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Chapter : 27
Three Finger Cove Book 9: Darrin
Copyright © 2024 by Chowhound. All Rights Reserved.
Published: 24 Jul 2025
From the Previous Chapter:
Wayne then proceeded to tell him about what happened at the old Miniature Golf Course, and how Matthew reflected on his meeting him, Dan and Robert and his becoming a Cover and saying that if it wasn’t for that chance meeting, he would probably be dead.
When the Estate Master was finished with his story, Mr. Ken thanked him for letting him know how being at the old miniature golf course brought back those memories to Matthew. The foster dad offered that he needs to spend some special time with the boy, and to make sure that Matthew gets to talk to Doctor Doug about those memories, and what he was feeling tonight.
The two men then said goodnight to one another, with Mr. Ken going to his retreat and the Estate Master going upstairs to the guests en suites, where he was staying, while the owner of The was gone. And before long The Cove was quiet throughout, with everyone sleeping soundly.
Mr. Ken woke up still tired from all the traveling he’d done over the past four days. He would have loved to have stayed in bed, but he knew he needed to get his shower and get ready for his day. So, he got out of bed and did what he needed to do before going out to the Kitchen Nook for his first cup of hot coffee, and to read his morning newspaper.
Momma Maria was waiting for her employer, and had the man’s favorite coffee cup ready to fill, as soon as he entered the Nook.
“Goods mornings Mistas Kens,” offered Momma, as soon as the man appeared in the Nook. And as soon as he sat down, she brought his favorite cup over and filled it with hot coffee.
“Thank you, Momma, this is what I need right now,” volunteered the owner of The Cove, as he lifted the cup in a salute to the woman, who made the coffee and would make his breakfast.
“Oh, Momma, just so you know, Kate, Edith and the boys … they will be here for Thanksgiving. So, if you need your Amigas to help with Thanksgiving dinner, please let Chris know that you are hiring them.
“And by my calculations there will be around twenty people here for dinner that day. I can get you the exact number and names closer to the date, if you need them; just let me know,” presented the woman’s employer, so she knew in advance what to plan for that day.
After Mr. Ken said what he needed to tell Momma, he placed his focus on the morning newspaper. He did what he usually did after taking it out of the protective sleeve, and before long he was reading the front page.
It wasn’t too long after that when Wayne Mitchell came into the Kitchen Nook and sat down. Momma came over to him and placed a coffee cup in front of him and filled it with hot coffee, smiled, and then went back to getting breakfast ready for the boys who would be down shortly.
“Oh, Mr. Ken … I kept an article from last week’s paper that I am sure you would be interested in seeing,” spoke up the Estate Master, as he passed an article over to the man that he had cut out of last Friday’s newspaper.
Mr. Ken put down the section of the newspaper that he was reading, and picked up the article that Wayne had passed over to him. Then he saw the Byline:
This Newspaper Made an Error in Judgement
It Owes Mr. Ken Thomas a Sincere Apology
The editor and the owner of this newspaper made a serious error in journalistic judgment last week, when it mistakenly wrote that Mr. Ken Thomas used his wealth to influence people in high places in order to bully this newspaper and other news media outlets to write, or report, in a certain way.
We were wrong to use this newspaper as a means to criticize and show our contempt and dissatisfaction for the way Mr. Thomas used the courts against us, for what he considered our wrongfully reporting the accident his foster sons were involved in.
Since writing our initial accounts of that accident, and subsequent articles, we have reviewed the Sheriff Deputies reports, and the video that they released and we have come to the conclusions that we have indeed made some serious errors in our reporting decisions concerning that particular accident.
The real-time dashcam video, taken from the vehicle in the accident, shows that the flagger did give the driver permission to proceed. His doing so set into motion the scenario of the vehicle being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the 25,000-pound front end loader backing into and over the car carrying the two foster sons of Mr. Ken Thomas. That accident caused by the flagger sending the car sideways, ultimately sent one of the boys to the hospital, with a dislocated shoulder and slight concussion.
