Published: 15 Jan 2026

From the Previous Chapter:

Mr. Ken hugged the boy and let him cry. Then when Phillip had stopped his crying, the man asked the boy why he was crying. Phillip told him that he never knew what it was like to have a ‘dad’, a real dad, that is, and tonight he felt like he had one, and he realized that when he goes back to living with his mother again, he will miss everything that he has there with him and his ‘brothers’ at The Cove.

“Phillip,” began Mr. Ken, “you are a Cover. And just like Mark … you will be involved with the things that we do. So, please don’t fret too much at your leaving The Cove and your ‘brothers’ and going back to living with your mom, again.”

Then Mr. Ken pulled the boy closer to him and hugged him to let him know that he was loved and will be loved wherever he is.

Wayne Mitchell was up early Saturday morning knowing that Matthew needed to be up and ready for when Bruce Price brought one of his new pups by at ten o’clock for training. The Estate Master used the en suite attached to his guest bedroom and then dressed for the day. He then went downstairs and outside to retrieve the morning newspaper before going into the Kitchen Nook to have his morning coffee and read the newspaper.

But even before he poured himself his first cup of coffee, the man took out the eighteen already thawing breakfast tacos from the refrigerator, that he placed there the night before, and he arranged them on a plate in the convection oven and set the timer for twenty-five minutes, hoping that would be enough time to heat the tacos. If not, he thought, they could always use the microwave to finish the heating process.

After taking care of getting breakfast started, the man laughed at that thought, Mr. Wayne went and poured his first cup of coffee and then want and sat where Mr. Ken usually sat and began the ritual of taking the paper out of the protective sleeve and then setting aside everything but Section A, World News. And that’s where he began reading from, as he drank his coffee.

Ken Thomas was also up early that Saturday morning and he got himself up, showered and dressed for the day, as his foster son, Phillip, lay still sleeping from yesterday’s long day of school, the charter flight and the excitement from last night’s basketball game.

“Phillip,” lightly called out Mr. Ken. “Phillip, it is time to get up young man,” louder this time called out the foster dad. Then, when the boy didn’t respond, Mr. Ken shook the boy and said, “PHILLIP, it is time to get UP! Come on now; get up. Use the bathroom and get dressed. You can come back and get your shower after you’ve had some breakfast.”

Phillip stirred and looked up at his foster dad and asked if it was morning already. Mr. Ken smiled back at the boy, told him that it was and he again told the boy to just use the bathroom and get dressed and to come on down to the breakfast bar for something to eat. ‘Dad’ Ken added that he could come back and get his shower after he ate.

“And, Phillip … don’t forget your room key and the breakfast bar … it closes at nine o’clock so don’t go back to sleep,” added ‘dad’ Ken, as he walked to the room’s door.

Phillip was glad that his ‘dad’ had left the room. He didn’t know how he was going to get out of the bed with his morning pointer sticking up and not being embarrassed before he used the bathroom. So, with his ‘dad’ gone, the boy got out of bed and went to the bathroom to relieve the pressure in his bladder.

Phillip then looked at the time, and seeing that it was 8:20, he quickly dressed in what he wore yesterday. The boy was about to walk out the door when he remembered he needed to take his room key, and he went back to get it off the dresser. Relieved that he now had the key card, the boy hurried to the elevator to go down to get something to eat.

It was close to 8:30 when Phillip entered the area where the breakfast foods were offered. The boy had been to enough breakfast bars to know what to do, so he went over to where he could make a waffle. Phillip measured out enough waffle mix and poured it into the waffle maker and then turned it over and it began its cycle.

The young Cover then went and got a carton of milk, a glass of orange juice and two donuts, then took them over to where Mr. Ken was seated reading the morning newspaper, with a cup of coffee nearby. The foster dad looked up from his reading and smiled at his foster son and then he went back to reading the paper.

It takes about three minutes for the waffle iron to finish its cycle and by the time Phillip got back to it, the waffle was just about done. As he waited, the youngster then got a plate, a knife and a fork and saw where the syrup was kept and as soon as the waffle iron rang, Phillip quickly turned the device back over, opened it and took out his very hot breakfast item.

The young Cover then proceeded to pour syrup all over the waffle and then he took it over to the table where his ‘dad’ was and he sat down and began eating. ‘Dad’ Ken could hear the boy talking to himself about how nice it was to have a hot waffle and not having to fight his ‘brothers’ to get one. The man just inwardly smiled to himself.

