Published: 5 Mar 2026

From the Previous Chapter:

Ken then thought about his finally getting to marry the woman he’d been after for the longest while. He started to think about where did he want to take her on their honeymoon and for how long. He also knew that he needed to establish some level of parental oversight on the boys so he could make decisions for them in Kate’s absence. He knew that was only one of the many issues they had to address before they married.

Ken Thomas finally turned off the lights in his master bedroom, and he crawled under the covers. He lay there still thinking of the, too many, things they had to do and before he knew it, he was fast asleep. And as he slept, so did the whole household full of people. There was not a sound in the house, as they all slept well.

Ken Thomas was up at his usual time that Monday morning, as he was used to getting up early before the boys went off to school. It was a habit, and even though he would have loved to have slept in, but his internal clock would not allow him to do that.

So, he got up, did he normal morning routine and then he went out to the Kitchen Nook to get his first cup of coffee and read the morning newspaper. He figured that since it was that early he’d get to read more of the paper.

Momma was already out in the Kitchen Nook when he went out there. The two greeted one another and Momma brought him his first cup of coffee and he saluted her, as he always did, after he took his first sip of the hot brew.

Mr. Ken then went about unwrapping the paper from the protective sleeve and separating it as was his habit and then he found Section A, World New and he began reading. But his eye caught a teaser headline at the top corner of the newspaper banner that read:

Mr. Ken knew that it was about him, so he put down Section A and went directly to Section B and looked for the article.

Mr. Ken chuckled at the whimsical way the article was written. He also wondered where they had gotten some of the information that was in it. He could only figure that it came from one of the boy’s friend’s parents, who knew of their story from the beginning, and who relayed it to the writer. He wondered what else there would be written about them in the future.

After reading the article, Mr. Ken went back to reading Section A, World News.

Kate and Edith came into the Nook sometime after 8:20 looking for their first cup of coffee. After they sat down, Ken passed the article over to Kate for her to read. When she finished reading it, she passed it to her mother.

“How did they know? Did you tell them all this?” Kate asked Ken.

Ken smiled and told her that he figured that the boy’s friend’s parents told the writer much of what was in there. He added that after they met he talked to some of the parents that he met a beautiful young woman, and how, and he bet the boys filled in some of the other parts to their parents.

Ken then told Kate that something like that has happened before where, he believes, that one of the parents, of which he has no idea, has gone to the newspapers and given them information about him and, or The Cove.

Edith asked Ken if this was something that Kate will have to deal with in the future.

Ken told the two women that because of who he is, and what he has done in the past, he is considered somewhat of a celebrity, and that they do watch what he does and how he conducts himself.

He reminded Kate and told Edith about all of the lawsuits that he currently has ongoing and that they cause the news media to focus on him rightly or wrongly to get or make headlines. He explained that he is suing a number of the news media for the way they reported Bill and Phillip’s accident last July and they aren’t very happy about it, so they won’t write kindly about him for now.

Edith asked Kate outright of this was the life that she wanted to get involved in. One where her every move would be scrutinized and watched, so the news media could make an example of her because of the man she married.

“Mother … this is the man I love! He has told me everything about all of the lawsuits right from the beginning. That was even before he asked me to marry him the first time. He has fought to get the right people on the school and hospital boards here where he lives. And he even helped elect two new county commissioners, where we live, to do what the people wanted to happen with that new highway.

“Mom … I know Ken gets involved in local politics and is criticized by some for fostering boys at his young age, and people don’t like it that he is successful, too. He’s helped me with Lane without my asking. He had Amy work with me and, without her, I could never have gotten to know who Rusty’s real father was. He did this all before we fell in love, mom.

“So, mom, I am going to marry this man … for better or for worse. And I’ll learn Spanish and how to control the boys, and maybe Ken too,” now chuckled Kate.

Edith sat there stunned at how her daughter stood up for the man she loved. The mother wasn’t too happy that her daughter and grandsons would be moving so far away and she hoped that she could somehow derail it. But the way her daughter just defended Ken and used well thought out arguments told her that she would never be able to wreck their engagement or upcoming marriage.