Our own internal review told us that we were wrong in our initial and subsequent reporting of that accident, and we also know that our using our own wide-ranging voice against Mr. Ken Thomas was also wrong.
We are apologizing to him and the two foster boys involved in the accident. Mr. Thomas, we hope that you will accept this humble apology for any trouble or distress it may have caused you.
When Ken Thomas finished reading the article, he put it down and smiled. Wayne asked him what he thought about the article, and if he knew anything about it and why it might have been written.
A smiling Mr. Ken told his Estate Master about his conversation between him and Bill Jackson, and how the newspaper would have a very large mountain to climb proving that he had bought any politician. The man added that it would be in their best interest to print that apology, or else they would find themselves fighting a humongous lawsuit that they would never win.
Just then Matthew, Phillip, Chief and Sarge came into the Kitchen Nook. The boys said good morning to the men, and while they fixed their dogs’ meals, Chief and Sarge went and got some behind the ear scratches and belly rubs from the men.
After the boys had washed their hands and sat down, Momma brought their breakfast of scrambled eggs, rashers of bacon and toast and placed it in front of them. She then told them to eat it before it got cold, while she got them glasses of milk to wash it all down. Both boys smiled and then began to eat.
The woman then brought Mr. Ken and Wayne their breakfasts over and also told them to eat it before it got cold. Then she smiled at them before going to get the coffee pot to refill their coffee cups. Both men smiled at one another, while the boys chuckled that Momma treats ‘Dad’ Ken and Mr. Wayne as she does them.
As Matthew was eating, he decided to tell his ‘dad’ how much Ms. Judy paid him. “‘Dad’, Ms. Judy … she paid me another one-hundred-dollars for training Riley. She was very happy with all the behaviors that her puppy can now do.”
“That’s great ‘son’. You’ve made a few dollars training Riley and Daisy, which means if you decide to set up a Puppy Training School, you can make it work out for you,” offered ‘dad’ Ken.
“Well, I probably could, but … well, I need to figure out a place where it would be best to do the training, so it doesn’t interfere with the guys using the Pavilion and skate park. Plus, I need to be able to shelter them if it rains. That means I need some sort of sturdy cover built, as there isn’t any other one on the property. This project … it might be bigger than I can make happen,” honestly revealed Matthew.
“Matthew … don’t give up just yet, OK?” encouraged ‘dad’ Ken. “You just started the process, and there is a lot to research and consider. So, continue to look forward and talk to me, Mr. Wayne, Mr. Dennis and Mr. Chris for ideas.
“And, of course, you always start something like this slowly. So, if you only take one puppy at a time and you succeed with that one you learn, and then can possibly expand. Let’s talk about this some more after we get your new ‘brother’ settled. OK?”
The boys looked at the time and saw that they needed to get a move on. They quickly took their dirty dishes to the sink, and then went to wash their hands before heading up to catch the school bus.
But ‘dad’ Ken stopped Matthew before he went out the Foyer Door and hugged him. He told the boy that Mr. Wayne told him about what happened at the old miniature golf course last night. The man wanted him to know that he was still trying to get him away from his mother, and that he also wished for him to talk to Doctor Doug some more about this.
Matthew had melted into the hug and before he caught up with Phillip, he told his ‘dad’ to make the appointment with Doctor Doug. ‘Dad’ Ken said that he’d have Mr. Wayne set it up, and that he’d let him know. Matthew smiled and hurried to catch up with his ‘brother’.
As the two younger boys were going to catch their school bus, the three older teens were coming down the stairs. They saw their ‘dad’ at the Foyer Door, and wondered why he’d be there, so they asked. He told them that he just saw Matthew off to school, and was headed back to finish reading his paper before going into work.
As the teens ate their breakfast, Charles asked his dad about Rusty’s dad. The teen wanted to know what he thought about the man, and if their ‘little’ brother was happy that he now knew who his real father was.
“Yes, son, Rusty likes his father. They got along during the two times they met, and even Rusty said that the man was interested in what he did. The man’s family is very young with a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. Anything else you would like to know?” teased the teen’s dad.
