Saturday morning, you could say the lads were not at their peak of attentiveness. They hated they had to get up so early, but they knew the sooner they got to Robert's house and were back the sooner their friends could come over.
The Covers had put out the number of frozen breakfast tacos they wanted into the refrigerator so when they woke up in the morning they didn't have long to wait to warm them up. Mr. Ken had his coffee ready when he went into the Kitchen Nook with his morning newspaper. He'd set the coffee maker to have his coffee ready when he got there.
At 7:50 that morning, Mr. Ken got a call from the gate guard saying a man was there with a 15 seat Mercedes Sprinter Passenger Van and he wonder if he had ordered one. The owner of the Cove asked the guard to let him in. Mr. Ken went out to sign the rental papers and told the man he'd call him when they returned. When Mr. Ken returned to the Kitchen Nook, he told the boys to pee and wash their face and hands and be ready to go in ten minutes.
It was 8:15 when the Covers finally headed out to load into the van before heading over to Eric's to pick him up. Kevin asked 'Dad Ken' if the van wasn't a bit big, but Mr. Ken told the youngster that with six people and not knowing what Robert would take from his house, he wanted to make sure he had a big enough vehicle to safely get them there and bring back a good amount of belongings, if the teen wanted. Kevin thanked the man for explaining that to him as they drove over to Ms. Judy's and Eric's home. Judy met them outside and hugged and kissed Eric before he got into the van and sat next to his Best Friend, Robert. The large group headed over to Robert's old home.
They arrived about an hour later. Mr. Ken had the key, but he knew he had to wait for the court reporter before they could go in. The woman recorder arrived about ten minutes later. She explained that she had to record all of the items Robert Arthur Harrison decided to take with him. She added that she would report it to the courts and they would decide if anything should be taken back and added to the estate sale. The group entered the house.
The twins were the first to say they liked the house and wished they had lived in a place as nice as that. Robert and Charles agreed with the twins, while Mr. Ken stayed neutral. Then, the doorbell rang. It was Stewart Russell. The lawyer said he wanted to see the property, so he would know what the value of it was for when it was put on the market.
Mr. Ken told Robert to start in one corner of the house and to go through each and every room and look at everything. That is what he did. Robert started in the kitchen and of course there really wasn't anything there he wanted. The twins saw some magnets on the refrigerator and asked Robert if they could have them. Robert said he didn't care.
The court recorder spoke up and told Robert he couldn't give anything away. She told him that he had to take it himself, and she would have to write it down. The twins looked disappointed and Robert saw their faces. He decided to mess with the woman. I'll take those magnets on the refrigerator.
"But ... you ... you can't ..." began the woman, before Stewart spoke up.
"He said he'll take those magnets. Now, write them down. It is NOT your position to decide what he can and can't do with what he takes after he leaves the premises. You are here to just write it down," said Stewart Russell, as he chastised the woman.
"I'll have to report this," snickered the woman.
"Go right ahead. There are seven people here who can tell the court how you intimidated the thirteen-year-old into NOT taking what he wanted. Just so you could get them during the estate sale," fought back Stewart. The other six people just stood there with their mouths open at the thought. Then they smiled at what Mr. Russell was trying to do.
Mr. Ken told Robert and the lads to proceed in checking out the entire house. Their next stop was the dining room. 'Dad' Ken suggested to Robert he consider taking the china service and the silverware. The man explained that when he gets older and begins to set up his own home, after college, that it would be one thing he wouldn't have to buy. The teen said he'd take them both.
The woman court recorder wrote it down and it showed on her face she wasn't happy that young pup was taking the china and the silverware. She knew she now wouldn't have the chance to try to own it for pennies on the dollar, and then sell it on one of the internet auction sites.
They headed to the living room. The only thing there Robert wanted were a few pictures of him when he was younger. They took them off the wall and the twins placed them near the front door. They checked the pantry and the back porch and didn't see anything there that was worthwhile.
