the warm water, and then washed with soap and had their coat massaged by Mr. Ken.

When Matthew and Phillip came home from school, they asked where the boys and puppies were only to learn that they all went swimming. Matthew wasn’t too happy to learn that the puppies had done that, and it was then that ‘dad’ Ken, Sarge and Daisy came up the stairs.

“‘Dad’ … how could you let them go swimming?” asked an exasperated Matthew.

“Well, son, I didn’t really let them go swimming. They were already in the pool with Rusty and Jessy when I got there, so … what was I supposed to do? They were having fun with the boys so … well, I let them stay in the water. But … in my defense, I just gave them a soapy shower and they are relatively dry. We’ll have to tell the boys that Sarge and Daisy aren’t supposed to go in the pool. OK?” finished ‘dad’ Ken.

Matthew couldn’t stay mad at his ‘dad’, so he hugged him. He then told the man that he’d go find the blow drier, and finish getting the puppies dry. The pre-teen then called Sarge and Daisy to follow him up the stairs.

Phillip was going to go with his ‘brother’, but Mr. Ken asked the boy to stay behind for a few seconds. “Phillip … I talked with your mom today,” began the man.

“You did? What did she say? Is she going to come and see me?” quickly asked the young Cover.

“Yes, she told me that she is going to stop by on Sunday. She is going to come by and listen to you and your band and then … and then you two can sit down and talk. Your grandmother is also coming along,” happily revealed ‘dad’ Ken.

Phillip was so happy that he hugged his foster dad. He then remembered he better go to the Kitchen Nook before Momma got the ‘spoon’ out after him. When he got there, he texted Matthew and told him to get down there ASAP to have his afterschool snack.

Mr. Ken then went to his retreat to get changed. He told himself that he didn’t need to shower as he already had one getting the pups cleaned. He smiled at the thought.

When the teenagers came home, they wanted to know where the puppies were. But they were surprised, but happy, to see their ‘dad’ was already home.

It was then that Rusty and Jessy came down the stairs and hearing them, Mr. Dennis came out of the Study. The man called them over and he gave each of them a ball they could use to play with the puppies, and then hopefully use to train the pups to bring back to them.

The two boys thanked the man for the balls. It was Jessy who thought to himself that it was a great idea to use the ball to train Daisy to bring it back to him. So, he went looking for the weekend guest pet.

When he found Daisy, he wanted to take her outside and play, but Matthew told him that Daisy just had a bath and he didn’t want her to get dirty. But the pre-teen suggested that Jessy use the Great Room, and roll the ball to see if Daisy will do what he wanted. So, that was what the young boy went to try.

Since Daisy was going with Jessy, Sarge followed along. Down in the Great Room, Jessy showed Daisy the ball and Sarge saw it too, and when Jessy rolled the ball for Daisy to go and get it, Sarge quickly did it instead.

“No, Sarge. It was for Daisy to do it,” complained Jessy.

“Now, Daisy … go and get the ball,” commanded Jessy, as he rolled the ball away from him.

Sarge was going to go and get it, and Jessy had to hold onto his collar to keep him from going to get the ball. The young boy then called for Daisy to go and get the ball.

Rusty went looking for his younger brother, and when he found him, he brought along his ball and then he took Sarge off his hands. The almost ten-year-old then began working with Sarge to go and bring back the ball he rolled away from him.

When it was time for everyone to go out to dinner, they found the two young boys down in the Great Room working with both Daisy and Sarge to retrieve the ball. They were all surprised to see that both pups did, as they were asked.

When the boys learned that they were going out to dinner, both boys said they wanted to show everyone what they taught Sarge and Daisy today. So, everyone watched, as the boys worked with their young pup.

Everyone knew what Sarge could do, what they were surprised to see was that Daisy would now ‘Sit’ and ‘Stay’ and now ‘Come’, when called by Jessy. Rusty complained that his brother used two treats to get Daisy to do that for him. Everyone chuckled at the rivalry. They all then watched, as both boys showed how both pups would retrieve the ball for them.

With the demonstration over, Matthew got the pup’s leads out and took both puppies outside to go potty. Chief followed along and did the same knowing her people were leaving the house for a while.

When everyone left the house, Chief gathered Sarge and Daisy and the three went down to the Great Room and got comfortable on the floor there.

The large group were a bit late arriving at the Four Corners Restaurant for their reservation. But the manager knew who the reserved tables were for, and he was not worried. He had trained under Ed Henry, who was moved over to the Marina Seafood Wharf & Steak House, and he was not going to let this cause him any stress.

Xander Perez knew the reserved tables were for the owner of the restaurant, and so did the staff. And even though it was a Friday night, and many people were waiting for a table, and had complained about them not using the obviously open tables, those Reserved tables were not going to be released until after Ken Thomas and his party of eleven were gone from the restaurant.

