Published: 9 Jul 2026

From the Previous Chapter:

Once Ken Thomas arrived in his retreat, he immediately went and got ready for bed. He then sat on the edge of his bed, as he had been doing of late, to think about what happened during the day and what was in store for him either the following day or week.

He was looking forward to having Kate there for the Holidays and then with him and the boys when they visited the parks. He was especially looking forward to his fiancée being on his arm for the New Year’s Eve party. He was also looking forward to introducing her to all of his important contacts, so she would know who they are when she begins living there at The Cove.

It was getting late, so the man decided to turn the lights off and get to sleep. It wasn’t long before everyone in the house was fast asleep.

Knowing he was taking the boys out for breakfast at nine o’clock, Mr. Ken had set his alarm clock for an earlier time than usual for a non-school day. He wanted to get a chance to have a few cups of coffee and read the newspaper some before they all departed The Cove.

So, when the alarm went off, Ken Thomas quickly got out of bed, hurried to use his en suite and when finished he dressed for the day. He could smell the freshly made coffee when he walked out to the Foyer, but he needed to go outside to pick up the Sunday newspaper before he could even think about having his first cup of the hot brew.

Once he was back in the Kitchen Nook, he placed the paper at his usual place at the table, then went and poured himself a cup of coffee and then he went over and sat down. He took a sip of the hot brew and then he proceeded to unwrap the paper from the protective sleeve and then separate it, as was his habit.

A teaser headline to the right of the masthead caught his attention. It said:

He knew Ben was going to talk to the media about their closing Four Corners after the Holidays, so, he decided to start his reading with Section B, Local News.

Mr. Ken was pleased with the way the reporter wrote the article. It was what he and Ben wanted without telling too much. He knew that their meeting with the companies from IAAPA after the Holidays had to be fruitful for them to announce what roller coaster and other rides would be installed later next year.

The owner of The Cove continued to read the morning newspaper, while he drank his coffee. He was so engrossed in reading the paper that he didn’t even hear the boys come into the Nook. It wasn’t until Matthew and Darrin got Chief and Sarge’s first meal ready that he realized how late it actually was.

The man told the boys that he needed to use his bathroom and then he’d meet them outside the garage. He asked Bill to back the van out. Less than ten minutes later the Covers were headed out for breakfast at Mr. Ken’s favorite place.

As they ate, they talked about the coming week and how busy they all would be. Mr. Ken did ask them to watch out for Rusty and Jessy, as this would their first time at the Holiday parties.

Phillip then spoke up and said that this was his first time too, and he asked who was going to watch out for him. All the boys laughed and Billy said that he’d watch out for him. Then Darrin spoke up, but he got a different reaction. The boys told him that he’d survive, and then laughed. All ’dad’ Ken did was shake his head at the boy’s antics.

As the group continued to eat, Phillip asked how did they determine which high school had the best Gingerbread house display. ‘Dad’ Ken told the young Cover that everybody who attends his Holiday parties get a chip with which to vote. He added that Mr. Chris will put out a box that people will drop their chip into thus voting which display they thought was the best.

Phillip then asked if they get to vote. It was Robert who spoke up and said that he doesn’t ever remember voting the last two years. The teen then asked Charles if he ever voted and getting a negative answer, Robert asked his dad why they never got to vote.

Dad Ken was flabbergasted at the question. He then told the boys that he never thought about letting them vote, since he was sponsoring the competition and usually employees and family members aren’t allowed to participate in contests.

“But dad, this isn’t a contest like they have nationally. It’s a local thing and … well, there are only six of us and how can we influence the vote? We should be able to vote. Right guys?” finished Charles.

‘Dad’ Ken thought about the question, and then he told the boys that if they all voted for one display and then told their guests, which one they like they could potentially steer those people to vote for that display, as well.

The boys sat there thinking about what their ‘dad’ just said. But after a few quiet moments, Phillip spoke up and offered, “But I still want to vote.” That broke the silence at the table and ‘dad’ Ken told the youngster that he’d make sure he got a chip to vote with on Friday night.

Back at The Cove, the boys caught up with the friends up at the Pavilion, while ‘dad’ Ken went into the Study to check his email. It was while Mr. Ken was checking his email that he received a phone call from Wayne who told him that if it wasn’t an inconvenience to have Todd stay with the resident pets he’d still like to go on the trips.