Matthew came down to the Kitchen Nook with Sarge at his heels. The soon-to-be teenager quickly fixed his charges first meal of the day and then he sat down with Mr. Wayne.

“Are the breakfast tacos almost done?” asked Matthew.

The Estate Master told the boy that the timer hadn’t gone off yet, but he’d bet it was close. The man added that he wasn’t sure how long to set the convection oven for, so that they may not be as hot as he wanted them, so he may have to use the microwave oven to heat them further.

Matthew got up to check the convection oven just as it went off. He took out three tacos, and feeling them, he announced that they definitely needed more time, but he wasn’t going to wait. The boy then reset the convection oven timer for twenty more minutes and then took his tacos, unwrapped them and placed them on a different plate and heated them some more in the microwave oven.

As the breakfast tacos heated some more, the boy got a glass of orange juice and took it to the table and then he got a napkin and waited for the microwave timer to go off.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wayne. I wasn’t thinking. I should have asked you if you wanted me to heat up your tacos up with mine,” offered Matthew.

“That’s OK, Matthew. I see it isn’t taking much time at all,” replied the man, as the timer went off.

Matthew offered the man his and said that he’d go ahead and reheat three more for himself. Mr. Wayne thanked the boy for the offer and told him that was the gentlemanly thing to do. The man then added that he really appreciated that he apologized for not heating his up and then offering to give him his. Mr. Wayne told Matthew that he was growing up and he was learning the right things to say, do and act. He then got up and hugged the boy.

Matthew was at first surprised at what the Estate Master had said to him, and he was even more shocked at the hug. The boy then thanked Mr. Wayne for what he said to him and for the hug.

The man told him that he forgets to complement the boys when they do right and that if his ‘dad’ was here he’d bet that he’d have given him that hug. The two then smiled at one another.

Matthew thanked the man and he then went and took three tacos out of the convection oven and began reheating them in the microwave oven, as he gave the three heated ones to Mr. Wayne.

After Phillip had finished eating his breakfast, he and his ‘dad’ talked some before being sent up to their room to take his shower and to get dressed in comfortable clothes to wear at Six Flags Over Texas. ‘Dad’ Ken told the boy that he’d remain down there for the next half-hour, or so, to give him some time to take care of whatever he needed to do to get ready. Mr. Ken added that the park didn’t open until eleven and that it was just past nine and they had loads of time until then.

Phillip was happy that his ‘dad’ had decided to stay downstairs, as he went up to the room to get his shower and dressed for the day. He’d never shared a room with his ‘dad’ when they visited the amusement parks, so he didn’t know how everyone got ready with taking their showers and getting dressed.

The boy was getting used to being seen, sans clothes, in front of his friends, along with Darrin and Matthew, but he wasn’t sure how he would feel being without clothes in front of his older ‘brothers’ and especially his ‘dad’. He was happy he was going up to their room and his ‘dad’ wasn’t going to be there as he took his shower.

Matthew and Mr. Wayne were finished eating their breakfast tacos when the remaining Cover boys came down for their own breakfast. Darrin, of course, fixed Chief her first meal of the day, before sitting down to his three breakfast tacos.

The boys all thanked Mr. Wayne for thinking to heat the tacos up for them. It was Charles who quipped that maybe next time he’d op to taking them out for breakfast instead. The boys, at first looked shocked that Charles would even say something like that to the man.

They then all burst out laughing, knowing that Charles was always looking to go out for breakfast, whenever he could. Even Mr. Wayne was laughing along with them. Then the Estate Master turned the tide on the teenager by telling him that when he gets his driver’s license, he could take them all out for breakfast. More laughter was heard in the Kitchen Nook.

Just before ten o’clock, Mr. Wayne, Matthew, Chief and Sarge were up at the Main Gate, waiting for Bruce Price to arrive with the pup he wanted Matthew to train. Mr. Wayne wanted to be there to introduce Matthew to the man and to ensure that the hand-off went well and Matthew wouldn’t be intimidated by the man because of their age difference.

When the man arrived, Sarge and Chief were anxious to greet the new arrival. They somehow sensed they knew the puppy in the carrier and when Mr. Price let his pup out the three dogs did their usual smell test that all dogs seem to do to each other.

It didn’t take too long for the three to recognize one another as mom and brother and sister. They then began to play as the three humans watched. But Matthew saw that it wasn’t a good start, so he called out, “Chief, Sarge, SIT!” They immediately did, while the other pup just stared at them.

