Published: 3 Jul 2025

From the Previous Chapter:

When Kate was finished talking to her son, she went back to sitting next to Ken and she told him what the two had talked about. Rusty, on-the-other-hand, went to his brother and told him why they were on that trip. Jessy was happy for his brother. Grandma Edith was happy that her grandson now knew why they were all going to the trip, and would, hopefully, get to meet the man, and the man would not reject him.

Before long the charter flight would land and the next phase of learning who was Russell ‘Rusty’ Partlunds father would begin.

After they checked into their hotel, the travelers got into the rental car and drove over to the shopping mall that Parick Bailey told Kate, where he’d meet her later. They headed to the Food Court and they all got something to eat. It was close to 4:30, when Patrick called Kate.

Kate told the man that she was already at the shopping mall, and was waiting for him. Patrick told her that it would be close to 5:30 when he’d get to the shopping mall, and that he’d meet her in the Food Court close to the pizza place. Kate agreed to be there, and told the man what she was wearing, so he could easily spot her. They then ended the call with a promise to be watching for one another.

After Phillip finished his after-school snack, he went up to his room to work on his homework. Lucky for him his teachers didn’t assign a lot of work to be done over the weekend. So, as soon as the young Cover was finished with his homework, he pulled out his acoustic guitar and began playing one of the wedding songs that Ms. Whittier dropped off. He wanted to be familiar with as many of them as he could, when his bandmates came by tomorrow.

His ‘brothers’ stopped by his room and listened to the song he was playing, and remarked that they’d heard the song on the radio, and that he was doing a good job since they could recognize it. Phillip smiled back at them and continued playing.

Matthew, before dinner, took Sarge out and worked with him on the behaviors he’d already trained him on. Then he played with the resident pup, until it was time for dinner.

Kate was anxious about her meeting with Patrick. She had a lot of questions going through her mind, and no answers to any of them. She was also second-guessing her decision to go out there, and bring Rusty to meet his father.

Ken could tell that his girlfriend was beside herself with self-doubt over this entire situation. So, he reached for her hand, squeezed it to reassure her, and then told her that things would work out. He encouraged her that all she needed to do now was to be steady and confident in how she would handle telling Patrick that he is Rusty’s father.

Kate smiled back at her boyfriend and thanked him for being there with her. She told him that if he wasn’t there right now, she would have already aborted, and gone back to the hotel. She told him how scared she was that Patrick could not accept knowing that he was the father of an almost ten-year-old that he fathered during one of Lane’s schemes that he was always pulling.

Ken pulled the woman he loved to him and hugged her. He again reassured her that she had come this far with finding out who her son’s real father was, and had the initial determination to follow through to find him, and let Rusty know who he was. He cheered her on, saying she was at the forefront of her last struggle to end the task she was on.

It was 5:30 and Patrick still hadn’t shown, and Kate was getting worried. It was then she received a phone call from him. The man told her that he got caught in the Friday rush hour traffic, and that he had just parked and was coming into the building, and that he should be at the Food Court in about ten minutes. Kate told Ken that Patrick was on his way.

Edith, Rusty and Jessy were on the other side of the Food Court, and had been watching Kate and Mr. Ken the entire time. Rusty was getting antsy about all the waiting he was having to do. And Jessy wasn’t any better. They had both consumed two large sodas, and they needed to use the Men’s Restroom, so they asked their grandma if they could go. She told them to hurry up.

While the boys were gone, Patrick Bailey came to the Food Court, recognized Kate right away, and went right over to her. The two greeted one another, like long lost friends, and then Kate introduced Ken to him, as her boyfriend.

The three sat down at the table and began to talk.

Patrick asked Ken if he was in a different high school when they grew up, because he didn’t recognize him at all. Kate told Pat that she met Ken at the Crystal Lake Amusement Park, and they have been dating ever since.

Patrick asked Ken what he did. Ken told the man that he dabbled in real estate, owned a few businesses, and lived in Texas. Kate smiled at what she heard her boyfriend tell Patrick. She figured he didn’t want the man to know how well off he was, at least, not just yet.

“Kate … I was totally surprised at your phone call, and I am … well, I am now surprised that you introduced me to your boyfriend, and that you are not married to Lane. You sure are full of surprises,” began Patrick.