They looked in the study next. The twins looked at the computer, and so did Eric. Mr. Ken saw the potential of their being information on it, that may have been overlooked by the police, so he told Stewart. The bitchy court recorder said that Stewart couldn't take it. So, Robert told them to place it in his pile of things he wanted. The court recorder said he couldn't take it. Robert told the woman that it was his to take and if she continued to refuse him his right he would sue her and the horse she rode in on. Everyone, but the woman, laughed and they laughed hard.
"Lady ... you are here to record what Robert takes," spoke out Stewart. "You were NOT assigned to be the arbitrator or judge of what he can or cannot take. Now, either do your job, or I will make sure you are never given this responsibility ever again! Matter of fact, I'm going to report you anyway, and have you investigated. I'll bet you have made a small fortune off items you were able to keep people from having. Hmmm, I bet there is a criminal code against that!"
Stewart told Robert to continue going through the house. So, the teen did. In the study, besides the computer, he took the printer, scanner, and the program CDs and instructions. He also took the calculator, the world globe he always liked, and the world map off the wall. The lad then came across some photo albums and he added them to the slow but ever-increasing pile. The group then headed up the stairs to the bedrooms.
The first room they stopped at was the guest bedroom. Robert looked around and didn't see anything there he liked. He went to the next bedroom and didn't see anything there, either. He then went into his bedroom and he took his own computer, printer, camera and a few hanging planes he had built. The twins told him they would have wanted them if he hadn't. Eric looked in his closet and saw all the games and picture albums he had there and brought them out and placed them on the desk.
Robert told his Best Friend he hadn't played those games in ages and he really didn't want them. Kyle spoke up and said that maybe they could play them at The Cove, as a family. Charles spoke up and said he agreed with his younger 'brother'. Kevin took the games and Kyle carried the picture albums downstairs and added them to the increasing pile. Robert also took some of the pictures and posters off the wall.
Robert looked through his desk and took his sports watch, a pen and pencil set he'd gotten from one of the men, and a signed baseball. That then reminded him. He looked under his bed and pulled out a box of plush characters he'd gotten from the men who'd taken him to amusement parks. The teenager then started to cry as he thought of all the fun he had, but at what pain he had to endure.
Eric got to his Best Friend first, and so 'Dad Ken' asked everyone to help take it all downstairs and add it to the pile. Mr. Ken wanted to let the teens have some privacy. He even closed the door when he, Stewart and the recorder walked out.
The adults walked into the master bedroom. Mr. Ken started to look through the triple dresser, the chest of drawers and end tables to see if there was something he could show his 'son' to possibly take. The court recorder was pissed she had been talked to as she had been earlier, so this time she spoke up and told the men they had to stay out of the furniture and only the boy was allowed to look. Stewart looked at her and then laughed. He and Ken continued to look.
Robert and Eric came into the master bedroom. Robert's eyes were red from crying, but at least he wasn't crying anymore. 'Dad' Ken told the teen to check the dresser and his mom's jewelry box. Robert did check the triple dresser and when he over pulled on the top drawer it fell to the floor. There the teenager found a stack of hundred-dollar bills taped to the back. The teenager and Eric then pulled the rest of the drawers out. They found over ten thousand dollars, in one hundred-dollar bills, taped on either the backs of the drawers or under them.
The other lads had returned by the time Robert and Eric had found the money, so they helped take the drawers out of the rest of the other furniture. There they found another five thousand dollars, in one hundred-dollar bills. The twins had never seen that amount of money let alone a hundred-dollar bill.
The court recorder inwardly smiled and figured this was what she was waiting for. She quickly spoke up and said she was told to impound all found monies and turn them over to the court. Stewart Russell just laughed at her. The woman got mad and then pulled out her cell phone and called the local Sheriff's Office. They said they would send a patrol officer directly over.