“Sir, I don’t know your pups name,” stated the young Cover.

“I’m sorry, Matthew, her name is Sally,” offered Bruce Price.

“Sally,” called out Matthew, “Sit!” Sally sat.

Bruce Price smiled and told Matthew and Wayne that he was impressed. He added that Sally only knew his voice and that with the way Matthew commanded Sally and she immediately acted; he was now sure she would take to the boys training.

Matthew told Mr. Price that he would take Sally, along with Chief and Sarge and see what she knows and start from there. The Cover and the three dogs then walked towards the area below the Pavilion.

“Wayne … are you sure that this boy can do what … are you sure he can train my Sally?” asked Mr. Price.

Wayne smiled and replied, “Mr. Price … Matthew … he’s trained three other pups from Chief’s litter, and all the families … they are all very happy with the results. Give the boy some time to work with Sally. Why don’t you go ahead and take care of what other things you need to do and … and then come back in about five or six hours and see … and see what, if any, changes you can tell are in your Sally.

“Please understand that Matthew … that he will only train Sally to what he’s been training all the other pups to do. He just started his training venture and he has a lot to learn himself. But I think that you will be pleased with what he can accomplish with your Sally,” finished Wayne.

Mr. Price thought about what he had just been told. He had wanted to stay and watch what the boy did. But he also understood that he’d probably intimidate the boy and not only distract him, but the puppy as well.

“OK, I’ll leave my Sally in his capable young hands. I’ll come back about four o’clock. Will that work out for him, do you think?” now asked Bruce.

Wayne Mitchell indicted that six hours should give Matthew adequate time to work with his Sally and give her some good training habits that he’ll be happy with, as the other families have been. Bruce Price smiled and then got in his truck and drove out the Main Gate.

Mr. Ken and Phillip were driven to Six Flags Over Texas by their limo driver, who was told that they’d call him about a half-hour before they’d need to be picked-up. The two Covers were at the park before it opened, so Mr. Ken could stop and pick up their tickets at the Will Call Window. Phillip was anxious to get inside and see what type of rides they had and if he would want to ride all of them, or if there were some that he’d be too scared of to ride.

After the Covers got inside the park, Mr. Ken walked Phillip over to where they could purchase their Platinum Flash Passes, so they could ride as many rides as they could handle without having to wait in line very long. Phillip asked his ‘dad’ if that pass was equal to his Fastest Pass that he offers at his parks. ‘Dad’ Ken told him that was where he got the idea from, then laughed.

The two Covers had also picked up park maps, so they could plan their way through the park and chose which rides they would want to get on. And since ‘dad’ Ken had been there a few times, he suggested rides that he figured Phillip would like at first and then build up from there.

Matthew started out seeing what Sally knew and, as he did with the other pups, he used Sarge to help train Sally to do some of the tricks he wanted to teach her. He already knew that Sally knew the ‘Sit’ command, so he worked on from there.

Matthew then went on to train Sally to ‘Stay’ and ‘Come’ to him when he called for her. When he thought she had mastered that, he worked on teaching her to fetch. Sarge loved to do that one and it didn’t take Sally long to learn to bring the ball back each and every time. The two pups sometimes had a competition, as to which one brought it back.

By then he’d been working with the pups for well over two hours, so he gave them a chance to get a cold drink and to lay down and rest. The pups went up to the Pavilion and got their drink and found a place to lie down where they cuddled together and took a nap.

Matthew asked the boys who came over that Saturday not to bother them, as Sally was in training, and Sarge was just as tired as she was. He also told the boys that he would have a different pup over tomorrow and he asked them not to bother that one either. Chief stood watch.

When Terran and Max arrived at The Cove on Saturday, they both had their overnight things with them. Darrin took them down to the house, to store those things in either his or Matthew’s room and when they came back up to the Pavilion, Max went looking for Matthew, while Terran stayed up at the Pavilion with Darrin and their other friends.

Darrin and his friends talked about what they were going to do today. Most said that they were going to skate, while some asked if they could go swimming. Darrin told them that if they go swimming, they would only have to change to come up there to eat and then change back to swim again. The boys who were thinking of swimming thought about that and then decided that they’d swim after they ate.