Knowing that, Edith got out of her chair and went to her daughter and apologized. “Kate … I’m sorry for what I said and for the way I said it. I … I just don’t want to see you get hurt in all of the politics that goes on here, and possible backstabbing and social intrigue that is bound to happen once you are married.”

Edith then went over to Ken and offered, “Ken … I know you truly love my daughter. I just don’t want to see her, or the boys, hurt in anyway. Please take good care of them and protect them from the sinister fools who are also out to get you.”

Edith then left the Kitchen Nook, crying.

“I better go and talk to her Ken,” said Kate, as she followed after her mom.

No sooner had Kate left the Kitchen Nook that the phone rang. Mr. Ken picked it up only to learn that it was Collin.

“Collin, my boy. It is good to hear from you. We thought that you’d be here by now. So how is the remodeling going?” finished the teen’s big brother.

Collin told his big brother that was one of the reasons that he hadn’t arrived at The Cove yet as he needed to talk to the architect about a few issues, and then the two of them discuss any changes with the contractor.

Mr. Ken asked if there were any serious problems with the remodel. Collin told him that in the kitchen they didn’t allow enough space for the double ovens to be opened opposite the central prep island. The college junior told his big brother that it isn’t a big deal yet, as they can shift the island a foot, but that could cause some modifications to the electrical and water lines.

The two talked about some other changes that Collin had initiated into the Wilkinson home after Ulrich Dodenhoffer, a visiting architect from Germany, had looked at the Wilkinson remodel plans and had given Collin some ideas he could incorporate.

Then after the two talked about the remodel of Collin’s home, the college man told his big brother he had something he needed to tell him.

“Bro … I’m not coming to The Cove for Thanksgiving,” began Collin.

That surprised the college junior’s big brother, who quickly asked, “And why is that, Collin?”

“Mr. Ken … Jasmine … she asked me to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family, and I … and I said that I would. Bro … I need to know if … if … by meeting her family at a special event like Thanksgiving is … will I fit in, I guess is what I am trying to say.

“Bro, Jasmine and I, we … we have hit it off and we continue to talk to one another about things and … well, instead of me inviting her there I felt … I felt that it was best if I met her entire family first, on her grounds, in her home, if you know what I mean,” Collin finally finished explaining himself.

“Yes, Collin, I know exactly what you are saying. It sounds to me that you are taking the next step to see if you really want to get serious with Jasmine, whom I liked from the very beginning, by the way. We will miss you around the table,” replied the college man’s big brother.

“I hope you aren’t upset with me, Bro, that I am missing this big ‘family’ event back at The Cove,” apologized Collin.

“Not at all, Collin. You need to start living your life as best as you see it. Just know that I am here for you, especially if you have questions or get caught in a situation that you aren’t too sure of. Please don’t hesitate to call me any time day or night.

“And, Collin … there is one thing that I do need to tell you that happened this weekend here a The Cove, though. I asked Kate to marry me and she said, yes!” got out a proud Ken Thomas, ‘big brother’ to Collin Wilkinson.

“Oh, Mr. Ken, that is wonderful news. Have you set a date yet?” asked Collin.

The two talked about the engagement and them not setting a date, as of yet. Mr. Ken told Collin that the wedding would be sometime in the spring and that it would happen back east and that he would fly everyone that is important to him to the ceremony.

The boys all arrived at the Kitchen Nook as their ‘dad’ was talking to Collin. And as soon as the man hung up the phone, they all wanted to know when Collin was going to arrive.

The older boys were deeply disappointed when ‘dad’ Ken told them that their big ‘brother’ was going to have Thanksgiving dinner with Jasmine’s family that year. They knew that Collin and Jasmine had connected, but they didn’t foresee them becoming that close, that soon. ‘Dad’ Ken told them that they have to let their big ‘brother’ search out his life, and let it take him where ever he feels it needs to go.

Darrin, Matthew, Rusty and Jessy then went about feeding Chief and Sarge. The older boys watched to make sure the two younger boys didn’t have any problems as they allowed them to do everything just as they had yesterday. Then, when they were finished, Chief and Sarge gave the two youngsters some doggie kisses before eating their first meal of the day.