The lads continued to search everywhere they could think of in the master bedroom. Eric checked the closet and he felt all the pockets in the clothes for anything hidden. When he was leaving, Eric looked up and noticed a trap door in the ceiling, so he called Mr. Ken and Mr. Stewart over. The men called Kyle over and boosted him up in order or for him to push open the door and go up and look around.
"'Dad Ken', you should see all the stuff up here," called down Kyle.
Ken went looking for a ladder and when he found one he put it up through the opening. He climbed up and looked for himself. There he saw old lighting fixtures, boxes of what looked like old clothes and an assortment of Christmas decorations. He had Kyle slide them over and he handed them down. He figured if his mom and dad hid money in the furniture they could have hid more up there. There was nothing but old clothes and the Holiday decorations.
Kyle did find a small locked metal box and he brought over to 'Dad Ken'. The man handed it down to Stewart Russell and with nothing else of interest up in the attic, Mr. Ken and Kyle came down to the bedroom. The key was not in the lock, so Stewart told the boys to look through the drawers for a key. The court recorder started to say something, and all Stewart did was look at her and she shut up.
The Sheriff's Deputy finally arrived, and Kevin went down to invite him in and to follow him up to the master bedroom. Mr. Ken and Stewart Russell introduced themselves, but it was the court recorder who told the deputy it was she who asked him to be there. She showed him the money they found and the locked metal box and told the deputy they were going to steal it.
She then told the deputy to arrest them, as they were stealing assets that were being impounded by the courts. Stewart pulled out a copy the official court decree and asked him to read it. When the deputy was finished reading, he asked who was Robert Harrison. Robert stepped forward. The deputy told the court recorder to just do her job and record that they took the money, how much it was, and whatever else they took. He then told her he had better things to do than watch over an overpaid court worker who was out to make trouble. The deputy then left.
As the group laughed at what the Deputy said to the court recorder, Robert decided to go back to the study and check the desk for any keys. The rest followed behind with Mr. Ken bringing the locked box. They found no key that fit the locked box, so Mr. Ken said he'd just hold onto it for now. 'Dad' Ken then suggested to Robert that they go back to the master bedroom to look at his mom's jewelry and take what he wanted. The woman recorder told the teen he couldn't take any of the jewelry as it was part of the estate.
Stewart bought out his copy of the court's order and read from one paragraph. "This Court order decrees that one Robert Arthur Harrison has all the rights and authority to take anything from the house where he grew up. Nothing is restricted from his taking to the person known as Robert Arthur Harrison. Now, lady, do your job ... and record what he takes."
Robert looked through the jewelry box and looked at every piece of jewelry. Not knowing what were diamonds or other precious stones, from what was fake, he decided to take everything. He told his 'dad' that maybe when his mom gets out of prison she might like some of that stuff. It took the court recorder a good 30 minutes to record every piece in the jewelry box, plus the box.
Robert finally went into the garage. There he spied his bike and asked his 'dad' if he could take it. It was added to the mounting pile of things going back to The Cove. Robert asked if he could take the tools, too. Mr. Ken looked over the tools and then told the lad he might be better off if maybe he let Santa, one Christmas, bring him a better and complete set of tools. Everyone had a good laugh over that.
They spent well over two hours in the house looking around for items Robert wanted to keep. When they finished it took them twenty minutes to load everything Robert was taking back with him to his new home.
The court recorder was getting ready to leave when they did, so Stewart Russell went to her and asked for his copy of the report. She told him his copy would be sent to him after it had been recorded. Stewart knew better and told her he didn't want something deleted or added and she should just use her laptop to send his copy to his computer. He told her she could then send the recorded version once that had been done. The lady told the lawyer she didn't have that capability with that laptop. Stewart took the laptop from her, found the file and used the active WiFi signal from the house, which obviously hadn't been turned off yet, to have the file sent to him.