Some of the boys asked Darrin to tell them again how it was that he could only ask one of them to spend one night at The Cove that weekend. Darrin explained that at one of their nightly meetings, Charles asked his dad if they could ask one of their friends if they could spend one night over the three-day weekend. Darrin told them that he learned that they used to do that at one time, but that they hadn’t done that in a long while, which was why his older ‘brother’ asked.

Jody, the newest of Darrin’s friends then asked, “Darrin, it’s strange to hear you call the other boys that live here at The Cove your, you know, your ‘brothers’. I wonder … do you ever miss you brother. I mean your real brother. The one that died, I mean the one who … you know, who perished in the fire?”

The question caused all of the boys to stop talking and to look at Jody. They all wondered, why he would even ask a question like that, of someone who had lost a family member, as he had.

Darrin was, himself, taken aback by the question. He hadn’t had anyone ask him about his family, and especially about his real brother, ever since he came to live at The Cove. And this inquiry came out of the blue, at him, by someone who really didn’t know him very well, if at all.

But the teen Cover figured Jody was just curious, as probably everyone else was, about what his friend just asked, and he figured that he’d give him an answer.

“Jody … that question … it is something nobody has asked me about, ever since I was moved to live here at The Cove,” began the Cover. And as he said that the other boys told him that he didn’t need to answer Jody.

“No, … I’ll answer him. And I bet the rest of you … you have probably thought about the same thing a time or two, yourselves. Jody … as you know none of us boys, who live here at The Cove, are blood related. But it is easier for us to call one another ‘brother’ and to look upon one another as our ‘brothers’ rather than as being, you know, separate individuals.

“You see … if we looked at each other as being a separate person then … then we’d have nothing ‘in common’ to kind of share together. If we kept to ourselves, it would be, I don’t know, maybe chaos, as everyone of us … we would only be looking out for ourselves instead of what was best for us as a … as a ‘family’.

“Yes, I said ‘family’, as that is what Mr. Ken looks at us all being … as being a big ‘family of Covers’. And calling one another ‘brother’ … it makes us feel as though … as though we actually have a bunch of real ‘brothers’ that we can call upon when we have a problem, especially if we need to talk to someone about something, rather than talking to Mr. Ken, or even Mr. Wayne.

“It is also great when we are feeling low, or are having a bad day, they will gather around you, and give you what they call a ‘group hug’. And let me tell you … that when you have five of them gather around you and hug you … you can feel their love … you can feel their love coming through to you and you can feel your troubles begin to fade away.

“Yes, … my older brother, my real older brother, Dawson, … he is no longer with me, but I have a houseful of new ‘brothers’ who … who have taken up the slack and filled in for him five times as much, and for that … and for that I am grateful.”

When Darrin stopped talking, he turned away from his friends. He did that because he was crying. Billy was nearby and heard what his ‘brother’ was telling his friends, so he stood by to hear the entire story. And when he saw Darrin turn away and that the teen was crying, he went over to him and pulled him away from his friends and then hugged him and let him cry.

“Did you see that?” asked Martin. “I think Darrin was … I think he was crying.”

“Yes, I think Darrin was crying, but did you see Billy … how he came over and took him away from us, so we wouldn’t see him cry,” spoke up Blake.

“Guys,” began, Sam, “what Billy did is what the Cover ‘brothers’ do. They protect one another, and when one is hurting, like Darrin is now, they come up and … they hug them.”

Terran then spoke up and told everyone, “Look … Charles and Robert … they are with Billy and Darrin, too. What Darrin told us … I know I could feel that what he said came from the heart, if you know what I mean. I have just one older brother, but can you imagine what it is like having five and they don’t pick on you, or anything, but they protect you like the Covers do?”

Max had caught up with Matthew, who then began working on teaching Sally to ‘Lay Down’, after the young pup had her break. When she had gotten that habit down, he got the young pup to ‘Shake Hands’ and give a ‘Kiss’ when asked.

Matthew got Max involved in teaching Sally those two new routines and the boy was all smiles as he was shaking hands with both Sarge and Sally and getting kisses from both pups as well.

Matthew then asked Max to go through all of the other tricks he’d trained Sally on earlier to see if she would respond to someone else’s voice beside his. Max was all for that, as he never figured he’d get to do anything like that when he came over that Saturday. For him, this day, by far, was much better than skating and swimming, which is what he figured that they’d be doing.

‘Dad’ Ken started Phillip out slow on the rides. He knew the boy’s aversion to intense rides too soon, so he first took him to JUSTICE LEAGUE: Battle for Metropolis, which was an epic interactive dark ride. From there they went on to Pandemonium, where no two rides were alike.