The four boys then went to wash their hands as Kate and Edith reentered the Nook. Ken then told the two women that Collin was going to visit his girlfriend’s family for Thanksgiving that year, and they might not get to see him at all. Then when everyone was present in the Kitchen Nook, Momma began serving them their breakfast.

As they ate both Rusty and Jessy asked about the bedrooms over the garage he’d told them about last night. That caused their big ‘brothers’ to ask about them, too. ‘Dad’ Ken told the two young boys that after they ate, he would show them where he intended to have more bedrooms installed, over the garage. He added that when they move there, they could each have their own bedroom. Edith and Kate also wanted to see the space and they asked if they could see the space too.

When breakfast was over, and the boys helped clear the table, everyone followed Mr. Ken up the backstairs to the door leading to the open space above the garage. The two younger boys were totally surprised at the huge space that was there.

Mr. Ken told everyone that after the Thanksgiving Holiday week, he’ll have his Architect Group and possibly his Construction/Design Group stop by and take some measurements and start the process of fitting in at least four bedrooms and two bathrooms in that space.

Jessy quickly asked if that was where his and Jessy’s bedroom would be. But Robert spoke up and told his soon to be step-brother that he wanted one of those new bedrooms. Then Charles said that he wanted one and so did Billy. Matthew said that he liked his bedroom just where it was. That made everyone laugh.

After they all walked out of the huge room ‘dad’ Ken asked his ‘boys’ to try on their suits and to let him know how they fit, as they would probably go out later tonight to either get them new ones or he ones they have tailored. The older boys then went to get their showers.

As the boys walked off, Kate asked Ken about her boys getting their own bedrooms. She told him that she didn’t think that they were old enough to be taking showers with the much older boys.

Ken told her that he totally understood her concern and that after the new bedrooms were built and the older boys moved out there, he’ll designate Phillip’s bathroom for Rusty and Jessy only and that Matthew, Darrin and possibly Phillip, if he was still living there at the time, to use the other larger one. Kate said that she would be OK with that, as the boys are brothers and have taken baths and gotten washed together often enough that sharing the bathroom shouldn’t be a problem for them. Kate then went and got her boys cleaned up and dressed for the day.

After their showers, the older boys tried on their suits, which after a year were all too small for them. Robert knew for them to see if Matthew or Darrin could wear them, so they had the younger ‘brothers’ try them on. Charles’ fit Darrin pretty well and they told him they’d have their ‘dad’ look at it to see if he would keep it, or if he’d buy him a new one. Everyone else would need a new suit.

While the boys were doing that, Ken was asking Kate about him buying Rusty and Jessy a new suit as well. Kate didn’t want him to be spending his money on them. He told her that eventually he’d be doing that anyway, so why not start now.

She had to laugh at the thought, so she said that they could use a new one, but that they grow so fast that they would probably out grow them by the time of the wedding. Ken said that he’d buy them new ones then.

Ken also asked Kate about them spending the Holidays with them that year. The question caught the woman totally off guard, as she wasn’t even thinking that far off yet. She did after some thought, tell him that she’d talk to her mom and then she’d let him know.

Ken, then told her that if not for a Christmas, then maybe they could come for the New Year’s Eve Celebration. He told her that he’d like her to be there for that event and then he could introduce her to the most important people in the area, if not the State.

The boys found the couple talking in the Study and told them about the situation with the suits. Darrin kept Charles’ suit on to show Mr. Ken to see what he thought about his keeping it or if he’d buy him a new one. Mr. Ken told the foster for as many times he’d probably wear it that he should just put it in his closet.

‘Dad’ Ken then told the boys that they have to tell their friends that they need to leave at five today as they were going out shopping for new suits and that tomorrow they were planning on going to SeaWorld, and so they couldn’t come over then, as well. The man also reminded them to tell their friends that Thursday was a ‘Family Day’, because of Thanksgiving, and that couldn’t come over then, too.

‘Dad’ Ken then pulled Phillip aside and told him to call Bryce and to mention to him that he could only play at Four Corners today, Wednesday and Saturday, and they needed to make the schedule reflect that. Phillip told his ‘dad’ that he’d already called Bryce and that they did that already. The young Cover then asked him about what would he do about going out shopping tonight.