On the way home they stopped for lunch. While they ate at a Wendy's, since the twins hadn't been to one for a very long time, Mr. Ken asked Robert and Eric if they were going to accept the job cutting the field on the side of the house. The teens said they were and that they couldn't wait until they started next weekend. It was just a little after twelve noon when the group of 'treasure hunters' returned to The Cove.
The lads began calling their friends that they were home and they could come over to skate and maybe swim. The twins didn't have a cell phone just yet, so they had to ask one of their 'brothers' if they could use theirs. Each twin pulled out a piece of paper with their friends' names and phone numbers on it and then began calling them. The Cover lads' friends started to arrive after 1 PM.
After Mr. Ken helped the lads unload the van, he went inside and called the rental company to come pick the van up. He saw there had been a few messages, so he listened to them and then called the people who had called.
One caller was a parent of one of the twins' friends. The woman said she wanted to pay for her son's entrance fee to SeaWorld. Mr. Ken told her it wasn't necessary, but she was insistent. Mr. Ken explained that he was buying a large number of admissions and was getting a better deal than one person could get by themselves. He also explained what he does for his 'boys' he also does for their friends. He also told the woman that she could donate the money to a worthy cause as he really appreciated what she wanted to do. The woman agreed it was great idea and said she'd do that and hung up.
The next phone call was from another set of parents wanting to get more information about being chaperones for the SeaWorld trip. When he called them back he told them the travel plans and when they learned they wouldn't get back until around midnight they begged off. Mr. Ken laughed to himself knowing they would eventually have to be there at midnight to collect their son. The man then just shook his head at the thought.
That was the way the other phone calls from parents went when as they asked about being a chaperone. It wasn't until they learned they might not get back until midnight that they all begged off. Mr. Ken laughed at each and every parent who thought that way.
Mr. Ken then thought about calling Wayne Mitchell. He was the college student he met when he first decorated The Cove, back when Collin lived there. The owner of The Cove kept using that decoration company ever since. Now that Wayne had graduated from college and still hadn't found a full-time job as of the Labor Day Picnic, Mr. Ken decided to ask the man over. He was going to talk to him about being a chaperone for the upcoming trip.
"Hey there, Wayne," said Mr. Ken, when the man picked up the call, "Anything new on your front?"
"Not really Mr. Ken, I'm still working off and on at the call center and trying to sell houses on the weekends. How are the boys? They growing like weeds?" teased Wayne.
"Well, they do have that, but then there are other issues, but I didn't call you to talk about those. Hey, Wayne, are you doing anything today, or tomorrow, that would stop you from coming over. I figured you'd need a good meal by now," laughed Mr. Ken.
Wayne looked at his schedule, then agreed to stop over tomorrow, Sunday, at about noon time.
Mr. Ken then made his last phone call. It was to Dan Fischer.
"Dan, we just got back from Robert's old house and yours is the last call I have to make," laughed Ken.
"It is so nice to know how much I am 'loved' there, Ken," laughed Dan.
"So, Dan ... I called you last figuring your call would be either the longest or maybe the most productive. So, what do you have for me?" qualified Ken.
"Ken, you were never known for chit-chat were you," laughed Dan. "Well, the reason I called was to let you know Julian made bail. He was let out late last night. I was on patrol and I didn't learn that fact until I went back to the office. It was late and there wasn't anything you could do, so I decided to wait until this morning. But then, of course, I remembered you weren't there and you were taking Robert over to his other house. How'd that go?"
"Dan ... we found fifteen thousand dollars hidden ... in the master bedroom furniture. We also found a locked metal box in the attic, of all places. We looked for a key, but couldn't find one so I have the box here. Did the police ever search that home?" replied Ken.
"Ken, first ... do NOT open that box without a video camera taping it and qualified adult observers present. I say that because if it was hidden it could contain illegal information and you do not want to be caught up in that. Second, I'd turn that money over to the DA. If it was drug money, then it would have to be confiscated. Do get a receipt for it though.