After that somewhat intense ride, ‘dad’ Ken took the boy over to the Mini Mine Train, for a breezy ride through the rambling trails of a frontier mining town. Phillip liked that one and asked his ‘dad’ why he didn’t have something like that at his parks.

From there the two Covers headed right next door to the Runaway Mine Train. Phillip told his ‘dad’ to put that one in his parks instead. Judge Roy Scream, a 65-foot high wooden out-and-back roller coaster was next. The young Cover loved the air time he got on such a small ride.

‘Dad’ Ken then decided that Phillip should be ready for few bigger rides. So, as they came out of the tunnel, from the now ridden wooden coaster, the man had Phillip walk to the Texas SkyScreamer. The boy looked at the height of the chairs hanging going around in a circle atop of the hugely tall tower and asked if he really had to ride that thing. ‘Dad’ Ken smiled and just nodded his head.

‘Dad’ Ken told his foster son that he’d been on rides almost as high and from up there he could see the entire park. Phillip said that he still wasn’t sure that he wanted to ride it, but that he was there and he probably might not get another chance, so he used his Flash Pass and got in line.

When the ride was over and the boy learned that the ride was 400 feet in the air and he was spinning around at almost 35 mph he was glad he didn’t know that before he rode it. But now that it was over, he was glad he did. The young Cover told his ‘dad’ that he had enjoyed the view and now, was ready for just about anything.

Taking him at his word, ‘dad’ Ken took the boy over to BATMAN, The ride, an inverted roller coaster. Then, before the boy could catch his breath, it was on to MR FREEZE, a launch coaster than went from 0 to 70 miles per hour in a mind-crunching 3.8 seconds, that shot them into a staggering high “top hat” loop, and immediately hustled them right into a 180-degree overbanked turn before they went straight up a 236-foot tower, only to do it again backwards.

“Mr. Ken … can I … can I take a break?” asked Phillip, as they walked off Mr. Freeze.

Darrin’s friends greeted him when he walked back from talking with his older ‘brothers’.

“Darrin, I didn’t mean to upset you,” apologized Jody.

“You didn’t. I just got … well, I got to remembering Dawson, that’s all. Being here with my new ‘brothers’ it’s … it’s helped me forget what happened that night. Don’t worry about it. OK? Now, it’s time to get the barbeque started, so let’s help with that,” answered the teen Cover.

The boys helped get the barbeque going, which helped Darrin take his mind off the earlier question.

It was while Darrin was helping set up the serving line, that Billy came over to him and told him that as a thirteen-year-old, he should start learning how to ‘burn’ the burgers and dogs. That put a smile on the teen Cover and the two ‘brothers’ went over to the grill where Billy began showing Darrin what he needed to know about the grill and how they went about cooking the burgers and when they cooked the hot dogs.

Darrin was eager to learn something new about the barbeque, as he felt that setting up the serving line was monotonous and boring. As the ‘cook in training’ was learning, he asked why they didn’t toast the buns on the open grill surface that they weren’t using.

One of the other teens asked him how he would do that. Darrin told the boy that they could lightly dip the bun in the grease from the burgers and just let it toast on the open grill. The teen Cover said that since they can control the heat setting, they would keep it low, so the bun doesn’t burn. Billy told his ‘brother’ to take two buns and try it.

Darrin took two hamburger buns and did what he said they could do. He lightly dipped the bun halves in the grease and then put them on the low heat side of the grill, grease side down. The Cover then added that they could also use margarine, or butter, if they wanted a better tasting bun.

When it came time to eat. Billy had his ‘brother’ put burgers on the grease toasted buns. Then the oldest Cover just added ketchup and a little mustard and then cut the burgers into fours and passed them around to the other cooks to get their take on the taste.

The taste test came back 50/50. Some said they liked it and some said that they’d prefer if the bun had a buttery taste instead of the grease of the burger, since they were getting it anyway from the burger. Somebody suggested that they just heat the buns on the grill and then someone asked why they didn’t do cheeseburgers on the grill

Billy then told the cheeseburger suggester that they could do the cooking and the cleanup, as the cheese was harder to clean up afterwards. The cheeseburger suggester took back his suggestion. Lots of the boys then laughed.

Darrin and his friends sat together and talked about what he and Terran were going to do tonight during the sleepover. Some asked if they were going to have a Dive-In Movie. Others asked if they were going to have pizza, too.