‘Dad’ Ken had to laugh that he hadn’t thought about that. He told the boy that he’d probably have to go suit less that Holiday. The boys’ brothers’ laughed, but Kate told the boy that his ‘dad’ would make it so he could get a suit later in the week. She suggested that maybe on Friday when he could take her out shopping again. More laughter erupted in the Study.

While everyone was up about the garage inspecting the large room where new bedrooms and bathrooms would be built, Wayne had come to work and had taken Chief to the veterinarian to see if she was pregnant with a litter of pups. That outcome would decide if Sully would be invited back, or if The Cove, and its inhabitants, would then have to begin a two month watch for when Chief would deliver her new litter, which would be right after the first of the year.

Upon their return to The Cove, Wayne told Ken and Kate that Chief was indeed heavy with at least seven pups, but that there could be nine because the doctor couldn’t really see from the Doppler image that well.

So, Mr. Ken sat in front of Chief and told her that because now she was going to have another litter of puppies, she could not have her favorite treat, which was ice cream. Kate saw the resident pet put her head down as to pout, but Mr. Ken pulled it right back up. He then told Chief that she had to do this the last time and it was because all that sugar was not good for her and the development of her puppies, and that he was doing this so the puppies would be born healthy. And when Mr. Ken asked her if she understood, Chief barked out, “Woof, woof, woof.”

The day moved on and the boys’ friends came over and, of course, they were disappointed that they had to leave at five and that they couldn’t come over tomorrow, but they all made the best of the day that they had.

Billy and Robert took the time to work with Rusty and Jessy on the skateboards and the two just enjoyed having big ‘brothers’ to show them how to ride them better and encourage them when it didn’t go as planned. Jessy like that they hugged him when he fell.

The two younger boys also enjoyed going swimming when the boys went to the pool after they ate up at the Pavilion. Kate and Edith did go to the indoor pool to check that the other boys weren’t ruff housing with them, but they saw that only their big ‘brothers’ were playing with them.

By five o’clock the Cover’s friends were headed out the Main Gate and the people in the household were just about ready to head out shopping for new suits. Everyone, that is, besides Phillip who had to work that night at Four Corners. Wayne was going to take him there and bring him back.

The Covers and their guests did get something to eat, while they were out shopping, and all the boys, sans Darrin, got new suits. Even Rusty and Jessy got new suits and all the boys got red and green vests to wear at the Holiday parties held at The Cove. The decision whether or not Kate and the boys would be there for both was still not known.

The band known as Pavilion, even though there were only four of them Monday night, were a hit at Four Corners. The people loved that there was live Holiday music at the park and since the place wasn’t all that big, the songs could be heard almost everywhere.

It was a standard night at The Cove, Mr. Ken held his meeting, but down in the Great Room. Afterwards, the boys went up to bed and then he went up to say goodnight to them. He then walked Kate to her room and they kissed and hugged before he went to his retreat to sleep. It was a quiet night in The Cove that Monday night.

Mr. Ken woke up at his usual Tuesday time, which was in time to see the boys off to school, but they were off school that week, so he was up earlier than he needed to be. But instead of going back to sleep, he got out of bed, did his morning routine and then went out to get his first cup of coffee and read the morning newspaper.

Momma was already out there and she had the coffee brewed and ready for him and when he sat down she brought the cup and poured the hot brew into it. Mr. Ken blow some across the hot fluid, took a sip and then saluted Momma with the cup, as was his habit, and then he went to attack the paper out of it protective sleeve.

There were no enticing minor headlines that morning, so the owner of The Cove went right to reading the paper from Section A, World News.

With everyone knowing that they were going to SeaWorld that Tuesday, they were up earlier than they would normally be. This surprised Momma Maria some, but she was able to recover quickly and fix a wholesome breakfast for the entire household.

While she was making the meal, Mr. Ken told her that they would all be going to SeaWorld after breakfast and that she could have the rest of the day off, unless she wanted to hang around with Wayne and Chris.

Momma smiled and told her employer that she loved having time off and that she would see them tomorrow morning. Mr. Ken then told Momma that Collin would not be coming to their Thanksgiving dinner, as he had made other plans. The woman just shook her head.