Charles answered that he was just curious, and was hopeful that Rusty would find someone that he would be happy with, and that they would eventually get to know one another. Dad Ken told his son, and thus the other teens, that only time would tell, but he thought that Patrick would try to get to know his son.
As the teens were leaving to go to school, Mr. Ken was also leaving to go to the office where he’d hold his usual Monday morning meeting with all of his Group Managers. Mr. Chris was just coming to work, and he greeted his boss back home.
The Estate Manager told him that he had the New Fosters Checklist ready for him, and that he would place it on his desk for him to use, when the new foster son arrives later today. Mr. Ken thanked him for that and told him that he’d see him later, and then he drove off.
At the office, Rosemary, his executive secretary, gave Ken Thomas his messages, which he thanked her for, and then he went into his office and reviewed who he needed to call first. He didn’t have a lot of time, as the Monday meeting would begin shortly. His first call was to Bill Jackson, his lawyer, to see what news he might have.
“Bill, I don’t have a lot of time, so what news do you have for me? I did see the newspaper’s apology, by the way. I think they did a pretty good job. Thank you for your hard work there,” spoke Mr. Ken, when Bill came on the line.
“Great. I was wondering if you’d seen that. As for other news, the newspaper … they are going to settle the lawsuits with you and Billy. You probably won’t see as much as you think you should get, but I think Billy will be happy with their offer. We’ll use that with the other newspapers, television and radio stations to get them to settle, as well, so we can put all this behind us.
“Stewart … he has been working hard with the construction company to get them to settle out of court, as well. The dashcam video … that is our ace-in-the-hole against them, and they know it. So, we expect them to eventually come to the table, too.
“Billy … he will not get as much as he thinks he deserves, but as for Phillip … we’re going to hold out for the big bucks there. The boy had some serious injuries, and he deserves to be compensated. I’ll let you know when everyone is ready to send their checks,” reported Bill Jackson, Ken Thomas’ lawyer.
Since Mr. Ken had to leave for his meeting, Mr. Ken asked Bill to tell Stewart that he was getting another foster son that day, and that he would need to add him to his list. The two ended the call with the promise to talk later in the week.
At school that morning Matthew told his friends that he made another one hundred dollars over the weekend training another puppy. Brant was happy for his friend that he found something that he could actually make some money at, and he was only twelve-years-old.
Ryan asked the Cover to tell them how he’d learned how to train the puppies, and was he going to continue to do that.
Matthew told his friends that they all saw him training Sarge and then Daisy, and this past weekend he was training Ms. Judy’s puppy, Riley. The young Cover described how he researched the internet on what he needed to do to first train Sarge on the simplest behavior, and then when Daisy was staying at The Cove for the three-day weekend and ‘his ‘dad’ asked him to try to train the Walthers’ pup, while she was there, he used those same techniques with her.
Matthew told his friends that, at first, he wasn’t too happy that he had to do that over the three-day weekend, but as he worked with Daisy, he told how she learned things really easy. The pre-teen continued that the more he worked with Daisy the more he enjoyed training the pups, and then Ms. Judy dropped Riley off for a few hours, and the new pup picked things up pretty quickly, too.
The Cover expounded on how Ms. Judy wanted Riley to know more behaviors, which was why the pup was there all-day Saturday. Matthew continued and told his friends how Riley picked up the ‘Sit’, ‘Lay Down’, Stay’, ‘Come’, ‘Fetch’, and ‘Kiss’ commands so easily. He told them he thinks that Chief passed on her genes somehow to her puppies that has made them easy to train.
Max asked him if it was true that he was going to start a Puppy Training School at The Cove. Matthew said that he was looking into it, and after school today he was supposed to research dog training schools, and he had to call some to see if they would allow him to observe the way they train, so he knew what he was getting into.
Then, to change the subject, Matthew told his friends that when he got home from school today, he would have a new ‘brother’. That caused the boys to ask him tons of questions. But the only thing that he could tell them was that the boy had been in a fire, where he lost all of his family.