“Ahh, yes, Pat, I am not married to that … that loser. He just got out of prison, and within a few weeks, he was right back there; I am happy to say,” quickly answered Kate.

“Ohh, I didn’t know. I always thought that after your son was born that … that you two would have gotten married. But, as you know, I went off to college and that … well. I don’t get home much, especially after I got married, and took the job that I have,” somewhat apologized Patrick.

“Anyway, Kate … your call surprised me and since … and since we hadn’t talked in years, I am wondering why now, all of a sudden, you call me out of the blue. So, so can you tell me why … why is it that you wanted to meet with me, and without my wife here?” now asked a suspicious Patrick Bailey.

Kate looked to Ken for the energy and support she now needed to tell Partick why she was there. Ken smiled at her, nodded and just indicated that she could do this.

By this time Rusty and Jessy had come back to their grandmother and they could see another man was now sitting at the table with their mom and Mr. Ken, and they asked their grandma if that was Rusty’s father.

Their grandmother told them that she didn’t know for sure and would have to wait until their mother called them over to introduce them, before they would know for sure. The two boys sat down and took a drink of their sodas, and continued to watch where their mother was.

Kate took a deep breath and began speaking. “Pat … there is a good reason for me wanting to meet with you in person. You know how Lane … how he was always pulling some kind of scheme. Right? Anyway … this is so hard, Pat.”

Kate again looked to Ken for support and the energy to continue. Ken told her that she could do this. Patrick was now concerned and it showed on his face.

Taking a big breath, Kate continued. “Anyway, you remember after you graduated, Lane … he and I went out and we … ahh … we had some drinks and then we planned to have … to have sex. You do remember that night, Pat, don’t you?” directly asked Kate.

Patrick looked shocked at Ken at the question Kate just asked, but the man didn’t say anything. And Kate, not getting any response, continued.

“Pat … you remember that night, don’t you? That night, Lane … he must have slipped me some sort of knock-out drug because … because the only thing that I remembered was that the next day I was sore, extremely sore, where I should not have been if just Lane and I had … had sex. Then nine months later I gave birth to my son Russell, who we call Rusty,” clearly spoke Kate.

“So, you and Lane had rough sex and made Rusty. How does that concern me?” now asked Patrick, with a little angst showing in his face.

“Pat … Lane … after he was released from prison last spring … he contacted me and began … he began blackmailing me. He told me that if I didn’t pay him … that he would destroy my life, and that of my mother and my sons.

“After Ken found out about it, he hired a lawyer for me, and … and after she did some investigation, I took Lane to court. It was because of what he was accusing me of doing, that I knew that I had NEVER done, in court I made him take a paternity test to prove that he was Rusty’s father. Pat when the DNA test came back … it proved that he isn’t!

“When the judge learned that Lane wasn’t Rusty’s father, he had the detectives serve his mother’s house with a search warrant. There they found fifty-thousand dollars, in numerous one-hundred and fifty-dollar bills, some drugs, and a video … a video along with some pictures taken off the video.

“Pat … the pictures … they show four separate men on top of a woman. … That woman was … that woman was ME! … I looked as limp as a wet noodle, then I figured out why I was so sore after that night of sex with Lane.

“The District Attorney … he wants me to testify to my being raped. But I told him that I cannot identify the men on top of me, and I would not testify, otherwise. But, Pat … the lawyer, me and Ken … we sat down and talked. I knew who were Lane’s best friends, and so … and so we devised a plan,” Kate had continued.

“And … and what was that plan?” asked a now very nervous Patrick Bailey.

“Pat … the plan … it was to get some DNA samples from each of those men, and do a DNA test to see if one of those men could be the father of my son, Rusty. It took us some time, and the investigator found all of Lane’s best friends, and was able to get decent samples from the men.”

Taking a deep breath, Kate told Patrick, “We did the DNA tests and … well, we finally got the results. And, Patrick … the DNA test came back … it came back as you … as you being the father of my son, Rusty,” finished Kate.

Hearing that he was the father of the boy, he always thought that Lane Blankenhart’s floored him. He didn’t know what to say. He sat there with a long face that showed that he also had a thousand questions that were going through his mind.