The drive to SeaWorld was uneventful. They’d all been there before, but it was a fun thing for them to do, especially with the younger boys in tow. Mr. Ken let Billy do the driving as he’d done that once before and he had done a good job, and this way Ken could talk with Kate and Edith, along the way.

They got there early enough that they could catch the first Shamu Show. That would then allow them to better plan the rest of their day. As they walked in, Rusty and Jessy asked if they would ever get to go into the Aquatica water park they had there. Mr. Ken told the boys that once they began living at The Cove, he would make sure that they would have that opportunity.

“Us two?” cheekily asked Robert.

“Why you,” teased dad Ken. “You just wait until I get you,” called out the teen’s dad, as the laughing teenager ran away.

They arrive at the stadium early enough that they got good seats in the middle and high up so they could watch the entire show with ease. Rusty and Jessy wanted to go down to the Splash Zone, but Kate told them that they couldn’t as she hadn’t brought them any dry clothing with her.

They all enjoyed watching the Orca whales jump out of the water and a few other tricks as well as them also splashing the people in the Splash Zone. When that show was over they all headed up to the where white Beluga Whales and Dolphins would have their show.

And even though they had seen the show before they all enjoyed watching the graceful beluga whales and athletic Pacific white-sided dolphins interacting with each other in a playful way. The younger boys particularly loved seeing the highly acrobatic Pacific white sided dolphins jump up to 20 feet above the surface of the water.

From there the boys wanted to ride a few of the rides that SeaWorld San Antonio had. The closest one for Rusty and Jessy was Super Grover’s Box Car Derby. It is a kid friendly coaster that was just right for them. But Kate wanted someone to ride with her boys even though they were old and big enough to go by themselves. Matthew and Phillip volunteered.

The ride was a simple enough that went around the pink track twice before ending. The boys were happy that they got to do that and they asked what ride they could do next.

The older boys knew that Sea World had the Steel Eel and the Great White and they wanted to head over to them.

They came upon the High Thrill Roller Coaster Steel Eel first and the older boys quickly got in line. The minimum height was 48 inches and Rusty told his mom that he was high enough that he could rid it, but his mother told him no. She told him that she didn’t want him riding something that was 150 feet high until he was much older.

The adults and the two boys waited for about thirty minutes before the six boys were finally loaded onto the coaster train. Rusty and Jessy then watched the train ride up the steep hill an then they saw it rush down and speed up the first hill and over the top. About three minutes later the coaster train came back to the station with the boys telling everyone how much fun that was.

As they walked along, they came upon the Penguin Enclosure and it was decided that they would all walk in and look at the penguins. Inside they got to watch the playful antics of nearly 250 penguins including a majestic King penguin and the smaller Gentoo, Chinstrap and Rockhopper penguins, too. At the end of the building were the feathered friends from the Arctic, the Puffins.

Upon exiting the Penguin Enclosure, the group came upon The Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster. They all watched the ride before deciding to get in line to ride it. Of course, all the older boys were game, but Kate was a bit hesitant to allow Rusty and Jessy to ride it.

Ken had to show her how the rider is kept in place with lap restraints and that the way they are seated it would be difficult for them to fall out. He told her that Rusty could sit opposite her and that Jessy would sit opposite him. Both boys were begging for their mom to let them ride.

When it came time to ride, Kate was still a bit hesitant. But after they’d ridden it, she found the ride to be somewhat tame and not all that high and of course none of her boys had fallen out, and for that she was thankful.

As soon as the older boys got off the Rescue Coaster they sprinted for the Great White Roller Coaster, which was basically just around the corner. They knew that the only other person who would ride it would be their ‘dad’. But with seven riders one would have to ride by themselves and he would be the odd-man-out. The one thing that they forgotten was that this coaster sat people four abreast.

When the three adults arrive, Ken had decided to stay with Kate, Edith and the boys and watch as the six older boys raced down the first hill at nearly 50 mph on the floorless coaster that ran through breathtaking loops, corkscrews and thrilling curves. Rusty and Jessy told Mr. Ken that he needed to add a coaster like that to his parks.

By now everyone was hungry. Normally, they would continue walking toward Shamu Stadium, where there was barbeque restaurant. But in doing that they would add a lot more walking and Edith wasn’t used to it so they back tracked the way they came to a few restaurants they’d passed.