Matthew’ s friends asked him how old the boy was and the Cover said he believed he was thirteen. They then asked if he would be on the school bus tomorrow. Matthew said that his ‘dad’ would probably bring him to the school to register him, and introduce him to Mr. Chasson and explain any medical problems he might have.
The first bell rang just then and all of the boys headed into the school and they agreed to meet at lunch to talk some more about the new Cover.
Ken Thomas’ Monday meeting went along smoothly, as they normally did. Mr. Thomas had all of his Business Group Managers give their reports, and as usual he gave them the option to leave, or remain, to hear what was going on at the Four Corners Amusement Park. Everyone stayed as they all wanted to know what was happening out there, as it was one of the fastest growing areas and everyone was interested.
Jackie Kromiere, the person overseeing the installation of the railroad at Four Corners, gave the next report. She reported the track had advanced and the foundation for the railroad station had been poured, and the framework had begun. She also told him that the miniature golf course was now gone, but the permanent buildings were still standing, as they would be incorporated into whatever they plan for that area.
The Construction/Design Manager spoke up right then and told the amusement park’s owner that the miniature golf area had been leveled and prepared for a temporary covering of blacktop, and then it would be stripped for parking. He added that he still expects they could add up to forty or maybe a few more parking spaces, when the project is finished by the end of the week.
Mr. Ken then asked Emilio Ramirez, the Three Finger Real Estate Group Manager, if there was any more movement on their getting access to that 8+ acres adjacent to the amusement park. The Realtor told the owner that he hasn’t heard anything more other than the property owner still isn’t too happy about a roller coaster being built next to where he wants to build an office building.
Ben Walthers spoke up just then and told Mr. Ken that they have a rough artist rendition for him to review before they finalize it in advance of releasing it as their proposed use of the old miniature golf course area. The President of TFE offered that the drawing might push that owner over-the-top and would want to sell the property. That made Mr. Ken smile, and he told Ben to show him the drawing after the meeting.
As the meeting ended, Ken Thomas again reminded everyone that what they hear in those meetings is for their edification only and not even for their spouses, or significant others, to know what he had planned for Four Corners.
With the meeting over, Ben brought the artist’s rendition of how they intend to portray their use of the space, where the miniature golf course once stood to Mr. Ken for his approval. Mr. Ken liked what he saw, especially the height of the roller coaster along the edge of the property line, and the railroad going under the coaster track. They both knew, though, that the railroad was actually going to have a dual tunnel there, where they would house the trains at night and perform maintenance when needed.
Mr. Ken told Ben to release the artist rendition as what Three Finger Entertainment is proposing to do with the miniature golf course space, after the railroad is completed in the spring. Mr. Ken told Ben that if anyone asked what they will do about the need for additional parking by adding more rides to tell them that they are considering bulldozing the Go-Kart Track for that.
Ben just smiled at hearing how quickly Mr. Ken came up with them doing away with the Go-Kart Track. Then he thought about that for a few moments and then he had to ask his boss if he was serious about the possibility of his doing that.
Mr. Ken laughed and told Ben that his ‘boys’ would mutiny for sure if he ever did something like that. But he added that it is about twice the size of the miniature golf course, so it should pass muster for those who look into those things. Ben was relieved to hear that.
Mr. Ken then told Ben that he was getting a new foster boy at lunchtime and that he would be gone the rest of the day and most of the morning tomorrow. He asked Ben to get together what color uniforms he intends to use at their Adventure Forest Amusement Park (Old Edgewood) come that spring, and their design along with any new food items, plush for games and a complete report of all the new rides to be installed during the off-season. Mr. Ken then asked Ben for a progress report on the renovation/reconditioning of the Hey-Day, and when they can plan a Grand Reopening of it.
Ben told Mr. Ken that he would be visiting Edgewood/Adventure Forest in November and he would be able to get a better report on what progress the contractor had made on getting the Hey-Day back in operation.