"Unfortunately, Robert, because of the amount, will need to file a claim for it. The DA's office will try to determine its source and if they can't definitely determine where it came from then Robert should get the money. It could take up to six months. I'm sure he'll be disappointed."
"That's the type of information I needed. Stewart Russell, Robert's lawyer, was with us at the house and he didn't tell me that. As for opening the box in front of people, I'd had planned to do that anyway, but taping it sounds like good advice. I wonder of DA Morris would like to be there," laughed Ken.
"Ken, you'd be surprised what he will do to keep his face in the newspapers," laughed Dan.
The two men talked about the SeaWorld trip and Dan told Ken he would be able to go. Ken told him he was going to ask Wayne to go, so, with him, he'd only need one more chaperone. Dan wished him good luck and with that they hung up the call.
Outside, the guys listened to Robert tell his story about finding all that money. They wanted to see it, but Eric told them Mr. Ken had it and was going to deposit into Robert's 'secret' college fund account. All those there laughed. Robert also told them about the things he took from his 'old' house. After that they all went back to riding their skateboards.
The day went along smoothly. Mr. Ken made some business phone calls while the boys skated. He called Todd in to talk to him about he, and a friend, going to SeaWorld with them. As they talked, Todd thought for a bit and then asked him if he could maybe take his mom instead. He told his employer that his mom works so much she never gets to do anything that involves something fun.
Todd explained to Mr. Ken that she was very happy after the Labor Day Picnic as she got to be around lots of people she really liked. The teenager said this trip, no matter how late they get back, would let his mom get to see something she probably never saw before.
By the time Todd finished telling Mr. Ken why he wanted to take his mom he was openly crying. Mr. Ken pulled the lad into him and let the lad cry. He knew the teen loved his mom, but his wanting to take her instead of a friend said volumes to owner of The Cove about the character of the teenager.
Mr. Ken told Todd that he thought that was the most loving thing a son could ever do for his mom. He also told the teenager that he would see what he could do to let him take his mom and a friend, too. That put a smile on the older teens face. Mr. Ken said he'd let him know hopefully by the middle of next week, but for now he should plan on taking his mom. Todd thanked him and hugged the man before walking off to do his job
It wasn't too long after Todd left to go back down to the beach, the man heard one of the lads come running into the house, "'Dad; 'dad', 'dad', 'dad', 'dad', 'dad'." Ken perked up as he could hear the person yelling as they got closer to the Study. It was Charles who came running into his Study.
"'Dad'" said a breathless Charles, "It's Kyle, he's hurt, and he's hurt real bad!"
'Dad Ken' got out of his chair so quick he knocked it over, so he could get out to the parking corral. He ran with Charles following him as they headed out to the ramps. When the man got there, he saw Logan had Kyle covered with a blanket and his head placed in a makeshift neck collar. Ken looked to Robert and asked him what happened.
With tears falling out of his eyes, Robert tried to tell 'dad' Ken what happened, but he couldn't get a full sentence out without crying more because he was so upset. It was Logan who decided to tell Mr. Ken what happened.
"Mr. Ken ... Kyle went and got his bike after we said we' were going to go swim. He told us to watch him as he rode the bike on the ramps. He went back and forth a few times, but he must have misjudged the side of the ramp and that's when he fell off. I'm pretty sure he broke his arm and I know he hit his head. He wasn't unconscious, but he was dazed, some.
"I first stabilized his head and then left his arm where it was. I had the guys get me something to cover him with, and while they did that, I decided not to splint the arm because of the angle it is in. The EMTs can take care of that when they get here. He's awake, but not saying anything. I told him not to move his arm and he hasn't, but he hasn't even cried. He might be hurt more than I think. Oh, yeah, and I did call the Rescue Squad. I hope I did everything right, Mr. Ken."