In doing that, it would put them close to Clyde and Seamore’s Sea Lion High live show featuring a fun and hilarious adventure with sea lions, otters, walruses and humans. The story line follows the students as they are nominated to win scholarships to Ocean University.

After eating, the large group did get to watch the mixture of animals, and especially Clyde and Seamore, try to learn as much as possible about science, dance and gym, so they can graduate in one day. The hilarious antics of all the animals had them all laughing through the 30-minute show.

From there they walked over to let Rusty and Jessy feed the Sea Lions. Mr. Ken bought several trays of food and the younger boys began throwing the little morsels over to the Sea Lions. The older boys saw that it looked like fun, so they began taking the food and throwing it as well. That made ‘dad’ Ken buy more trays.

When the food was all gone, Kate asked her boys to smell their hands. The boys hadn’t figured that what the food in the tray smelled like would also transfer to their hands. All the boys, young and teen, rushed to the hand washing kiosk and briskly washed their hands.

From there the group walked over to where the Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins could be watched in Discovery Point. There were viewing areas above and below the water and the two younger boys scurried about the entire area to watch the dolphins from every vantage point.

Kate was concerned that her two boys would get in the way of the other people who were also viewing the animals. But Ken asked her to let her boys be boys and that besides, they were with their big ‘brothers’ who were keeping an eye on them.

Kate just punched Ken in the arm, and told him he was encouraging them. All her fiancé exclaimed was that he was letting them explore and see the world in front of them. Edith just inwardly smiled at the couple seeing how each other viewed the raising of the boys.

The 450,000-gallon aquarium Shark Tank was going to be the groups last stop before heading home. In addition to sharks, the first section of the exhibit is the Explorer’s Reef where the group observed a breathtaking cylindrical salt water aquarium with living coral which was home to some of the most wonderfully unusual treasures, like sea horses, clownfish, coral reef fish, dart frogs, stingrays and more.

In the 450,000-gallon aquarium the boys got get a close look at several species of these top predators, with their rows of razor-sharp teeth, including zebra sharks, sand tigers, and nurse sharks. They were able to observe them swimming around the huge marine exhibit and read placards describing what they were seeing.

The big ‘brothers’ read what was posted about each shark to Rusty and Jessy, so the young boys could understand what they were looking at. Other young boys and girls, around the teenagers, also appreciated them doing that, as did their parents.

It had been a long day for the traveling group of eleven and they had at least a 90-minute ride home, after they got to the Sprinter van and drove out of the parking lot. Billy was again volunteered to do the driving, but he was up to the task.

Upon arriving in the Four Corners area, Mr. Ken had Bill pull into the restaurant parking lot so they could all get a good meal. He already had called ahead and reserved his corner tables.

They were immediately seated and two waitresses filled their water glasses and handed out menus. The boys knew what they wanted, while Billy and Charles read the menu to Rusty and Jessy to help them decide what they both wanted.

Edith watched how the older boys took good care of her grandsons. She did that, not only then, but while they were at SeaWorld and at the Cove. She knew Rusty and Jessy would be well cared for, not only by their new stepdad, but also by the older boys they called their big ‘brothers’.

She saw the love that Ken had for her daughter. And the more she’d been around his ‘boys’ and watched them interact with her grandsons the more she knew those older boys loved them as much as she did.

Edith knew she was going to miss them all considerably when Kate married Ken and they all moved to The Cove. But there was nothing she could do when cupids arrow strikes and two people fall in love with one another. She also knew that Ken was the best thing that had ever befallen Kate in her life, and that she deserved to finally be happy.

After they had all eaten a wonderful meal, the boys wanted to go into the amusement park. But ‘dad’ Ken told them that they had ridden enough rides for the day and they should get back home and check on Chief and Sarge.

Jessy asked if they were going to get the resident pets some ice cream before they went home. Mr. Ken pulled the eight-year-old aside and explained to him that Chief was going to have another litter of puppies, and that the ice cream was bad for her and her new family inside of her.

But Jessy wasn’t deterred. He asked, “But what about Sarge? He isn’t going to have puppies, is he? Then, why can’t he have some ice cream?”