And not too long after that call, Dennis called him and essentially told him the same thing. The man reasoned that with Todd going off to school and potentially might need the extra pay, he would like to see the young man succeed in that endeavor. Dennis then volunteered to stay with Chief and Sarge if Todd has other compelling reasons that he can’t stay with the resident pets.

Mr. Ken thanked both of his employees for their calls and he especially appreciated that Dennis volunteered to stay with the resident pets in case Todd can’t. That made him smile that Dennis stepped up as a backup, just in case.

Now that the high school students had finished installing their Christmas displays, Phillip and his band mates who were able to stop by that Sunday, walked over to take a close look at them. Phillip explained to them how his ‘dad’ determined the winner. Preston, though, told his friend that he’d been at Mr. Ken’s Holiday parties and he got to vote for the Wrapped Christmas Present last year.

The older boys saw the younger boys looking at the Gingerbread Houses, so they decided to go over and look them over, too. It was during the afternoon, with the sun up high, and as the large number of teens looked at the Christmas displays, Billy told them that when the Holiday party goers see them, they should be all lit up, which could give them a totally different look.

Most of the teens looking at the displays said that they would be at next Friday night’s Holiday Party and that they’d get a chance to see them lit up and then they’d vote for the one they liked best.

Soon after the boys looked at the displays the barbeque was put on and everyone ate and after clean-up some went swimming, while others skated. Phillip took his friends inside to show them how he decorated his room for Christmas. After his friends went back outside to either swim or skate, Phillip decided to rest before going out to Four Corners for his gig.

Darrin and his friends talked about the Holiday party that Mr. Ken holds for the neighbors which is the one they would be allowed to go to. They explained to Darrin that people will arrive throughout the night beginning at six o’clock and that the food is awesome.

The Cover’s friends told him how awesome the estate looks all lit up, especially with the action figures out back. Terran Fletcher and Sam Symons, whose older brothers are friends with Robert, told Darrin that Mr. Ken had been holding the Holiday parties ever since he moved into his huge home about five or six years ago, and that everyone looks forward to them.

Terran and Sam then told Darrin about some of the happenings that they knew of ever since they had begun going to The Cove back when Robert started living there. Darrin loved hearing about the things that happened at The Cove. He only wished that he had a home that was anything like what his foster dad had there for his sons and foster sons.

Since it was a Sunday, the Cover’s friends had to leave by five o’clock. And Phillip had to be at the Four Corners Amusement Park for his job to play Holiday music at the park. The security guard drove the young Cover down to Four Corners and his job was to stay with Phillip and watch that no one tried to abduct or harm the boy while he was there.

The rest of the Covers waited until ‘dad’ Ken gathered them up to take them out for dinner. That night they went to a restaurant they hadn’t visited before, as Mr. Ken wanted something different. The eatery was the Olive Garden where they offered Italian dinners complete with all you can eat salad and bread sticks.

The boys wondered why they’d never gone there before and during dinner they told their ‘dad’ that they enjoyed the different entrées and the décor. They told him to add it to his list of places to go other than the Four Corners Restaurant, or Diner. ‘Dad’ Ken was also enjoying the experience and made a mental note to do just that.

After dinner the Covers did stop at Mr. Ken’s Kreamy Kone for ice cream Sundaes for dessert. Darrin suggested that they wait for their younger ‘brother’ to finish his gig at nine o’clock across the street. But ‘dad’ Ken offered that the security guard was responsible to bring their ‘brother’ home safe and he didn’t want to change up the man’s schedule.

‘Dad’ Ken told the boys that he’d wait to have his usual meeting once Phillip returned home, so they could go up to their rooms and relax and that he’d send Sarge up to get them when their ‘brother’ was home.

As the boys headed up to their rooms, Sarge was going to follow Matthew, but Mr. Ken called the young resident pet to stay back with him. The resident pet looked to Matthew, who told him to stay with ‘dad’. Sarge then walked back to Mr. Ken and laid down next to his desk, where Mr. Ken ruffled his coat, bringing the dog to roll over for a belly rub.

