KENNY
               Chapter 6

After the excitement of the attempted break in, Ken’s life at the
lodge settled into a routine. Ken started each day with morning
exercises. After that he would do the landscaping. Every day he
expanded the cleared areas by a little more. The lodge occupied a
little less than 5 acres just south of Point Lobos on Hwy 1. On
Hwy 1 meant that you entered the half mile of curvy driveway on
the Hwy. The neighbor to the south was a winery, and the one to
the north grew apples and peaches and kept bees. The right of way
for the lodge split the two properties. To the west was a riding
and boarding stable with horses wandering the pastures.

The Kubota had just about every attachment available and proved
to be invaluable in caring for the place. There was even a log
splitter powered by the Power Take Off (PTO) on the tractor.
There was a pile of dead trees back behind the barn left over
from when the lodge had been a going concern. Much of the wood
was rotten and useless for firewood, but the chipper attachment
turned it into good mulch.

Ken enjoyed the work and the time spent alone allowed him to
reflect on his life. He still missed his little girl, but for the
first time he had the hope that he would see her again. The lodge
was looking better all the time and Marta expressed her
satisfaction in many ways. For one thing, she gave Ken a $200 a
week raise. When he protested that it was too much, she countered
that all the work that he had done would have cost her a lot more
than she was paying him if she had to contract the work out.

Ken was also responsible for making repairs to the cabins and the
main house. He even worked as a chimney sweep making sure that
the fireplaces in the cabins would be safe to use again. He
learned many new skills, such as setting tile and installing wood
flooring, thanks to the folks at Home Depot. By the end of the
second month that he had been there, all of the units were ready
for occupancy and all the public areas were clean and trimmed.

Ken himself was also clean and trimmed. The diet and exercise had
taken away over 50 lbs of flab and turned a lot of the rest into
muscle. He didn’t realize it yet, but Ken had turned into a hunk.

He had also put his mechanical skills to work. Selena and
Consuela drove a 1999 Cavalier and had been having trouble with
it. Selena complained that the car would stop sometimes, and then
start back up an hour later as if nothing had happened. It
finally happened one day as she was coming home and Ken attached
a tow dolly to the truck and brought the car back to the lodge.
He found that the problem was with the fuel pump. The pump itself
was fine, but the fusible links would pop when they got hot.
Changing the links did no good; the power requirements were just
more than the circuit could handle. He finally put in new wire
one size larger than the original and ran it directly from the
battery all the way to the connector under the back seat. He
couldn’t find an empty fuse circuit that would work with the key,
so he put in a toggle switch under the dash and an in-line fuse
for safety. The driver would have to switch on the fuel pump
before starting the car, and turn it off after stopping. This had
the side effect of making the car almost impossible to steal. The
thief would have to know about the switch to get the car to run.
Of course, no one wanted to steal an old Cavalier.

He also had to put on a new power steering pump and alternator on
the truck and change the oil in it and Selena’s and Marcia’s cars
as well. The Mercedes was serviced by the dealer; if Ken touched
it the warranty would be void.

The lawyers kept Ken and the sisters up to date. They had an
investigator watching Belinda and her family to see if there
would be any way to wrest custody of Mallory from her. The
discovery of her attempted deceit with the payments from Ken
caused the judge to reinstitute Ken’s visitation privileges, but
the investigator wanted him to wait a while before he saw the
little girl. They wanted to set it up so that he would be able to
take the girl home with him and keep her there. They expected
Belinda to make a big mistake; they just had to give her time.
Ken was all for that result, but the waiting was torture for him.


Consuela was able to go to the dances and clubs to try to find a
young man of her own. She went out on a few dates and seemed to
be doing alright. She and Ken occasionally interacted around the
lodge, and finally became friends. There was a distance between
them that they both wanted to keep though. Consuela still did not
approve of Ken’s affair with the sisters, and Ken did not want to
get too close to a woman who had been hurt so much and had such a
fiery temper.