'Dad Ken' went over to Kyle and knelt down. He could see the boy was looking at him and wanting him to say something. "Kyle, you know you're hurt 'son', so please don't try to move any. Logan has your head immobilized until the EMTs get here. Looks like you had a bad fall, but, you'll be OK, 'son'. Just hang in there until they get here. And don't worry about anything. Boys like you get hurt when they play hard"
"'Dad' I ... I didn't mean to ... do it. Don't be mad at me, please" said Kyle, who then began to cry hard. Mr. Ken then told Kyle he would never get mad at him, so for him not to worry. That brought a slight smile to the boy's face, but the tears still flowed
Ken walked away some and took his cell phone out and made a call. "Dan ... Kyle's been hurt. The EMTs are on the way. It looks like he has a broken arm and a slight concussion. ... .. "Ok, I'll see you soon."
Mr. Ken walked back over to Kyle and told him Mr. Dan was on his way. Kyle tried to put on a happy smile but failed.
Everyone could hear the siren at a distance. Logan asked Brad and Chuck to go up and tell the gate guard what happened, and they needed to let the EMTs in right away. The two friends ran up to the Main Gate and told the guard what they were asked.
The gate guard radioed his fellow guards and they quickly came back to the gate. The guard at the gate, at the time, opened the gate when his partners arrived, and they stood guard at the opened gate. They all could hear the siren as it got closer.
Kyle hadn't moved and 'Dad Ken' was thankful for that. Kevin had gotten down with his brother and was talking to him to try to be calm and not to move.
A second siren could be faintly heard, and Mr. Ken figured it was Dan. The men at the gate also heard it, and they talked about keeping the gate open until it arrived, and until the ambulance left.
Eric walked away and called his mom. He knew she was called when any of the foster kids got hurt, or into trouble, which was why he made the call. He wanted to tell her what happened, and that Mr. Ken was probably going to go to the hospital, but there were no other adults there other than the guards. Judy told her son to tell Mr. Ken she would be right there.
The EMTs drove into the parking corral and stopped. They asked the lads to step back and away to give them lots of room to work. Mr. Ken told them what happened and what was done for his 'boy'. The EMTs thanked him for immobilizing the head and not moving the arm. Mr. Ken told them that is was Logan who did all that. The one EMT recognized Logan from the TV news and the newspaper and gave him a 'thumbs up'.
The two EMTs placed a cervical collar around Kyle's neck and put an immobilizing splint on the arm. Kyle winced when they worked on the arm and a few more tears came to his eyes. It was then the second siren came into the estate grounds. It screeched to a stop and Sheriff's Lieutenant Dan Fischer got out of his vehicle and quickly walked over to the hurt lad.
"Hey, there, Kyle," Dan Fischer said, as he stooped down and tried to lighten up the boy's mood. "It looks like you crashed and burned, young man."
"Thanks for coming Mr. Dan. I ... I guess I did crash, but ... but I'm not burned," smiled Kyle, and he then tried to laugh.
The rest of the lads heard the exchange and with that they knew Kyle would be OK. It was then Eric told Mr. Ken that his mom was coming over, so he could go to the hospital. Mr. Ken thanked the lad for that information, because he had totally forgot Mr. Chris wasn't there today.
The EMTs asked Mr. Ken if he was going to ride the ambulance to the hospital. Mr. Ken told them he'd follow in his car. Kevin spoke up and said he'd ride with his brother, but the EMT told him he was too young to ride and would have to come with his dad. Kevin didn't like that answer, but since 'Dad Ken' was going he said he'd ride with him.
They loaded Kyle into the ambulance and got it ready to leave. Lieutenant Fischer had to move his car, so he told Ken he'd meet them at the hospital after he checked into the office. He gave Kyle a 'thumbs up' and got into his vehicle and got out of the way, so the ambulance could leave. The EMTs high tailed it out of The Cove with their siren blaring.