It was almost 9:30 when Phillip walked in through the Kitchen Nook. The youngster went directly to the Study and Sarge, sensing him gave a low bark, and then recognizing him went to him to be petted.

“Welcome home, Phillip. I hope the gig went well,” spoke ‘dad’ Ken.

Then looking at Sarge, he said, “Sarge, go and bring the boys down to the Study.”

Sarge took off running and before long all the boys joined their younger ‘brother’ down in the Study. The resident pet sat next to Matthew, who told his ‘dad’ that Sarge went to each of their rooms and barked once and then waited for them out in the hallway.

‘Dad’ Ken then started his meeting. “Boys … as I already told you that this week … it has many working parts. The vocational high school Christmas display installation was one part, the staff Christmas is another, Kate and family’s arrival is another, your older ‘brother’, Collin’s, arrival is another, the Friday night Holiday party is one more and finally the Saturday night Holiday party is the last one for the week.

“Darrin and Phillip … the Saturday night Holiday party … this is the one where I invite all of my important business contacts and the government officials, whom we all deal with during the year. Darrin, Judge Adam Richards, he will be at this one and I want to introduce you to him.

“Darrin … you will find that he is a down to earth man who really cares about the boys and girls who come before him. But I won’t guarantee that … that he’ll will keep you here at The Cove. There are too many extenuating things that he has to consider when he makes a ruling. Please keep that in mind.

“Remember, on Thursday, for the staff Christmas, ask your friends not to stop by. I don’t know how long it will take, and then Kate and her family will be arriving later in the afternoon or early in the evening. After they get settled, we’ll then head out for dinner at the Lakeside Hotel.

“And on Friday, your friends can only stay until about three o’clock, as you need to relax before the Holiday party. And remember, you’ll wear your red vest that night.

“Chief … because you have a litter of puppies inside of you, I am going to ask you to stay here in the Study, so people don’t over stimulate you into birthing your pups too early. They aren’t due for another three weeks and we don’t want you to lose them.

“Sarge … you can stay in here with Chief … or, you can stay with Matthew, as he walks around the Great Room. OK?” stated ‘Mr. Ken.

Sarge sat up and barked once to agree with the man.

‘Dad’ Ken then said good night to the boys right there in the Study. He told them to get a good night’s sleep and that he’d see them in the morning in the Kitchen Nook. The man gave each of them a hug, and before long he walked down to his own retreat.

Ken Thomas went and got ready for bed, before he sat on the edge of his bed thinking about the day and the week before him. He was happy that Wayne and Dennis called him about what he needed to do about who would watch the resident pets while they were on their trips.

He talked to Todd after their phone calls and the high school senior eagerly agreed to stay at The Cove for the four days after Christmas and take care of the resident pets, Chief and Sarge.

He was also looking forward to Kate and her family arriving on Thursday. He just wished she would have accepted his first proposal, but he couldn’t turn back the clock and he was going to be really happy when his fiancée was with him for the Holidays.

Next week, he hoped that Bill would be able to close out three more lawsuits. That would put that much more behind him. Then there is the court hearing with Grace on Thursday with her parental rights being taken away. He hopes that it will go smoothly, but with her hatred for her son, Matthew, who knows what will happen. Come the first of the year, he still had to deal with Darrin, and then he had to decide what he would do about Matthew.

He realized that he’d done enough thinking and so he turned off the lights and got under the covers. It wasn’t long before everyone inside the home was fast asleep.

Monday was bright and sunny when Ken Thomas woke up that Monday. He did his usual morning routine to get himself ready for his day, and then he went out to the Kitchen Nook for his first cup of coffee and to read the morning newspaper.

“Good morning, Momma,” offered Mr. Ken, as he walked into the Nook.

Momma smiled back at the man and she immediately brought his favorite coffee cup and a hot carafe of coffee over to him and poured the hot brew into the cup for him to taste it. That first sip of coffee always brought a smile to the man and, as was his habit, he raised the cup in salute to the woman who has taken care of him and the boys for the past six plus years.

Mr. Ken attacked the sleeve wrapped paper, as was his other habit, and separated it in advance of reading as much as he could before the boys started coming down for breakfast and his heading to the office.