Darrin told his friends that they will all probably go out for dinner somewhere, and then when they come home, they plan to swim with his older ‘brothers’ and probably play some pool games, and then go to bed.

Phillip told ‘dad’ Ken that he needed something to drink after experiencing those last few coasters. The youngster then told his ‘dad’ that he wasn’t expecting that last ride to be as intense as it was because he couldn’t really see it before riding it. The boy’s ‘dad’ told him that he didn’t die from the experience, and that much of his fear was from the unknown and until he tried something he would never know what he could handle. The two Covers then went out in search of more rides to get on.

‘Dad’ Ken remembered an old coaster that paralleled the highway, so he went in search of it. When he found it, he showed it to Phillip and asked him if he wanted to ride it. The foster boy said that he would. The two Covers now headed over to Shock Wave, a classic double loop coaster.

Coming off the ride Phillip couldn’t believe that the coaster was more than thirty years old and went about 60 miles per hour through the double loop. The young boy also told his ‘dad’ that he loved the air time along with the banking turns and dips. This was another coaster that the boy told his ‘dad’ he should put in his parks.

The two by-passed going up the massive steel structure called the Oil Derrick from where they could have seen all of the park. They had decided that they’d already seen the park from the top of the 400-foot-tall SkyScreamer, and they didn’t want to spend the time going up to see what they had already seen.

From there ‘dad’ Ken made their way over to the Conquistador, the high-flying Spanish galleon that went back and forth, then the El Sombrero that was shaped as a large spinning sombrero, go figure, and finally the La Vibora, a 1,500-foot bobsled roller coaster that didn’t have the benefit of a track, but did follow a half-pipe like tube as it made its way to get from the top to the bottom. Phillip liked all three rides, but none of them were worthy of his mentioning to have his ‘dad’ place them into his parks.

Matthew and Max worked with Bruce Price’s Sally on more learned behaviors, or tricks, depending on what term you wanted to use. After the two boys ate lunch, they began working with the young female pup, to teach her to crawl, play dead, and roll over.

It took them quite some time to get the young pup to master those three tricks, but it was something that Matthew had been teaching all the pups, and he didn’t want to leave something out of what he had been doing for the other families.

The day was getting late and before Mr. Price was to return, Matthew had Max go through all of the learned behaviors one more time with Sally, so he knew she knew them. And Max, for his part, didn’t do them in any order, either. That made sure that Sally knew the behaviors and wasn’t doing them from memory.

When the two boys had finished testing Sally, they, along with Chief, Sarge and Sally went up to the Cove Skate Park and sat on one of the concrete benches to await Mr. Price’s return. It was while they were there that Sally saw an errant skateboard and she went over to it. She went and placed her front paws on it and began to push it with her rear feet and then she jumped on it and rode the skateboard.

Not only were Matthew and Max stunned, that Sally had done that, all on her own, but the other boys out on the Cove Skate Park were just as mystified at seeing the young pup doing that trick that no one had taught her.

Sally did it again and again and soon Sarge was wanting to try that, but there wasn’t an available skateboard. So, Matthew called out to one of the boys to roll his skateboard out onto the concrete surface and Sarge then tried to do what Sally was doing. He wasn’t too successful, though.

Unbeknownst to Matthew, Bruce Price had arrived and had parked just inside the Main Gate and had seen his Sally riding the skateboard. He was beside himself that his young pup was doing such a thing. He quickly walked over to Matthew and shook his hand at what he had done with his puppy.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. Matthew, you are a miracle worker, for sure,” praised the man. “What else have you taught her? Show me, please!” now asked the pups owner.

Matthew called Sally over to him and he asked Mr. Price to go through the commands that he’d been using all day with his Sally. He also asked the man to mix the commands up, so Sally didn’t anticipate them.

Mr. Price called out Sally’s name and with attention to the man’s voice, the young pup did as he asked. Lay down, roll over, crawl, kiss, shake hands, play dead, sit, come, stay, and with a ball the young pup fetched it. Mr. Price had a big smile on his face and then he pointed to the skateboard and told the pup to go skate. Sally ran to the board and began rolling on it.

By then Mr. Wayne had appeared and had seen most of the test Mr. Price had done with the young pup and even he was baffled when he saw Sally riding the skateboard.

Bruce Price thanked Matthew for what he’d done to teach Sally, and he told the Cover that he was now a believer and he couldn’t wait to bring Spencer over tomorrow. The two shook hands and before long the man and his pup were driving out the Main Gate.