Mr. Ken asked Brad to find Todd and tell him what happened. The man then told the lads he didn't want them swimming until Ms. Judy got there, and it would be up to her if they swam. He told them he was going to let Todd be in charge until Ms. Judy got there.
He also asked the lads to call tomorrow before they came over to make sure they'd be there. The boys all said they understood. Mr. Ken and Kevin got into the car and drove out the gate a few minutes' after Lieutenant Fischer had. Mr. Ken did stop at tell the guard that Ms. Judy would soon arrive to be there with the kids. The guard thanked him for telling him that and said he'd watch out for her.
The boys had all called home to tell their parents what happened. Kevin and Kyle's friends weren't sure what they should do, now that their friends had both gone to the hospital. Robert heard them talking, so he told them that Sam and Terran were still there and there was no need for them to leave unless they wanted to. That brought smiles to the young boys who quickly called home to tell their parents they could stay until it was time to go home.
At the hospital, Kyle became afraid. He didn't know what was going to happen to him, as he'd never been in the hospital before. The nurse came over to talk to the boy to tell him what they were going to do. When she told him, they would be cutting his clothes off he began to cry real hard.
Kyle tried to tell him his dad would get mad at him, that he ruined good clothes, and he would be beat when he got him home. Kyle had regressed to what his real dad would do to him, and had forgotten that 'Dad Ken' told him he wasn't mad at him. The nurse was concerned by what she heard the lad say, so she went to her supervisor.
They did cut Kyle's clothes off of him and when he tried to hide his boy hood he moved his broken arm and it hurt him so bad he screamed a blood curdling scream that was heard throughout the E.R. department.
As the doctor was examining Kyle, 'Dad Ken' and his twin brother came into the Emergency Room. Mr. Ken knew to stop at the nurses' station to inquire about Kyle. The nurse had heard about Kyle saying his dad would be mad and would beat him when he got him home, so she called her supervisor. The supervisor that day was Nurse Joanne Kirby.
When Nurse Kirby came out to talk to the dad, she was surprised to see Mr. Ken was there. She didn't know she was going to talk to him, but she went over to say hello to him, anyway. She then went back to check with the nurse to see which dad she was to speak to. Learning she was to speak to Mr. Ken, she laughed and told the nurse she had to be mistaken. The nurse was very persistent, so Joanne went over to her friend and pulled him aside.
"Mr. Ken ... they're telling me you're going to beat Kyle when you get him home, because ... well, they cut his clothes off and ruined them. I don't believe that. Tell me that isn't true, Ken!" is what smiling Nurse Kirby said to Mr. Ken.
Kevin heard what she said, and he spoke up and told her that his real dad would have beat them if they'd done that, but they were living with 'Dad Ken' now, and he didn't think that would happen. Hearing that made Joanne relax; she asked Mr. Ken to tell her the whole story. Five minutes later Nurse Kirby went back and told all the nurses that Mr. Ken was the foster dad and not the real dad that Kyle was talking about. That put relief through the entire department that the lad wasn't living with his real dad anymore.
When the doctor heard the parent was there, he asked for him to be brought in. It took the doctor about fifteen minutes to check Kyle out. The man explained everything he was doing to Kyle, so he would understand. Kyle told the doctor that Doctor Powers had given him and his twin a full physical a couple of weeks ago, so he understood. The doctor smiled at hearing that.
The doctor introduced himself and Mr. Ken told him who he was and what the relation the boy was to him. The two men stepped aside, and the doctor told him that because of the slight head trauma he felt it was best to keep the lad overnight for observation. The doctor also told the owner of The Cove that Kyle would need surgery to set the arm as it was broken pretty badly. Then the doctor realized who he was talking to.
"You're the legendary Mr. Ken, aren't you?" chuckled the doctor.
"I don't know how legendary I am but, yes, I am probably the man of whom you speak," laughed Ken Thomas.