The situation with Marta and Marcia continued. Every second or
third night one of the two would visit with Ken. Marcia always
spent the night, while Marta still would not. Both women were
very happy with Ken and with the result of their scheme. Ken, on
the other hand, was beginning to feel uncomfortable with how
things were going.

One Friday evening after dinner he sat down with the women and
talked to them about it.

“Marcia, Marta, there is no way that I can express my thanks for
all that you have done for me. You were correct Marcia that I was
ready to end it all that day you saw me at the mall. You saved me
with your kindness. I love working here for you and Marta and I
feel a large amount of satisfaction when I complete another task
to improve the lodge. You have also made me feel much better
about myself with the nights we have spent together. The problem
I am having is with those nights.”

“What is it Kenny?” Marta asked, “Are we not coming over often
enough, or maybe too often?”

“No Marta, it is not that. My problem is the way things are
going; I kind of feel like I am being used. You never ask me to
come to the main house, and we don’t go out in public on dates or
anything; it’s like you are ashamed to be seen with me. It’s even
shown by how you address me; my name is Ken, not Kenny. I’m not
saying this correctly, but something is missing. I know that I
could never hope to have beautiful women like you to love me, but
I am missing the romance I expected. The sex is great, but it’s
not enough somehow. I love living here, but I need the romance
and the chance that the woman I am with will be with me forever.
You have taught me many things to include that Belinda was a huge
mistake and I can find someone to love me. I wouldn’t have
believed that two months ago, and there is no way I can thank you
enough for what you have done.”

The sisters were stunned by this, but they didn’t have a chance
to respond. Before they could say anything there was the sound of
a horn honking repeatedly outside the house.

Ken immediately jumped up and on his way out of the room he
grabbed a police baton from the table near the door. After the
attempted break-in he had gotten several more batons and made
sure that one was available wherever he was. He even had one in a
holster on the tractor. The guns Marta’s husband had were out and
available as well, but Ken was hesitant to use them. He could
control what happened with his baton, but once you fired a gun
there was no taking it back. He and both women had done target
practice to make sure they were familiar with the weapons, but he
still trusted his night stick best.

“Grab a pistol and back me up Marta. I don’t know what is going
on, but that was Consuela’s horn and it sounds like trouble.”

Ken did not wait for a response as he quietly stepped out of the
back door without turning on a light. No need to announce his
presence before he was aware of the situation.

What he saw when he stepped out into the night was the cavalier
pulled up in front of the cabins and a new model mustang stopped
behind it. There was a man beside the cavalier and as Ken
approached the man’s right arm rose with what appeared to be a
tire iron in it, and then he smashed in the driver’s window on
the cavalier.

“Get out of there bitch! You can’t tease me all night and then
just take off. No half-breed slut is going to make a fool out of
Donny Drake.”

While he was talking the man was reaching in through the broken
window trying to open the door. He had to stop as Ken arrived and
used his baton to get the man’s attention with a hard poke in the
kidney. That maneuver had worker well the last time it was
needed, but not so good this time.

Drake spun around to his left and swung the tire iron, hitting
Ken in the left shoulder. Instantly Ken’s whole left arm went
numb, but he ignored it and aimed a strike at Drake’s jaw. Drake
brought up his left arm to block so Ken shifted his aim a bit and
was able to catch Drake on the elbow, right on the tip of the
ulna. Drake was not going to use that arm again right away; but
he was already swinging the tire iron again and aiming at Ken’s
head.

Ken brought the night stick back and spun it so that it lay along
his forearm. He then used it to block the tire iron. The iron
bounced off of the baton and Ken swung the butt of the stick at
Drake’s head and hit him on the temple. The belligerent man fell
to the ground, out cold.

Consuela had already thrown herself across the console into the
passenger’s seat trying to get away from her assailant, so she
exited the car from the far side and ran around the vehicle to
throw herself up against Ken, sobbing hysterically. Ken winced as
she wrapped her arms around him and jarred his damaged left arm,
but he showed no signs of pain as he pulled the crying woman
closer with his right arm.