Phillip was thoroughly enjoying his time at Six Flag Over Texas. His ‘dad’ had taken him to all of the better attractions to ride and he loved them all. They rode the Runaway Mountain, a seven and a half story tall rock mountain, that once they entered, they never knew where they were going because the ride was done complexly in the dark. They also rode the steel hybrid roller coaster, the Texas Giant. The wooden architecture combined with the steel I-beam coaster track made this coaster a ‘bucket list’ item for many people and the Covers checked it off their list.

To rest their feet, the Covers took a ride on the Six Flags Railroad. The one-mile trip went at a relaxed pace and gave them a scenic ground level tour of the park. From there Phillip saw a few rides that he wanted to try and they did.

The Batwing that went around in circles and you controlled whether it went up or down. The Catwoman Whip was a ride that they started on going around close to the ground but soon they found themselves tilting up as the arm elevated them around a 68-foot circle. And, Gunslinger, which was swinging chair ride that started close to the ground, but slowly rose up and then turned on its side which gave the Covers a nice windy, but twisty ride, were a few of the rides Philip chose to go on.

Mr. Ken did walk Philip by the Titan roller coaster, but he knew from riding it himself, with Billy, that the boy wasn’t ready for that 255-foot drop. They did watch it go through a couple of runs before heading back into the park for one more coaster, Wile E. Coyote’s Grand Canyon Blaster.

‘Dad’ Ken begged off riding that coaster with his foster son, saying that it was too small for him. But Phillip was all for riding the 20-foot-high steel junior coaster with a few twists, turns and mini drops. When that ride was over, the two Covers then began backtracking to ride some rides they liked to fill in the rest of their day before calling the driver to pick them up to take them out to dinner.

After the Cover boy’s friends left for the day, Mr. Wayne told everyone they were going over to Four Corners for dinner. The boys began to boo him, until the Estate Master reminded them that their ‘dad’ had put in place those Restaurant Parking Only signs that seem to be working, according to Mr. Ken.

At dinner in the Diner portion of the dual Restaurant/Diner building, the boys talked about their day. The biggest surprise to everyone was when Matthew told how Sally, the pup he was training that day, just got up on the skateboard and began to use it across the flat portion of the skate park. Then he laughed at how Sarge tried to mimic his sister, and failed miserably.

Billy did say that he’d heard from Jamie today and he was going to spend tomorrow night with them. Robert added that Eric would also be spending the night and then Charles reminded everyone that Cooper would also be spending the night.

Darrin then asked everyone that when they got back to The Cove if they would go swimming with him, Terran, Matthew and Max. The teen added that he understood that they used to swim a lot at one time, and tonight would be a great time to do that again with them having guests over, especially since they don’t have school the next day, or any homework to do.

“Laying it on a little thick aren’t we Darrin,” chuckled Mr. Wayne. The boys at the table laughed right along with the man’s attempt at some humor.

“Oh, they know what I mean,” replied Darrin, with a smile on his face.

After they had all eaten, Mr. Wayne took them all up to the Go-Kart Track for them to ride. They hadn’t been there in a while, and they immediately saw that the railroad crossing, as well as a good portion of the protective fencing had been installed, and that the aftermath hadn’t been completely cleaned up.

The boys wondered out loud if their ‘dad’ knew that the area looked like a bomb had hit it. Mr. Wayne remarked that if he didn’t know, that they would probably make sure that he did when he returned tomorrow night. The boys snickered when their overseer commented that they would tell their ‘dad’ what they saw.

Max didn’t get to drive the Go-Karts all that often, and he told Matthew that. So, his Cover friend told him to just take one of the last karts and to stick with him, as they drove around the course. Matthew told Max that he never drives to win the race; that he only goes there to enjoy driving the karts with his ‘brothers’.

When the Cover group finally got their turn, Billy, Robert and Charles all tried to get the front karts. Terran heard what Max told Matthew and he told Darrin the same thing, so those four took the last four karts with other people filling in the remaining five karts.

When the race started, Mr. Wayne was outside with the Go-Kart manager, who controlled the race, and he knew who Wayne Mitchell was. The man mentioned that Mr. Ken usually has him add a few laps to the race. The Estate Master told the man to do whatever was fair. The man smiled when he pressed the GO button.

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Billy, Robert and Charles raced out fast with the other five people quickly on their tails. Darrin, Matthew, Terran and Max were just pulling up the end of the racers and enjoying driving the karts. Charles won the race that night.