"It is good to finally meet you, Mr. Ken. I understand it was you who brought the hospital board to their knees and got some badly needed changes here," said the doctor. "I want to thank you for that. I'd just gotten here when someone took them to task at a Board meeting. Then, I heard that person helped run some people against them at the next election. We eventually all learned that it was you who did all that. You don't know how much we all appreciate what you did."
"Well, thank you for the accolades, but it was a team effort. My lawyer did all the work, though," chuckled Mr. Ken, trying to keep the conversation light.
They shook hands and the doctor walked off to see his next patient. Kevin was there during their talk and when he heard what 'Dad Ken' had done he asked him about it. All 'Dad Ken' would say was that the hospital didn't treat him or Collin very well a few years back and he took them to task.
Kevin was impressed but told himself to ask Robert when they got back home. That was when Kevin realized that he had said 'home' as where he now lived at The Cove. He smiled at what he thought it meant to him now that his dad was probably going to jail.
Kevin and Mr. Ken were allowed to see Kyle before they wheeled him into surgery. Kyle was scared, but Mr. Ken told him Robert and Charles had surgeries and they did OK and assured him that he would be, too. Kyle asked if Mr. Dan was there yet, but 'Dad Ken' had to tell the lad that the man was at work still, but said he'd be by when he could. Kyle smiled at hearing that.
Back at The Cove, Ms. Judy arrived, and Robert and Eric told her what Mr. Ken had said about her needing to decide if they could swim. Ms. Judy told them they could, but she wanted them to swim inside. The teens were happy they could at least swim. Robert went around and told Russell and Jordan they'd be inside today. The lifeguards were happy at that as they had already tested the lake waters and it was not as warm as it was two-plus weeks ago during the Labor Day Picnic.
After his surgery, they got Kyle settled in his hospital room and Mr. Ken and Kevin were allowed to talk to the boy for a while. After some time, Mr. Ken told the lad they'd be back later with their 'brothers', but now they needed to go eat. 'Dad Ken' also told the lad he needed to relieve Ms. Judy as she was in charge until he returned. Kyle smiled at hearing that but his being tired showed on his face. The lad was so tired that he was probably fast asleep before the two Covers walked out the door.
Ken Thomas thanked Judy Turner for coming over so quickly. It was Judy who reminded him he really needed to find someone who could be at The Cove when he couldn't be. That got the man to thinking he needed to talk to Chris on Monday.
After all the lad's friends had left, Mr. Ken had them wash up and then they headed over to Four Corner's Diner to eat. They talked about Kyle's injury as they ate, and how long it would take before he was better. Mr. Ken told them the arm would take a minimum of six weeks to heal and maybe a week or two longer because of the bad break.
After eating, they all headed over to the hospital to see Kyle. When they got there, Dan Fischer was there and the two were having a good laugh. Mr. Ken heard them mention something about 'burned' and it was then the other lads burst in and began talking to their 'brother'.
As the 'brothers' talked, Ken and Dan walked to the side and talked. Ken learned that Kyle finally told Dan why he was so clingy. Dan laughed at that saying he was the 'second' best, next to him. But Dan was at least happy he now knew why Kyle liked him so much. He also told Ken that it felt good to know the kids liked him enough to look at him as a good adult and father figure.
Dan had to leave to get back on patrol, so he said his goodbyes to Kyle and the lads, then left. The Covers stuck around the hospital until 8 PM. It was then the nurse came by and asked them all to leave since visiting hours were over. Mr. Ken told Kyle he'd be back tomorrow morning with clean, fresh clothes. Kyle smiled and opened his free arm for the man to hug him.
The Cover 'boys' talked about what happened to Kyle and how Logan took charge before the EMTs got there. They discussed what the EMTs did to treat Kyle before they took him away. They had a good conversation going on all the way back to The Cove.
Kevin felt all alone when he went to bed that night. He could never remember at any time that the two of them weren't always together. Kevin cried himself to sleep.
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