“Welcome, Mr. Thomas … it is so awesome to see you here tonight,” offered Mr. Perez, as the owner of the restaurant came through the door with his guests.

The hostess quickly showed the group to their tables, and everyone knew which table they would be at. Ken and Kate had decided that Rusty and Jessy would be at their table along with Billy and Robert. That left Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dennis, Charles, Matthew and Phillip to be seated at the other table.

Once the large group was seated, the two servers took the groups drink orders, as they passed out the menus. Kate helped her sons choose what they should get for dinner. Everyone else knew what they would order when the wait staff would return with their drinks.

Dinner went well for the large group. Jessy got the chicken nuggets and Rusty ordered the Salisbury steak, which made it easy for everyone, when it came time to eat. The conversation at that table centered around what the boys were able to do with the young pups, and their trying to convince their mom to get them a puppy.

At the other table, the conversation was more towards what Phillip would get to do at Fiesta Texas tomorrow. The boy had never been there, and he was very curious as to what roller coasters and flat rides they had there that his ‘brothers’ thought that he would like.

The diners took well over two hours to eat their dinner, and have dessert. Mr. Ken picked up the tab and he left a generous gratuity for the servers for taking good care of that very large party of eleven.

Everyone gathered outside the restaurant before deciding who was going up to the amusement park. Both Wayne and Dennis decided they wanted to go up and watch the crowd, and possibly ride a few of the rides, and maybe take their chances at a game or two.

The two young boys were eager to ride the rides, so Mr. Ken had to buy multiple tickets so not only could Rusty and Jessy ride, he also had to get tickets for his five Cover boys as well. Ken then had to find out how many of the rides Kate would ride with him, and/or her boys.

When the owner of the Four Corners Amusement Park stepped up to the ticket booth, he bought a very large number of tickets that the lady rang up Nelson to come there to help with the charge card because it was a number she had never had to deal with.

When Nelson Sanders came up to the Ticket Booth, he smiled. “I should have known,” laughed Nelson. “Why don’t you just make some VIP Passes for when you’re here, Mr. Thomas. It would make it easier on the ticket ladies.”

“Nelson, you know I don’t want to be seen as abusing my status as owner. I want my boys to pay as they go, and only at a very special time will I allow people to ride for free. Now, can you help her with my credit card?” spoke Mr. Ken, as he handed his Black AmEx card to the operation manager.

With a large number of tickets in hand, Mr. Ken began handing his ‘boys’ their tickets, so they could pick and choose which rides they wanted to go on. Of course, they told their ‘dad’ they were going to go on the ones he and their ‘little brothers’ were going on.

Rusty and Jessy did ride the Kiddie Swings, Helicopters and Frog Hopper. Jessy rode the Monster Trucks and the Motorcycle Carousel by himself. None of the boys’ big ‘brothers’ rode any of those rides.

When it came time to ride the four ‘family’ rides, the big ‘brothers’ argued over who would ride with their ‘little brothers’. ‘Dad’ Ken put an end to that argument. He told them that he and Kate were going to ride with them.

But on the Tilt-A-Whirl it was either two adults and one young boy, or one adult and two young boys. But Ken wanted to ride with Kate, so he relented and he and Kate took Jessy with them, leaving Rusty to choose who he wanted to ride with. The almost ten-year-old picked Billy and Charles.

On the Speedway Mr. Ken rode with Rusty and Kate rode with Jessy, while everyone else rode by themselves. There are only eight cars on the Speedway and the Cover group took up all eight cars leaving either Mr. Wayne, or Mr. Dennis, as the odd man out.

On the Scrambler, Mr. Ken, Kate, Rusty and Jessy all rode together. The two young boys all laughed, as Mr. Ken complained that they were all squashing him. The rest of the large group all spread out onto the ride with the older, bigger person placed at the outside position.

The Octopus ride car only held two people, so, again, the question came up as to who would ride with the two young boys. Well, Jessy said that he did not want to ride. Rusty said that he wanted to ride with Mr. Wayne. The rest then had to decide who they wanted to ride with. Ken and Kate did ride together.

The boys had gotten drinks and they also shared soft pretzels between rides, and they all had to wait in line, as that was Mr. Ken’s edict that they would not go to the head of the line just because he owns the place.

With all the rides done and over with, the boys wanted to play the games. The two younger boys wanted to play the Balloon Blast game, where you aimed a water pistol at a target and the first one to fill a balloon won. With loads of seats for the game, the large group sat down all at one time.

Mr. Ken paid for everyone to play twice. Rusty and Jessy sat between Mr. Ken and their mom, and when the bell rang the two young boys tried their darndest to fill the balloon with water, but both times they lost. Only Mr. Dennis won. The older boys laughed at the man holding the small plush toy.