“It’s okay Consuela, he can’t hurt you now. Take it easy, you’re
safe.” Turning to Marta, who was standing off to the side
pointing her gun at the man on the ground, Ken said, “Keep an eye
on him Marta, don’t let him get up. If he tries to stand, shoot
him in the leg; that’ll stop him.” He then looked over at Selena,
who was standing in the doorway to her cabin. “Please call the
police Selena, and an ambulance. It’s going to be a long night,
and probably another long day.”

Ken stepped over to the walkway in the front of the cabins,
pulling Consuela along with him, and sat down with her on a
bench.

“I didn’t know what to do Ken, he wouldn’t leave me alone at the
bar; and when I left he must have followed me. I didn’t know that
he was behind me until just before I got to the drive. When I
slowed down to turn, he bumped into my car and honked his horn at
me. I was so scared and all I could think to do was to come up
her and that you might be able to help me. I locked the doors
when I stopped, but I was so scared.”

“You did fine Consuela. Beeping your horn let me know that there
was trouble. Relax now; it is going to be okay. Mr. Drake there
is going to be spending some time in jail for assault. I just
hope that he didn’t break my arm.”

“Your arm? Did he hit you?”

“Yeah, he got in one good one. I got careless and stayed too
close to him. I should have stepped back and taken him out when
he turned, but he turned the wrong way and took me by surprise. I
may have to go to the hospital to have it checked out. It is
starting to hurt like hell now.”

“I’m sorry Ken, it’s all my fault. I was being a selfish bitch
and you got hurt because of me. I’ll quit going out and just be
satisfied as I am. I really am sorry Ken. Thank you for saving
me.”

“It’s okay Consuela; this was not your fault. The arrogant
bastard over there on the ground caused this, not you. There is
no reason that you should not be able to go out and have fun.
Next time though, I’ll go along and keep an eye out for trouble.”

“You would do that for me?”

“Of course I would Consuela, you are a member of this household
and I am responsible for the safety of all of you.”

“You can call me Connie, Ken. The nickname sounds more familiar
and less formal. Unlike you, I don’t mind it.”

At that point the police finally showed up. The squad car slid to
a stop with the lights blazing and the siren squalling.
Thankfully they turned off the siren when they stopped, but the
red and blue lights kept strobing.

Ken looked up and there was the same policeman who had given him
such a hard time before.

“You again. Who the hell are you; the lone ranger or something?
You want to tell me what happened this time?” The officer said
with a sneer.

Connie jumped up and jammed herself into the man’s face. “That
bastard over there followed me home and broke the window of my
car trying to get to me.” She was waving and pointing over toward
her car, “Ken saved me is what happened. He got hurt this time
and as soon as the ambulance gets here he is going to the
hospital.” The whole time Consuela is talking she is pushing
forward and the policeman is slowly backing up. The man didn’t
know what to make of the incensed Latin girl.

He finally had enough and stepped quickly back to give himself
room. “All right miss, take it easy. Do you wish to press charges
on the man since you are the party who was attacked?”

“Yes I do. He had no reason to come after me. I want to punish
him for hurting my friend.”

The Ambulance came up the drive then and Connie ran to it and as
the EMT got out she grabbed his arm and steered him over to Ken.
“He got hit in the arm. It may be broken, so be careful.”

“What about the man on the ground?” The confused EMT asked.

“Fuck him! The son of a bitch deserved what he got; take care of
Ken first.”

Selena and Marcia were standing off to the side watching all of
this with a bemused expression.

“What do you think Selena, has she changed her opinion of our
hero?” Marcia asked.

“Oh yeah, that’s putting it mildly. The problem now is going to
be getting Ken to treat her the way she wants him to. I think she
suddenly realized that what she was looking for was here all
along. This should be fun; painful at times, but fun none the
less.” Selena said.