It was hard to argue with that kind of logic, and Kate was laughing at Ken as he had to explain to the very young boy that it wouldn’t be fair to Chief to have her watch Sarge eat ice cream while she couldn’t.

Mr. Ken then asked the youngster if he’d want Rusty to have ice cream, but not him. Jessy thought about that for a few moments and then the young boy agreed that he wouldn’t want to watch Rusty eat ice cream if he couldn’t have any. Everybody smiled.

When they returned to The Cove, Edith told everyone that she was tired from all that walking and that she going up to her room to relax before turning in. The rest all headed down to the Great Room to have Mr. Ken’s evening meeting.

Rusty and Jessy were showing signs of obviously being tired, but they wanted to be there to hear what Mr. Ken had to say. The man told everyone to sleep in tomorrow morning, that was until nine o’clock or Momma would come upstairs there with the ‘spoon’ after them. Everyone laughed, including the two younger boys because they knew what the ‘spoon’ meant.

Mr. Ken told the boys that they should enjoy their day tomorrow as on Thursday that is a ‘Family Day’ and their guests should start arriving around twelve noon, with dinner to begin about two o’clock. He asked them to take the time to talk to all of their guests and make them feel welcome. He added that dinner will take as long as it takes and for them not to hurry it.

‘Dad’ Ken told the group that Momma, and her amigas, Sophia and Isabela, would be preparing their Thanksgiving dinner and will start about five o’clock that morning. He wanted them to know so they weren’t surprised to see the three women in the Kitchen, when they came down for breakfast.

Mr. Ken added that for now they were playing Friday ‘by ear’ and for them to be flexible’. On Saturday, ‘dad’ Ken told the boys that Kate, Edith and the boys would be heading back east and that he would be riding with them to the airport. He added that they would be leaving The Cove around 10:30, so they needed to plan accordingly.

Dad Ken then asked his son, Robert, if he was ready to take his driving test tomorrow. Robert told his dad that he could take the test, but that he’d probably get a few questions wrong. The teen’s dad told him to talk to Mr. Wayne tomorrow and then the two of them decide if they should go and take the test. Robert thanked his dad for suggesting that and said that’s what he’d do when he sees the Estate Master tomorrow. He reminded Phillip that he would be playing at Four Corners tomorrow night.

Mr. Ken then told the boys to head up to their rooms to relax, after their long day, and to start getting ready for bed. He told them that he and Ms. Kate would be up there in about twenty minutes to say goodnight.

Once the boys were gone, Ken and Kate snuggled together there in the Great Room. They talked about how the day went and Ken apologized to Kate for saying what he did about letting the boys be boys.

Kate thought about that for a few moments, then told him that she had always been super careful over what she let the boys do. But she added that with them getting married she needs to start letting him and the older boys watch over them, and she will have to just let the ‘boys-be-boys’.

Ken smiled at what she said, but he told her that she still needed to speak up when she isn’t comfortable with something the older boys want to do, or show her boys. Kate inwardly smiled when she heard that. It told her that Ken wasn’t going to totally take over raising her sons.

With that discussed, the two just snuggled some more and kissed each other. It was more like thirty minutes before Mr. Ken and Ms. Kate went upstairs to say goodnight to the boys.

‘Dad’ Ken didn’t spend much time with any of the boys that night. It was late and it had been a long day for all of them. He did spend special time with Jessy and Rusty before their mother went in and talked to them.

Ken then walked Kate to her bedroom. The two hugged and kissed before saying goodnight to one another. Again, Ken wished he could have invited her to his retreat.

Down in his own bedroom, after getting himself ready for bed, Ken sat on the edge of his king-sized bed and thought about the day they’d just had. He wished they would be getting married sooner, rather than later, but he knew he needed to let Kate be the driving force there. Plus, he knew there were many issues they both needed to discuss before getting married and tomorrow he was going to ask her if they shouldn’t start doing just that.

After turning off the lights in his retreat and crawling under the cover, Ken Thomas felt the tiredness of his day overwhelm him and before long he was fast asleep. The Cove was again quiet throughout the night.

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

If you are using webmail please include, on the subject line, [CR] [name of story]. This let’s the author know 2 things: Where you read the story and which story you are writing about.

64,302 views