When Patrick finally got his bearings, after hearing he was Russell’s father, he looked to Kate and uttered an apology. “Kate … I am so sorry for what we did that night. We … we were all drinking that night and Lane … he called us, and he offered us … well … I really have no excuse for what happened. For what we did. … My … our son … is … is he here? Did you bring him with you so … so, I could at least meet him?”

Hearing that last question put a big smile on Kate’s face. She also looked over to Ken with that big smile. She then stood up and motioned to her mother to bring the boys over. When they were all there, Kate began to speak.

When the two boys were in front of Patrick Bailey, the man had no idea which one was supposed to be his son. That was until Kate put her hand on one boy and said, “Rusty … this is Patrick Bailey … he’s your father.”

Patrick quickly got up from his seat, looked at the boy and held out his hand to shake it. After they shook hands, the man grabbed the boy and hugged him and began to cry. Rusty also began to cry, because he finally got to meet his real dad.

After the two released their hug, and wiped their eyes, Kate introduced her mother and her second son, Jessy, to Patrick Bailey. It was then that the man’s cell phone rang. It was his wife calling to find out where he was.

Patrick talked to his wife for a few moments, and from what Kate, Edith, Ken and the boys could garner was that he told her that had met a friend from where he grew up, and the time got away from him. He then looked at Kate and asked her if they all could meet tomorrow for dinner.

Kate looked to Ken and her mother to see what they would say. They both nodded that it would be a good idea, so Kate told Patrick to set up an early dinner time. Patrick asked if four o’clock would be OK with them, as they had two very young children. The three adults all smiled and told the man to tell his wife to make the reservation.

After Patrick hung up the call, Kate asked him how he was going to tell his wife that he fathered a child just out of high school. Then she asked how he thought his wife would take the news.

Patrick Bailey told them that if they read about a murder in the morning newspaper, then she didn’t take it too well. Then he laughed. He added that he will just tell her that before he went off to college, that he had one last fling and leave it at that. He asked Kate if that was OK.

Kate looked to her mother and then to Ken to get some sort of indication if she should be OK with that. Edith was non-committal. Ken, on the other hand, went to her, hugged her and told her that he loved her, and whatever she was comfortable with, he was too. Hearing that from Kate’s boyfriend made Patrick smile.

As he was leaving, Patrick told Kate that he would call her with the address of the restaurant, and the best newspaper to read for any new murders in the city. They all had a good laugh.

During dinner at The Cove, the boys were talking about whether their ‘dad’ was able to help Ms. Kate have Rusty get to meet his real father yet, or not. That was the first time that Momma heard that Kate’s son, Russell, did not know who his real dad was. She didn’t ask the question, but she sure wanted to.

The Nook table is where Momma Maria hears a lot of what was happening around The Cove, and this was something new to her. She told herself to listen closely to see if they reveal anything else about why Mr. Ken was away this time.

Mr. Wayne told the boys that they knew that their ‘dad’ would do whatever he could to help Ms. Kate. The man added that, just like them, he would help her boys have a better life, including helping find the man who was their real father.

“Like using DNA tests to do that?” asked Matthew.

“Yes. Boys, it is obvious that Rusty told you more than I. So, when it was learned that Lane was not his real father, Ms. Kate … she promised her son that she would find out who the boy’s real father really was.

“The DNA test, as you know, finally came back and that is where they all are supposed to be this weekend. I do not know when Ms. Kate is supposed to meet the man to tell him, and if she will tell him, and even if Rusty and the man will meet. We will all have to wait until we hear from your ‘dad’,” finished the Estate Master.

Momma learned a little bit more about Rusty, but she knew there had to be more. She only hoped that before long she would either hear it, or she would eventually ask her employer, so she would know the full story.

When dinner was over, Mr. Wayne held a quick meeting. He again covered what the boys already knew, and when the meeting was over, Matthew went outside with Sarge and they began working on a new behavior. Phillip went up to his room and began playing another of the songs Ms. Whittier, soon to be Mrs. Jules Diamond, wanted the band to learn, so they could play them at the reception.

The three Cover teenagers went to Billy’s room and talked about what they thought it would be like having another teenager, Darrin, living there come Monday. They also wondered what grade he would be in, and if Doctor Doug would be over Wednesday night for dinner.

