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| A New Home |
| Summary: Fourth story in the series. The Webb family finally in Providence and Clay runs a few errands and meets the local color - in the form of a female sheriff and a loud-mouth lawyer. |
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| Clayton Webb pulled the wagon to a stop and glanced up at the fa�ade of the building. He frowned slightly. The advertisement he had answered had said that the previous owner closed the hotel and moved away. He�d expected it to be in need of repair, but he had no idea it would be this bad. Letters were missing from the sign, windows were broken and the siding was starting to come off in places. Clay turned to look at Felicity. �Well,� he said warily. �It needs a little work.� Felicity smiled. �It�s beautiful,� she breathed. Locking eyes with her husband, she added, �It�s ours.� Clay finally smiled. After a moment, he nodded and hopped down from the wagon. �I�ll go over to the lawyer�s and get the paperwork signed,� he said. When his wife nodded, he glanced at his daughter. �Do you want to come along?� he asked. �Yes,� Clarity responded enthusiastically. Webb grinned and, taking his daughter�s hand securely, crossed the street toward the building marked as the business of �Harmon Rabb, Jr.; Esquire.� Clay opened the door and cautiously entered the small office to find himself in the middle of an argument. �Come on, Mac,� a tall man stated. �Be reasonable.� �You�re telling me to be reasonable?� the woman asked incredulously. Clay assumed the man was Harmon Rabb, whom he was here to meet, but he had no idea who the woman was. Unlike most women in the area, she wore a comfortable shirt and loose pants. On a belt at her waist, she wore a large gun. Clay pulled his daughter a little closer and said, �Excuse me?� Rabb stopped mid-word and the pair simultaneously turned to regard him. Clay was now able to clearly see the sheriff�s badge pinned on the woman�s chest and he relaxed the protective hold he�d had on his daughter�s shoulders. �I was told to stop in when we�d arrived,� Clay said, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. Rabb took the paper and scanned it quickly. Looking up, he smiled. �Hello, Mr. Webb,� he said. �I�m Harmon Rabb, Jr. This,� he said, pointing toward the woman, �is Sarah MacKenzie, the town�s sheriff.� Clay nodded in greeting and said, �This is my daughter, Clarity.� Harm shrugged and said, �Well, I�ve got the deed and the rest of the papers you need to sign right here.� Rabb walked over to the desk and beckoned Clay to follow. Clay smiled and came to stand in front of the desk. He read over the documents quickly before signing them and nodding once at the lawyer. �Thank you,� he said softly. �No,� Rabb replied. �Thank you, Mr. Webb, and good luck.� Webb nodded his thanks and, taking his parts of the documents, went on his way. He paused at the doorway for a moment before turning the sheriff and saying, �If it�s not too much trouble, I�d like to speak with you later.� Sarah MacKenzie nodded and replied, �No trouble at all, Mr. Webb. Just stop by the Sheriff�s office when you�re ready. I�m there most of the time.� Once they�d returned to the wagon, Clay told Felicity how things had gone with the lawyer. �Well, it�s officially ours now,� he said, gazing up at the building. Felicity nodded and patted his arm. �Let�s get these things inside, shall we?� By suppertime, the wagon was unloaded and all their belonging had been moved to the back area of the hotel, which would act as their living space. Clay wrote a hasty, encoded note, which he connected to the ankle of a pigeon, before releasing the bird. He knew it would head directly for the home office, as it had been trained. In a few days, Watts would know that Clayton had arrived in Providence and was ready to begin working. Webb shut the window and turned to his wife. �I have to go speak to the sheriff,� he said softly. �It shouldn�t take too long.� Clay turned and left before his wife could respond to the statement. Moments later, he stepped into the small sheriff�s office, that also served as the jail. �Cozy,� he said sarcastically. The sheriff looked up from the papers she was sorting and smiled. �Mr. Webb, what can I do for you.� �Hello, Sheriff MacKenzie,� he greeted. �I was told to stop in when I arrived in town.� �Told,� Mac repeated. �Told by who?� �My superiors,� Clay responded. At her confused frown, he went on, �I�m with the US Secret Service. I was transferred to this territory to try and stem the flow of counterfeit currency into the rest of the country.� �But, you bought the hotel,� Mac protested. Clay shrugged. �It makes a good cover,� he replied. �I�ll see everyone who comes into town and I�ll get to see their money.� �That makes sense,� Mac said nodding slightly. Clay grinned and added, �I�ll trust you not to tell anyone else about it. It�s hard enough to catch counterfeiters without them knowing who to avoid.� �Is that all you do?� Mac asked. �Look for counterfeiters?� Clay shook his head. �But that�s all you need to worry about at the moment, Sheriff,� he stated. Mac nodded. �Let me know if you need any help,� she said softly. �I will,� Clay said, smiling slightly. He turned to leave, but paused at the door. Turning back, he asked, �What were you and Mr. Rabb arguing about?� Mac rolled her eyes. �He doesn�t think a lady should be sheriff of such a rough and tumble town,� she explained. Clay grinned. �You look like the sort who can take care of herself,� he replied. �Well, thank you, Mr. Webb,� Mac said. �You can call me Clay,� Webb replied. �And may I call you Sarah?� �Mac,� the sheriff supplied, smiling slightly. Clay nodded. �Mac it is, then. So long.� �Goodbye, Clay,� Mac replied. As soon as the agent left, Mac went back to her paperwork. She frowned slightly as she flipped over a cover page and found the new set of wanted posters. The top one was for Elijah Jones. The man was wanted for counterfeiting and murdering a federal agent. According to the information on the poster, he�d been passing bad money in several towns in the area, and he was headed toward Providence. She would definitely have to let Webb know about this. She set the page aside to show him later. End |
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