Before he left for the day, Mr. Ken called Judy Turner to let her know he would be home soon and that she could bring Darrin over at any time. Ms. Judy told him that she had to pick him up at the hospital, and depending on how long it would take to release him she hoped to bring Darrin over to The Cove between twelve and twelve-thirty. Mr. Ken told her they would be ready for them.
Mr. Ken then reminded Rosemary about his getting a new foster son that afternoon, and that he would be gone for the remainder of the day. He added that he would be enrolling the new boy in school the next morning, so he would be in late. He also told her that he would be scheduling a physical for the boy for probably Thursday, which would take all day, so for her to pencil that in on his schedule.
When Mr. Ken arrived back at The Cove, he was greeted by Chief and Sarge. The man gave Chief some behind the ear scratches, and Sarge some belly rubs, before going to his Study to call Kate, since he didn’t get to call her yet.
When he sat down at his desk, he saw the New Foster Checklist that Chris had made for him.
He looked it over and hadn’t realized there were so many items that he needed to cover with the boys, when they came to The Cove. He was now glad that he had the Estate Manager prepare that for him, and he wished he had done that long before now.
He then picked up the phone and called Kate. Kate was with Amy Ozarker, the lawyer, when she answered the phone. She was very happy that he called, because he had told her that he might not get to talk to her until later in the week.
Ken told his girlfriend that Darrin wouldn’t be there for a while yet, so he had time to talk. Kate told her boyfriend that Amy had filled her in on what they had been working on, and that she was totally surprised.
Kate told Ken that Amy explained how she was working to get Evelyn part of that $50,000.00 that Lane had amassed. Kate then revealed that she would never have known where Lane had gotten all that money if Amy hadn’t talked to Evelyn about all those letters Lane was receiving, from his so-called best friends.
Kate told Ken that Amy was now going to write to all four men, and tell them they could stop writing and sending Lane the money he was making them send to him. She explained that the lawyer was going to explain that Patrick was identified as her son’s father, so Lane couldn’t hold anything over them anymore, since she wasn’t going to testify if called by the DA.
The two talked some more about the previous weekend, and then what they had coming up in their own lives. Ken told Kate that besides registering Darrin in school tomorrow, he was taking Charles to the dentist to get his braces off on Tuesday, Robert to visit his mom on Saturday and Phillip to his band’s booking on Sunday. He told her that, as the year comes to an end, he always gets busy, and this year is no exception.
When Wayne, Dennis and Chris came to the Study, Ken told Kate that he needed to talk to them to get caught up on the happenings around The Cove, and that they’d talk later. Kate thanked her boyfriend for all he’d done for her and Rusty, and that she was looking forward to Thanksgiving with him.
“Yes, gentlemen, what can I do for you?” asked the owner of The Cove.
Chris started by asking him if the Checklist was what he was looking for. Mr. Ken told the Estate Manager that it looked great, and he only wished he had asked for something like that three, or four, boys ago. Then he laughed.
Wayne went next. He told his employer that he had the information he wanted if he was to allow Chief to get heavy with another litter of puppies. The Estate Master reviewed that it took anywhere from 60 to 70 days for a dog to give birth, after she becomes impregnated, and he should add eight weeks, or two months, after the litter was birthed to ensure they were all healthy, before allowing them to be given to their new respective homes.
With that said, Wayne then gave Mr. Ken some potential dates to consider for allowing the resident pet, Chief, to have a litter and not interfere with the Holidays.
His first suggestion would be for Chief to have the sires visit right now, or by the end of October, well before the Holidays, so the pups were available by the end of February. His second suggestion would be that Chief have the sires visit right after Thanksgiving, so that the pups could be available at the end of March.
The Estate Master told Mr. Ken that if he were to wait to much longer than that, the problem with that was that Spring Break was the second week of March, and if the Covers were going to be gone someone would need to stay home with the puppies, like the last time, if they weren’t delivered to their new homes before then.
Wayne Mitchell’s third suggestion would be to allow Chief to get heavy with a litter of puppies no later than the beginning to middle of February, so that the puppies would be available at the end of May, as the boys are just getting out of school, and then it won’t interfere with their first summer trip.