Charles said they could count on that, as his dad would want to make sure Darrin starts right in talking to Doctor Doug, so he can begin working through losing his family, and all the other things that a thirteen-year-old has accumulated in all his years. Both Robert and Billy had to agree with their ‘brother’.

After the three teens finished talking about Darrin, and what it would be like having another teenager in the house, Robert went back to his room and called his Best Friend, Eric. The two first talked about The Cove getting a new Cover come Monday, and then Robert told Eric to make sure he brought his working clothes tomorrow, because they had better cut the grass that weekend, as it really needed it and they better cut it before his dad mentions it.

After meeting Patrick Bailey, the group headed back to their hotel to talk about the man that was Rusty’s dad. They all congregated in Kate’s room, and that was where they just talked about what happened at the Food Court earlier.

Even before they started talking, Rusty was all smiles now that he knew who his real father was, and had met the man, Patrick Bailey. Jessy was also happy for his brother, as he didn’t have to ever wonder again, if he’d ever know who his dad was.

Kate first asked her son, Rusty, what he thought about Patrick. Rusty told his mother that he was just happy that he now knew who his dad was. He asked if he’d ever get to know the man with him living so far away. Kate told her son that they would have to wait and see, as the man did have a family of his own, and they will all have to get to know one another, before any decision like that can be made.

Kate then asked Jessy what he thought of the man. Jessy thought that it was great that his brother now knew who his dad was, and he didn’t have to wonder if he’d ever know. Jessy did say that he hoped that his brother could get to know the man, and that he also hoped he was a lot better than his own dad in remembering his birthday. The three adults all smiled at the last remark.

“Mom … what do you have to say about Patrick?” now asked Kate.

Edith sat there thinking, then she told her daughter, “At least this man seems to be happy to know he is Rusty’s father. He is also interested in introducing his family to the boy he fathered, so long ago. The big question is … will his wife truly be accepting of Rusty? But I guess only time will tell.”

Rusty quickly asked his mom, “Mom, what does grandma mean?”

“Rusty … I think your grandmother is being … I think she is taking a wait and see attitude, with Patrick’s wife, Victoria,” answered the boy’s mother. “You see … Patrick’s wife … with being told that her husband fathered a son nine years ago, and is now just being told about it, well … well, she might not take to the idea that there is now an almost ten-year-old boy in the mix.

“We are just going to have to wait and see how Victoria reacts over time. She may be the most gracious, kind, and understanding woman in the world tomorrow, but after we leave, and go home, how will she act in the future! That is, what they say is, the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question,” mom Kate tried to explain to her son.

Then, looking at her boyfriend, Ken, Kate asked him the same question. Ken smiled and told her that he felt the man honestly was surprised when he learned he was Rusty’s father. He also said that as he watched Patrick meet Rusty, he felt he genuinely accepted the boy as his son, especially after he pulled him into a hug and then began to cry.

Rusty then asked his mom what his dad was like when she knew him in school. Kate told the boy that it was ten plus years ago and that she’d needed to think back to those high school years. She then continued and added that if she remembered correctly his father was a good student, got good grades, but unfortunately hung around Lane, and enjoyed participating in some of his lame pranks and schemes.

Jessy then asked what the man did now. The boy’s mom told her son that Patrick was a civil engineer, and mentioned that he could work in the design and construction of buildings, roads, tunnels, bridges and dams. She added that she wasn’t sure what he did as a job, now, because he only graduated about four years ago, and was just getting experience in his career.

The boys were satisfied with what they learned and Rusty went over to his mom and thanked her for finding his father, and especially for letting him meet him. Kate thanked her son, and then she told him that Mr. Ken played as big a part as she did in finding his father, and he needed to thank him, too.

Rusty quickly rushed over to Mr. Ken and thanked him with a big hug. The boy looked up to the man and said that he didn’t know what he did, but he was very happy that whatever it was, it sure helped, because he was here and he got to meet his father. The boy then hugged the man some more. Mr. Ken returned the hug and mouthed a ‘Thank You’ to Kate.

With all the talking done about Patrick Bailey, and how everyone saw the man, Mr. Ken asked everyone if they were hungry for some ice cream. Hearing the words ‘ice cream’ the boys were ready to go. Edith wasn’t going to go along, but Kate convinced her to go, as she didn’t always do that much with them when they go out together as a family.

