Rodger had nothing but bad dreams one after the other. When the phone rang it popped him awake and he sprang to the phone hoping it was Freddy with word that he had found the girls. Unfortunately, it was Stan instead. "Hello is anyone there?" Stan demanded.
With a shaky voice, Rodger replied, "Hello."
"I didn't receive a call yesterday. So, I assume that you had no luck securing my property." Stan said in an irritated tone.
"Nnnoo Sir I followed the tracks into town and then lost them." Then Rodger quickly continued, "I have someone looking for them. I am sure it won't be long before I have a report of their whereabouts."
Stan considered what Rodger had said and then asked," What have you told them and how many have you told?"
Rodger in a panic said," Nothing I have told him nothing they just know I'm a concerned parent looking for my lost daughters. That is all I swear, and he is the only one. I just need some help to find them quickly. I'm doing everything I can think of to get you your prize."
Stan took a minute to think about everything and decided that Rodger was ok for now. "Let me know the moment you find out anything I don't want to have to track you down to get information, and you better not try and screw me over."
"No sir I would never do that," Rodger said in a trembling voice.
Stan then said, "Don't make me wait too long for them." Then hung up the phone without waiting for Rodger to grovel like usual.
Rodger knew he was not going to be happy even before he talked to him. That is why he didn't call him, to begin with, but at least the phone call bought him a little more time to get the girls. He would still have to deal with his wife, she still didn't know that the girls were missing or the fact that he was selling them off. This was going to be a long day and now that he didn't have the girls the deal for the money and the house was going to come into question, he was told that he needed them there in order to finish out the paperwork. He had received the stipend for the girl's care, but they had blown through most of that when they first got it. Now he wished that he had sold the possessions of the house for a lot more.
Rodger knew that it was going to mess up the deals which was why he was waiting for all the deals to be finished before he handed the girls over. Rodger was simply frustrated that if only the girls had waited to be handed off before they took off, he would still have everything. It was just eating him alive where could they have gone, he thought that he had Katie wrapped around his fingers he just wanted to let out a scream in anger. It was early, but he was in a pissed-off mood. So, he woke the kids early and set them off to get things started.
Sadie and Tommy were woken first to get the stuff started. They immediately started to complain. It was early and they didn't want to have to cook and clean for the others. They liked it a lot better when all this was passed on to Gina and Katie. Besides the girls actually could make good food. With a stern look, Rodger said, "Stop your whining and get in there and get it done."
The kids quickly did as he said they could tell if they had not, he would have started beating them till they did.
The girls woke more rested than they had in days the extra sleep and the day of rest made a world of difference. The pain of loss was still in their hearts and on their minds. Katie's newfound distraction of tormenting the men was letting her escape the sadness, and the depression that she was feeling. Katie didn't want to think about the deaths of Charles and Rita anymore. It was so hard not seeing them each morning having them not give her hugs and kisses in the morning and then again at the end of the day made things harder. Then to know her father had something to do with it and was stealing everything from Gina was too much for her to bear. At least when the guys were looking at her, she felt wanted and loved. She got up, washed up a little, and then decided what to wear. She wanted it to be a little revealing, but not as much as it was last night. She didn't want Will to make her change again, or even worse be locked in her room. She just wanted to be out in the sun, and having the attention of the guys on her made it so she was not thinking of her losses or the fact that her dad was ruining everything she wanted.
Gina washed up and was glad to see that Katie was dressing better. It made her nervous to see her acting so weird. Gina was not so worried about Katie being dragged off to some dark corner and raped when she was not dressing so provocatively. She dressed the same to match Katie although Katie was still looking different somehow, she was looking older or more developed. As Gina looked at her even though she had a smile and was trying to put on a happy front she could still see the deep sadness in Katie's eyes. As Gina thought about it and sadness took her over too. They were running slow today and when Will came knocking on the door it made them both jump. They knew the knock even if they were not ready for it yet. Will asked, "Is everyone decent? Can I come in?"
They answered yes and welcomed him in. He slid the door open and was pleasantly surprised that they were both dressed alike again and looking a lot less slutty. He set the porridge down on the table. It was just a gray mush that had no real flavor. Gina had a lot of ways that she could have done, just a little to make it taste so much better. They ate what they could, but it seemed to get worse tasting with every bite. It got to the point that they just couldn't eat it even though they were taught never to throw away food.
Will had done something that he had never done before. He stayed there with them the whole time as they ate watching their faces sour as they ate. Gina finally looked up at him and asked as politely as she knew how. "What's wrong? You usually don't stay after you give us the food."
Will looked at her with a smile "I know but you wanted to teach the cook and with this, for breakfast, no one ever finishes it."
Both girls gladly put down their spoons and were glad they were not getting forced to eat it. Will let out a laugh at seeing their reaction. "Okay gather your dishes and follow me I will introduce you to the cook he has already been told to listen to you and do as he is told," Will said.
Katie looked down at the half-finished food with disgust she had not, not finished the food on her plate for years, but this disgusting mess she just couldn't stand. She grabbed the bowl and spoon and headed for the deck. She went to the railing and dumped it over the edge. Will waved her back over and said, "Let's see what you too can do to get some better food going."
He took the girls down to the gally and called to Tug he was a fat little man that walked with a club foot. It made him move slowly, he happened to be a happy-go-lucky kind of guy and if he was not the cook, he could never have been a sailor. But he was nice, especially to young cute girls. Once he found out that the girls were going to be teaching him, he was overjoyed that just made his life a lot brighter. As Gina watched Tug, she noticed that he had great knife skills and the basics in the kitchen were there. It seemed like the only thing that was missing was that he had no sense of taste. And there was something wrong with the logic of the way he thought things should taste good together. So, he had something that at least they could work from, but she understood why he only made a few things.
Gina took the rest of the morning helping him organize the kitchen and started teaching him what flavors worked well together. It was a slow process he seemed to know nothing about flavors. She didn't understand how someone without a sense of taste could be or would want to be a cook. Katie had a different agenda in mind the man that she had her heart set on was called Jake. She knew that with him swabbing the deck sooner or later he would have to do the gally too. She would ambush Jake there and see what she could make happen Katie thought to herself. Will can't be watching them there if he is busy with the crew on deck. Now it was just a waiting game for Katie. She had plenty of time to figure out where she wanted to be. Katie had the biggest smile on her face and was very content just waiting now.