At the Darts, Kate felt Jessy was way too small to play, so only Rusty got to play. But you had to burst three balloons, with the three darts you got, and Rusty could only burst two balloons on either of his two tries. Charles, Phillip, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis all won a small plush prize. The older man was now carrying two plush animals.

When the group came up to the Ring Toss on the Glass Bottle game, Mr. Ken felt that was a difficult game to win, so he only bought two large buckets for everyone to share, and try to get the plastic ring over a glass bottle. No one got a ring over the bottle that night.

The Ball in the Cup game was going to be the last game they would play that night, before they would head home. Mr. Ken bought everyone a large bucket of whiffle balls giving each and every one of them twenty-five chances to win. Luckily for Mr. Ken they took credit cards at the game booths.

Rusty and Jessy had never played a game like that before, and they didn’t know what to do. Their mom stood next to them and had them just throw one wiffle ball at a time onto the field of 375 cups that held one (1) gold cup, three (3) blue cups and six (6) red cups which were the winning cups that they could win a large, medium, or small plush prize.

The Cover group, consisting of eleven people, had a total 275 wiffle balls with which to possibly win that night. And with all of them crowding around the four sides of the game booth they essentially kept everyone else from playing.

Rusty was halfway through his bucket of wiffle balls, when he got one in a blue cup. The boy yelled to his mother, “Mom, mom, I got one in; I got one in the blue cup!”

Everyone stopped and looked over at where the ball was in the blue cup and at Rusty. The game attendant took the ball out of the blue cup and gave Rusty a Blue Chip he could use when he was finished to exchange for a medium plush, when he was finished.

The players then continued to throw their wiffle balls onto the game board. Out of their 275 chances to win, besides Rusty’s win, only Mr. Dennis won that night and his was a small plush prize. The man now had three small plush animals to carry around.

The group walked back to their vehicles and there Mr. Wayne and Mr. Dennis said their good nights to everyone, and then they thanked their employer for treating them for dinner, and a wonderful time at the Four Corner’s Amusement Park.

But before he left, the boys asked Mr. Dennis what he was going to do with all those small plush animals. The man laughed knowing the boys probably wanted them. So, what he did was he asked Jessy which one he wanted, and then he asked Rusty, and then he told the older boys he was taking the remaining one home to remind him of the fun he had tonight.

The rest of the Covers rode in the Sprinter van over to Mr. Ken’s Kreamy Kone for an ice cream sundae, and before they left, they made sure they had cups of vanilla ice cream for the three pets waiting at home.

Rusty, Jessy and Phillip were selected to present the cups of the cold concoction to the three dogs when they entered the Kitchen Nook. Chief and Sarge knew what they were getting. But Daisy took a tentative taste of the cold substance in the cup that was presented to her, and she liked it. And just as Chief and Sarge were doing, Daisy went chasing the small cup of vanilla ice cream all around the Nook’s floor.

When the show was over, the Covers moved to the Study to have a short meeting. There Mr. Ken reminded everyone that Momma would be there to fix a light breakfast for them before they departed The Cove for Fiesta Texas, as long as it didn’t rain.

Charles spoke up right then and said, “Bite your tongue!” Everyone laughed.

“Your friends are supposed to be here by eight-thirty, which means you need to be up, showered, dressed, fed and outside to greet them. Make sure you set your alarm clocks to make that happen. I’ll probably be up by seven o’clock.

I do have money for each of you to buy drinks and snacks during the day, tomorrow. The plan is for everyone to meet at Sangerfest Halle by five thirty for dinner. Then we’ll all meet outside the bus at nine o’clock. And just as last year we’ll probably arrive back here at about eleven. Any questions?” finished ‘dad’ Ken.

It was now late and the two younger boys were yawning big time. So, Kate took them upstairs to get them ready for bed. Mr. Ken sent the rest of the boys up to their rooms to get ready for bed as well. He told them that he’d be up in a few minutes.

‘Dad’ Ken made a cursory stop at all of the boys’ rooms that night knowing they had a busy night, and they had to get up early. Rusty and Jessy liked that the man also talked to them before they finally fell asleep.

Ken and Kate talked some before Kate’s yawn told Ken he should leave her alone, and go to bed, too. The man met Matthew coming up the stairs with Sarge and Daisy on their leads after taking them outside to go potty.

It had been a busy day for Ken Thomas, and he just had a great evening with the woman he wanted to marry. After he got himself ready for bed and finally laid down, it didn’t take his body long to fall asleep.

Everyone in The Cove that night slept well, as they all just had a busy day and night, which caused them to fall asleep quickly, and stay that way until their alarms woke them the next morning. It was very quiet in The Cove all night long.

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

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