They took the elevator down to the hotel lobby and Mr. Ken stopped at the front desk and asked where they could find an ice cream store. The housekeeper told them that there was a strip mall down and across the street that had a place where they made mixtures of different toppings into either a cup, or a cone. The five headed out the front door and began walking down the street to the crosswalk and waited for the “WALK” sign to light up, so they could cross over and go to the ice cream store.

The boys couldn’t wait to get to the store. They were talking about what kind of ice cream they wanted when they got there. They got a big surprise when they entered the store when the young lady, behind the counter, told them they could add anything they saw in the containers, in front of them, to their ice cream. The boys smiled at one another.

Phillip continued to play each of the ten songs Ms. Whitter sent over. He also played them on his computer, so he could listen to how they actually sounded. He wanted to make sure he got the beat down right, and he was becoming satisfied with how he was beginning to learn the songs.

Another thing that the young Cover learned by listening to the songs, via the computer, was that he saw that there were a few more songs similar to those ten. He wondered to himself if they could possibly add them to their playlist, if they learned the first ten quickly enough.

The Cover then remembered that he had his guitar lesson in the morning, and he told himself he needed to ask Mr. Bindy if there was anything he could tell him to help the band learn the songs quickly. Phillip then went back to playing the songs, one at a time, to continue to get familiar with all of them before introducing them to his band tomorrow.

Matthew continued to work with Sarge, who was enjoying all the attention he was getting now that Daisy was gone. He also caught on to the new behavior his puppy master was trying to teach him, which was to roll over. This was an easy one for Sarge, and he had fun doing it.

And since Sarge learned that behavior so easily, Matthew figured he could also teach him to crawl to him, while they were in his bedroom. So, after Sarge had rolled over, Matthew had Sarge ‘Stay’, ‘Down’. The puppy master tried next to get Sarge to ‘Crawl’ to him.

Matthew had a treat that he held just in front of the young pup to see if he would creep, or crawl, forward to get it. The young pup did. The pre-teen did it again and Sarge, again, crawled to the treat, but his hind legs did rise up some. Matthew ignored it. Sarge was enjoying the new ‘game’ of crawling some and getting a treat.

The puppy master did that for about ten minutes, and knew not to overdo it, so he had Sarge go through the other learned behaviors, with treats as rewards, of course, before the boy just sat on the floor and had Sarge lay on his lap. Matthew just petted the resident pup and told him how such a good pup he was.

Rusty was allowed to go first at the ice cream store, and he asked if he could get strawberries, chocolate chips and gummy bears in vanilla ice cream. And when the girl was finished mixing it all together, she put it all into a large cup, and the boy then asked for whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on top. Kate cringed at all the calories the boy was about to eat.

Jessy was having his concoction mixed by another girl, and his ice cream concoction contained Reese’s peanut butter cups, M&Ms and mini-marshmallows also in vanilla ice cream, and he too wanted whipped cream, nuts and a cherry, and he wanted sprinkles in order to outdo his older brother.

Edith just got strawberries mixed into vanilla ice cream. Kate did the same, while Ken got a little wild and went with a double dip of vanilla ice cream with pecans and chocolate chips.

The five sat outside at the tables the store provided, and they talked some more. The boys were truly enjoying their special treats and, while they did that, they asked Mr. Ken if Crystal Lake was going to have a scary Halloween at the amusement park. The man said that they would, and the two boys, in unison, quickly asked if he would take them.

Ken looked to Kate and then he looked to the boys, and told them that he wished that he could, but he had to get home. He explained that, on Monday, The Cove was getting another foster boy, and he needed to be there to welcome him.

The boys looked disappointed, then they looked to their mom and asked her if she would take them. They told her that they hadn’t used those special passes very often that Mr. Ken gave them last year, and this would be a good time for them to go.

Ken smiled at Kate knowing she’d been put between a rock and a hard place.

Kate told the boys that she would look at the calendar when they got home and that they could possibly go next weekend. The boys looked at one another and yelled, “Yeaaaa!”