As the first three boys were eating their Momma breakfast, ‘dad’ Ken reminded Matthew that on Thursday morning he would be going to the courthouse with him for his mother’s parental rights hearing. That was the first time that Darrin and Phillip were hearing that their ‘brother’ would be going to the courthouse, and the reason he had to go there.

All Matthew did was nod back to his ‘dad’ and go back to eating his breakfast. ‘Dad’ Ken then went back to reading his newspaper. Darrin and Phillip tried to make some small talk with Matthew, who told them he’d tell them later.

About a half hour after the three younger boys left for school, the three older boys came down for breakfast before heading off for school, themselves. The conversation ‘dad’ Ken heard at the breakfast table centered around the boys only having three days of school that week and then two and a half weeks off from school. The man smiled thinking back to when Kevin was there and his love for time away from school.

As it was Monday, Ken Thomas held his morning meeting. The Holidays had reduced what his Group Managers had to report, so the main meeting was particularly short. Everyone knew that Mr. Thomas kept the last part of the meeting to discuss Four Corners, so they all stayed to know what was happening out there.

The rumor that their boss had bought the adjoining 8+ acre property to Four Corners had gotten around the office building, but they wanted to hear it from the man himself. But Mr. Ken had Ms. Jackie give her report, which didn’t amount to anything more than what she reported last week that the park would close on January 8 for almost three months while the train and fence contractors can finish installing their products, the railroad station gets completed and Nelson Sanders can do general maintenance on the rides and game booths and thoroughly clean the entire park from stem to stern.

It was after Jackie Kromiere’s report that Mr. Thomas announced that there is an active contract on purchasing the adjoining 8+ acre property with a closing date of 31 January. He told the group that the architect and construction groups, along with Ben and Nelson, are working on the building plans.

Mr. Ken then announced that he and Ben are reevaluating the time line for expanding Four Corners. He explained that with the acquisition of the new property it will give them more space to expand the park because they are also going to build a five-story parking garage and the building timeline for the ops building and garage will dictate what and when things happen at Four Corners.

As he ended the meeting, Ken Thomas, again, reminded everyone that what is said in that meeting is for internal use only and not for dissemination outside of there and especially to spouses and significant others. He also told everyone that the next meeting wouldn’t be until the eighth of January.

As promised, Matthew told Darrin and Phillip some more about his and his mother’s relationship. He gave them more of the background that brought him to The Cove, and then remembered to tell them that they couldn’t go out and tell everybody what just told them.

What they heard surprised both Cover boys. They both were living at The Cove because of situations beyond their own making, like Matthew, but in Darrin’s case it wasn’t his mom who put him there.

As for Phillip, his mother was responsible and still is accountable for him still being at The Cove. And, at this time, the younger Cover knew he wasn’t ready to tell anyone why, just yet.

Matthew told his two ‘brothers’ more about his time in the hospital and how Kyle was always there for him and that he feels that it was Kyle who got his ‘dad’ to bring him to The Cove. He told how initially how he had to have this salve placed on his back to help the welts heal and for the scars to fade away.

Matthew told his ‘brothers’ that his ‘dad’ had asked him once before if he wanted to have plastic surgery to have the scars removed, but he told him that he wasn’t ready. The new teen then added that when he becomes the man’s son, like Robert and Charles, he’ll do whatever it takes to have those marks removed from him, so he no longer has the memory of what his mother and Lincoln did to him.

With the meeting over, Mr. Ken took the time to call Kate. He wanted to know what time to schedule the flight on Thursday, so they could schedule all of them going out to dinner, or have Momma and her amigas cooking for them.

Kate told her fiancé that the boys didn’t have school beginning that Thursday, so an early afternoon flight that got them there by five would be perfect. She also told him that Patrick was disappointed that Rusty couldn’t spend Christmas with his father.

Ken asked Kate if she thought Patrick was trying to put a guilt trip on her. Kate thought about the question for a moment and then she told him that she almost let Rusty go to his father. But she added that she knew that was the wrong thing to do at the last minute, especially after having all of his presents being delivered by Santa at The Cove, then she laughed. The laughter made Ken feel relieved that his fiancée didn’t do something spontaneous.

Ken asked Kate if the twelve, noon, or a one o’clock flight would work for her and her family. He explained that a twelve o’clock flight would get them to The Cove at around four due to traffic, and a one o’clock flight would get them there about four-thirty. He then asked if she wanted something later.