The Covers did stop for ice cream for Chief and Sarge at Mr. Ken’s Kreamy Kone on the way home, and Terran and Max were selected to give it to the resident pets that night. But Mathew spoiled the older teen’s fun by commanding the pets to ‘Sit!’, before they could jump up on the night’s guests.

But everyone did enjoy Chief, and Sarge, chasing the cup filed with vanilla ice cream all around the Kitchen Nook floor, as they licked every morsel of the cold treat out of the medium cup. The two resident pets that gave Terran and Max some cold kisses, as their reward for giving them the cold concoction.

Mr. Ken had the limo driver take him and Phillip to the Cracker Barrel restaurant that he’d taken Billy to when they traveled up that way for a Texas Rangers baseball game. The Covers had eaten at a Cracker Barrel down near them, so Phillip knew what he could order.

As they ate, the two talked about their day, and the young Cover told his ‘dad’ about the coasters that he liked the best and the ones his ‘dad’ should add to his parks. Phillip told his foster dad that he was totally enjoying the day and he couldn’t wait until tomorrow when he got to see the Museum of the American Railroad, and the life-sized real trains, and the scale model trains and then go to Speed Zone and drive all those go-karts there.

It had been a long day for both Covers and it didn’t take long for them both to fall asleep once their heads hit their soft pillow on their beds that Saturday night.

After watching the resident pets eat their ice cream, the boys all went down to the indoor pool and went swimming. But before joining his guest and ‘brothers’, Matthew asked Mr. Wayne to keep Sarge up in the Study with him. He explained that if Sarge got into the indoor pool area, he would jump in with them and the puppy master didn’t want to have to give the pup another bath that week. Sarge was disappointed that he couldn’t go with his master when he left the Study.

The seven boys swam and played some games for about two and a half hours that Saturday night. For Max and Terran, this was the most fun they’ve had outside being with their other friends at The Cove during the day, as this was just them and the Cover ‘brothers’ playing their made-up games and jumping off the rock ledge, seeing who can make the biggest splash.

They hadn’t realized it was past eleven o’clock, when Mr. Wayne had rung the bell telling them that he was coming down to the pool. Max and Terran were surprised when they head the bell and they asked what it was all about. The Covers who knew what it really meant, just snickered and told them it was Mr. Ken’s way of telling them it was time to get out and get dressed.

The boys did get out and go to the Men’s Locker Room to get changed, but they only put on their boxers and shirts, as they would soon be going to bed, and there was no reason for them to get fully dressed.

When the boys walked out of the indoor pool area, Chief and Sarge greeted them and, of course, the resident pets wanted some behind the ear scratches and a belly rub, or two, which the boys obliged and gave to them.

The boys then went to the Kitchen Nook to see if there was anything they could eat before going to bed. But they hadn’t thought that far in advance and all they could muster up was something to drink, forgetting that Momma always had some of her sweet cakes in the freezer, they could have thawed and eaten,

After saying goodnight to Mr. Wayne and everyone else, Darrin and Terran used the Boys bathroom and then headed to Darrin’s bedroom to go to bed. Of course, Chief joined them, which surprised Terran, but Darrin explained that she was his responsibility until Mr. Ken got another foster.

The two friends talked about the day and Terran asked Darrin how he felt about what Jody had asked. Darrin told Teran that it really didn’t affect him all that much, but it did bring back some memories that he hadn’t had in a while because Mr. Ken keeps him so busy.

Darrin then began to ask Terran about what he remembered about The Cove when he used to come over there. Terran told the teen Cover about when they helped build the original ramps and how crowded it used to be. He told him about when the twins arrived and how Kyle broke his arm and when Matthew arrived.

Terran continued and told the new foster how that one Christmas that Mr. Ken surprised his ‘boys’ with the drawing of the Cove Skate Park, as one of their Christmas presents and how the build went with the storm coming through and almost destroying the deep pools.

The boys talked. Well, Darrin asked questions and Terran answered, as best he could, but he reminded his Cover friend that being a brother of a friend of a Cover didn’t get him invited there until the twins arrived, and he then, himself, became a friend of a Cover.

Darrin learned much more about The Cove and his ‘brothers’ that night, and for that he was thankful that he had invited the right boy to spend the night. It was going on one o’clock when the two boys finally decided to turn off the lights and go to sleep.

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

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