Edith sat there eating her ice cream sundae watching what was unfolding before her, and wishing that Ken would ask her daughter to marry her. But, unbeknownst to her, the man already had, but her daughter told the man that she wasn’t ready just yet.

It was getting late when the five returned to the hotel. When they got to their floor, Edith told everyone ‘Goodnight’ and went to her room. Kate, Ken and the boys went into Kate’s room, and she told the boys to go and get ready for bed, while she talked to Mr. Ken.

Kate and Ken talked about what they thought could, or would, happen tomorrow when they’d meet Patrick’s wife and children. Ken was upbeat with his assessment. He felt that Victoria would be accepting of Rusty, and would welcome him into the family, as a step-son and would eventually want him to come and visit, so that his father can get to know him.

Kate was afraid that she would want to know about how they met, and how they got together. She told her boyfriend that girls always ask those types of questions when they get alone, and Kate figured that Victoria will find a way that they go to the ‘little girl’s room’ together at some time tomorrow. Ken just smiled at the way Kate was thinking.

The boys came out of their hotel bedroom all dressed in their PJs to say goodnight to Mr. Ken. They hugged the man and thanked him for finding Rusty’s father. They said goodnight to their mom, gave her a kiss and hugged her too, then they went back to their room.

Ken then told Kate that he needed to get some sleep as it had been a long day and that flying takes a lot out of the body. The two hugged and then kissed, and before long Kate was in her hotel room alone.

When Ken got back to his hotel room, he called Wayne to find out if the boys had taken over the ‘asylum’. Wayne laughed when his boss asked him that question. Wayne then turned the tables around, and he asked if Rusty had met his father yet.

Mr. Ken told Wayne how things went with their meeting Patrick, and that Rusty was thrilled that he now knew who his father was. Mr. Ken told the Estate Master that they were all getting together for dinner tomorrow, and Rusty would get to meet his dad’s wife, Victoria, and his two children.

Wayne asked if that wouldn’t be awkward for the man, who just learned that he has a son, that he helped create nine or ten years ago, that he is introducing not only the son, but the boy’s mother, grandmother, brother and his mom’s boyfriend to his wife and children. Then he laughed.

Mr. Ken told Wayne that was how Kate was thinking, but that he was being optimistic and confident that Patrick would be a good father in the long run, and that he wanted things to start off on the right footing with his wife.

Mr. Ken then told Wayne how they went out that night to sort of celebrate by getting ice cream, where they mixed in their favorite toppings. He then told what the boys had in their cups. Wayne said that he’d have a stomach ache if he’d eaten all those rich foods in one sitting.

Mr. Ken then asked Wayne if there was anything to report from back at The Cove. The Estate Master told the owner of The Cove that he was just about to go up and say goodnight to the boys, when he called. Wayne did tell the man that Phillip had been playing all of the music Ms. Whittier sent over, so he could help his bandmates learn them quicker, and that Matthew was teaching Sarge another trick, or two.

Mr. Ken was happy that things were going well back at The Cove, so he told Wyne to go and say goodnight to the boys and to tell them that he said goodnight to them, as well. Then they hung up the call.

After the call, Mr. Wayne went up to the boy’s bedrooms. As was the habit of both Mr. Ken and him, the Estate Master started at Bill’s room. Bill looked at the time when the man knocked on the doorframe, and then realized how late it actually was. The two talked for a few minutes with Bill saying that he was looking forward to next weekend, when he would be visiting his mom.

The teen then asked if he, or Mr. Dennis, was taking him there. The Estate Master was honest when he said that neither of them had talked about which one of them would be taking him, but they would and that one of them would be taking him for sure. Billy smiled at the telling.

Robert’s room was next for Mr. Wayne, and the teenager told him that he and Eric would be cutting the field tomorrow. The teen wanted him to know, so when his Best Friend showed up earlier than the rest of their friends he wouldn’t be surprised.

Mr. Wayne thanked the teen for the information and for deciding to cut the field because it surely needed it. The man then chuckled because he knew Mr. Ken would probably tell his son that the field being cut was long overdue. Robeert smiled knowing that was what his dad would say to him.

The Estate Master then told the teen that his dad told him to tell him ‘Goodnight’. Hearing that his dad called to tell him ‘Goodnight’ made Robert smile. Mr. Wayne then headed to Charles’ bedroom.