Kate told her fiancé that the one’ o’clock flight would work best, as it would get them there at a reasonable time, and for him to decide if they should go out to dinner, or have Momma cook one of her fabulous Mexican meals.

The two talked some more about what would happen during the Holidays there at The Cove. After that they then talked some about their upcoming marriage and some of the arrangements that Kate was beginning to make. Ken told Kate that they could talk about them at length, when she was there.

After lunch, Stewart Russell called Ken Thomas, at the behest of Bill Jackson, to tell him that he set up tomorrow at ten, eleven and twelve o’clock to sign the paperwork to settle the lawsuits between the two radio and one television stations. Mr. Ken was happy that it was going to happen, as it puts three less stresses on him and Bill.

To direct his thoughts elsewhere, the owner of the Four Corners Amusement Park took out the notes he’d made on the park and reviewed them. He threw away those that didn’t matter any longer and set aside those that would resolve themselves after the winter downtime.

He then came across a note he made where he had asked Nelson to increase the number of red and blue winning cups at the Ball in the Cup game to see if it would make it more fair to their guests to win.

He had explained how he was with a large group and they had a total of 275 whiffle balls, but they only won two prizes. He told Nelson they needed to increase the odds of winning and he was to keep track of the number of winners for about three months to see if that made a different.

He thought that with the park going to be closed in a few weeks, there should be enough data to decide if his decision to increase the number of red winning cups from six to ten and the number of blue winning cups from three to six was a good one. So, he called Ben and asked him to come to his office.

With Ben Walthers, the man who oversees his six amusement parks in his office, Mr. Ken explained why he asked him there. He then asked him to get with Nelson to review the data and to come back to him sometime after the Holidays, so they could either keep the game as he changed it, or adjust the Ball in the Cup game if the data shows his changes were too much.

The two men also discussed the new operations building. Mr. Ken wanted to know where they were in formulating a final design. He also wanted to see what they had done so far. Ben told his boss that he could come down to the architect’s office and see them at any time.

Ben did explain that the biggest hurdles to getting this building built will be the design review, getting the planning and zoning commission approval plus what the soil drilling samples results indicate, as to how they have to construct the foundation.

The President of TFE was honest when he said that the ops building and the parking garage might not get off the ground until late spring. That was something that Ken Thomas didn’t want to hear, but it was what he’ll have to deal with when it came to further developing Four Corners.

The first three boys came home and had their afterschool snack and afterwards went up and did their homework. The three high school teens came home about a half hour later and they too had their after-school snack and then they went up and did any homework they might have had, since with the Holidays upon them the teachers didn’t give very much.

When Darrin knew his teen ‘brothers’ had come upstairs, he went to Billy’s room and asked him when were they going to wrap Mr. Wayne’s, Mr. Chris’, Mr. Dennis’ and Momma Maria’s Christmas presents.

Billy knew that was a great question, as they hadn’t done that and the staff Christmas was going to be on Thursday. So, the two of them went to Robert’s room to talk to him about that.

The other three boys, hearing their three ‘brothers’ talking, went to Robert’s room to find out what they were all taking about. It was obvious to them all that they had to talk to their ‘dad’ before dinner to find out when they could do that. Robert and Charles were elected to go down to the Study to talk to him about it.

When the two teens went down to talk to their dad, they found him talking to Mr. Wayne.

“Dad … we need to talk to you, and … it’s important,” called out Charles.

“Sure, boys … come in and tell me what it’s all about,” replied the teen’s dad.

“Dad, ahhh, we need to talk to you, ahhh, alone,” spoke Robert. “It’s, it’s important.”

Mr. Ken excused himself from talking to Mr. Wayne and he went out into the hallway leading to his retreat. It was there that he learned that the boys wanted to know when they were going to wrap the staff’s Christmas presents.

‘Boys … I totally forgot all about doing that. I have the gifts in my bedroom. Let’s go and get them and you can take them upstairs and then after dinner you boys can get the wrapping paper and wrap them. Will that work out for you?” asked the teen’s dad.

The three Covers walked down the hallway to their dad’s retreat where they got the packages. The biggest one was Mr. Dennis’ suitcases, while the remaining ones were small boxes and certificates in envelops, which were easily carried by the two teenagers.