Wayne then reminded the owner of The Cove that Chief gave birth to seven pups the first time, and that she could very well give birth to that many, or as many as ten her second time around, and that Mr. Ken needed to be ready to send them to their new homes, before they go on their summer trip to the amusement parks.
Chris asked his boss if he was seriously considering letting Chief have another litter of puppies. Mr. Ken didn’t answer right away, and when he did, he told the men that he had thought about it, but that he also hadn’t thought it out thoroughly. He added that with Wayne’s timeframes it now gives him something to think about, and that he also needs to find seven to ten families who would want to take in the puppies.
Just then Momma came to the Study to ask Mr. Ken if he had time to eat some lunch. The man looked at the time, and saw that he did have some time, so he told the woman that it looked like he had about twenty minutes. All the men followed Mr. Ken to the Kitchen Nook.
As the men ate some sandwiches, Wayne told Mr. Ken about Matthew’s concern for his establishing his Puppy Training School. Mr. Ken told the man that he did talk to the boy briefly this morning before he went to school, and told him that the two of them needed to talk some more after he got Darrin settled.
Wayne added that after Ms. Judy paid the boy for training Riley, he and Mattthew talked about how much he made per hour for training the puppy. The Estate Master said that Matthew made about $12.50 an hour, and they talked about whether or not that was a fair price if he also had to provide the treats and other training devices.
“Wait, wait … is Matthew … is he actually charging to train the pups. And, you’re telling us that he is making … making money training the pups,” spoke an unbelieving Chris.
“Yes, Chris,” began Mr. Ken, “Ben … he paid Matthew one-hundred dollars to train his pup, Daisy, and Judy … she paid him a total of one-hundred and twenty dollars to train Riley over about twelve hours. And now the boy is considering opening a Puppy Training School here at The Cove.”
“I need to talk to Judy to hear what she thinks about the training her pup got. I might just have to hire Matthew to train Lance. The boy did give the pup a few lessons that Saturday, but the kids … they haven’t been working with him enough, so … so, Sandra and I … we need to get that little guy trained, so we can have a normal household, if there is such a thing,” laughed Chris.
Wayne then told Mr. Ken that Matthew was supposed to research dog training schools after school today, and to call them to see if he could stop by that coming Saturday to watch how they operate. He then looked at Dennis and told him that the two of them had to decide which of them was taking Bill to visit his mother, so the other one could take Matthew to visit the dog training schools. Dennis said that he’d flip him for it. That brought about some more laughs in the Nook.
Mr. Ken looked at the time and then told the men that he needed to call Dr. Doug. He quickly told Momma to expect a guest for dinner Wednesday night, and then asked her if she could have dinner at 5:30, so he could take Darrin out to get new clothes, as he probably won’t have much because of the fire. Momma told him that wouldn’t be a problem, and with that he left the Nook. The men knew that Dr. Doug Jennings would be the guest Wednesday night in order to be introduced to Darrin.
After Mr. Ken left, Wayne asked Momma if tonight’s dinner was spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and salad. The woman smiled and told him that it was comfort food for all youngsters and she knew it would help the new boy get settled. She then asked Dennis if he was staying for dinner. He asked if he was invited, and hearing that he was, he told her that he would be happy to stay for that.
Wayne then asked Dennis if he had a coin to flip, so they could tell Bill which of them was taking him to visit his mother. Dennis told the Estate Master that he’d drive the teen to visit his mom. He then confessed he didn’t fathom taking Matthew to dog training schools on Saturday, so the boy could watch how they train the dogs. Wayne just smiled at what he figured would be the easiest of the two tasks.
Mr. Ken called Dr. Jennings’ office and told them that he wanted to invite the doctor to dinner Wednesday night, so he could meet his new foster son. He told them to give him the message and for him to let him know if he couldn’t make it. He then made future appointments for Darrin, and one for Matthew.
Before long the guard at the Main Gate called the Study to let him know that Ms. Judy was on her way.
The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com
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