When Mr. Wayne knocked on Charles’ doorframe, the teen told him to come in, and it was then that the Estate Master told the teenager that his dad told him to tell him ‘Goodnight’. Hearing that put a smile on the teen’s face, who asked the man when did he talk to him, and what else did he say.

The teen also wanted to know if Rusty got to meet his father yet and, if he did, how the meeting went. Mr. Wayne smiled at the questions, and he knew the boys were all interested in how Rusty was handling his meeting his father, finally. So, the Estate Master told Charles that the boy did meet his father this evening, and the meeting evidently went well.

Mr. Wayne continued and told the teenager that the whole family is supposed to meet Patrick and his wife and children at dinner late tomorrow afternoon. Charles was now all smiles that the young boy had finally met the man who fathered him.

Mr. Wayne went to Matthew’s room only to see the pre-teen sitting on the floor with him petting Sarge, who was comfortably laying in his lap. The man smiled at how the boy and pup had bonded and he wondered if the rest of the family would ever have the chance to be as close to the pup as the puppy master was.

“Oh, hi Mr. Wayne, we’re just enjoying the end of the day. He loves this time of day, when we just sit here and I pet him, and I think he feels safe. Oh, … he learned two behaviors today. Do you want to see them?” asked Matthew.

The Estate Master declined saying the resident pup looked like he was contended laying in his lap, and that he could show him tomorrow. The man then told the pre-teen that his dad told him to tell him ‘Goodnight’.

As with the other boys, Matthew got a big smile on his face. The boy thanked him for telling him that, and then asked him if there was anything else. Mr. Wayne said that was all his dad told him to pass on.

As the Estate Master approached Phillip’s room, he could hear the boy playing a song that he could definitely recognize. He waited until the boy finished the song, before he knocked on the doorframe.

“That was very good, Phillip,” offered Mr. Wayne, as he entered the room. “I could definitely recognize the song, Forever Young, by Rod Stewart, if I remember correctly.”

“Thank you, Mr. Wayne, and yes, the song is called Forever Young,” replied the young Cover. “I’m trying to know all the songs Ms. Whittier sent over, so I can help the guys learn them faster. I also found a few other songs that I think Ms. Whittier would like us to play, but we’ve got to learn the first ten before we try to learn another three or four,” finished Phillip.

“Well, I wish you good luck there. I know you’ll have them down pat. And knowing you, you’ll have the other band members knowing them by the reception date. Oh, your ‘dad’ … he told me to tell you ‘Goodnight’, since he wasn’t here,” offered Mr. Wayne.

Phillip got a big smile on his face, just as his ‘brothers’ did, knowing that his ‘dad’ thought enough to say that to them when he was talking to the Estate Master.

Phillip then asked if Rusty got to meet his father yet. Mr. Wayne inwardly smiled at how much the boys cared about Kate’s sons. The man then told the youngster that the boy had met his father, and that they all would be meeting the man’s wife and children tomorrow, at an early afternoon dinner. Phillip thanked the man for telling him that.

Mr. Wayne hinted to the boy to make sure he drained what needed to be drained before he went to bed, and then he added that he hoped he slept well, and for him not to forget that he had a guitar lesson in the morning.

When the man went out into the hallway, he was met by Robert and Billy who asked him why he didn’t tell them that Rusty had met his father. Mr. Wayne laughed and told them that they hadn’t asked like their ‘brother’s’ had. The two teenagers asked him to tell them what he knew about the meeting.

Hearing voices out in the hallway brought Charles, Matthew and Phillip out there, and they too wanted to know what was going on. Then, learning that Mr. Wayne hadn’t told the two older teens about Rusty meeting his father, they wanted to listen to what he was telling them, just in case he told them something new.

Not hearing anything different than what the Estate Master had told them, Matthew took Sarge outside to empty his bladder, before going to bed. Chief followed them outside while Phillip used his bathroom. The other boys also used their bathroom, while Mr. Wayne went to the guest bedroom.

Before long, the resident pets were upstairs, and in their respective rooms, and all the boys were in their rooms, as well. Then, before long, The Cove, with Wayne Mitchell at the helm, was peaceful and quiet throughout the night.

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

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