The two boys quickly carried them to Robert’s room and the other boys joined them. They opened the twelve-inch square boxes to see what the aprons for Momma Maria looked like and they liked them. Charles told his ‘brothers’ that after dinner they’d get the wrapping paper and wrap them. And seeing it was close to dinner time the six boys headed downstairs to eat.

During dinner ‘dad’ Ken told the boys, and Momma, that Kate and family should be there between four-thirty and five o’clock Thursday evening and they needed to decide what to do about dinner.

The owner of The Cove offered that they could either go out to dinner to either the Marina Seafood Wharf & Steak House or go out to the Lakeside Hotel, or they could ask Momma to make one of her fabulous Mexican meals, that Kate and Edith would love, after a long flight and drive from the airport.

The boys told their ‘dad’ what they would love to do, but they felt that it was really up to Momma if she wanted to do that, since Thursday was also the staff Christmas, and it would take her away from all the cooking she would need to do.

Momma spoke up and told her employer that she could have one of her amigas to help on Thursday. The woman added that she knows that Ms. Kate and Ms. Edith would love to eat there instead of going out to eat after a long flight and car ride from the airport.

Mr. Ken agreed to Momma asking either Sophia, or Isabela, to come in Thursday, to help with fixing a wonderful Mexican meal, that everyone would love, and he would also invite Mr. Dennis to eat with them, as the man could use a good Holiday meal, too.

The evening meeting wasn’t long that night as ‘dad’ Ken knew the boys needed the extra time to wrap the staff’s Christmas presents. So, all the man reviewed was that besides Ms. Kate and family arriving on Thursday, Matthew and he would go to the courthouse for a hearing on the boy’s mother’s parental rights.

He then reminded the boys of the two Holiday parties on Friday and Saturday and for the boys to make sure their suit pants, shirt and tie were in good order and if any of them needed to be cleaned to bring it down in the morning. He did tell the boys that Todd would be staying with Chief and Sarge, while they take their first trip. After he finished his shortened meeting, he sent them up to their rooms.

Mr. Ken and Wayne talked about everything that will happen towards the end of the week. Mr. Ken did mention that Chris needed to get the voting boxes out at the Gingerbread houses for Friday night. Wayne said that he’d mention that to him tomorrow. He also mentioned that he, Dennis, Chief and Sarge would be going to the veterinarian tomorrow, to see how Chief and her litter were doing and how well Sarge was growing.

Mr. Ken thanked Wayne for doing that and he told the Estate Master how he is hoping to know how big the litter was so he could talk to the prospective adoptive families to make sure they were still onboard to take the pup seven to eight weeks after the pups are born.

Wayne asked if his boss had heard from Collin. Mr. Ken told the man that Collin plans to be there late Wednesday afternoon. He added that he wants to travel with them to visit the parks when they go, although when they visit Discovery Kingdom, he might be predisposed. Wayne laughed when he heard that, as that is where Jasmine works.

When ‘dad’ Ken went up to say good night to the boys, Wayne decided to head on back to his apartment. Then when he arrived upstairs, the boys showed him the wrapped gifts, that they had stored in Robert’s room.

‘Dad’ Ken thanked them all for taking care of that simple chore that he had totally forgotten about. He apologized for that, as they could have done that the other night, when they wrapped their gag gifts.

‘Dad’ Ken then took advantage of all six boys being together to say good night to them there instead of separately in their rooms. He told them all to sleep well and that he’d see them down in the Kitchen Nook in the morning. He then gave each and every one of them a good night hug, before heading down to his own retreat.

Once down in his own special place, Ken Thomas went and got ready for bed and then sat on the edge of his king-sized bed and thought about the day and what was in-store for him that coming week.

He knew tomorrow he would finish out three more lawsuits, which would take a lot off his plate. On Thursday he hopes that the judge will agree to strip Grace’s parental rights away from her to free Matthew up for adoption. In between, he knows little things will crop up, and he’ll attack them as they arise.

The owner of The Cove saw that it was getting late and he knew he needed his sleep, so the owner of The Cove turned off the lights and got under the covers. It wasn’t long before everyone in the home was soundly asleep.

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

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