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Monday
March 15, 2004
0940 Hrs
9:40 EST
JAG Headquarters
Falls Church, Virginia
Harm's Office
Harm went into his office and closed the door and closed the blinds before sitting in his chair. He was almost afraid of what he might find in the envelope. Ripping it open, he pulled out the single sheet.
Dear Harm,
I want to first apologize for running away. Yes, I know that is what I am doing. Right now it seems the only way for me to handle what I'm going through. Even Doctor McCool suggested that I take an extended leave of absence, but I know she would have eventually diagnosed me with having PTSD and that would have ruined my chance of advancement and I wanted to go out without having that in my file.
Please do not go after Clay and badger him into telling you where I am. He will not tell you! If you need to reach me, I will have an e-mail address set up after I have settled in. I will write to you, maybe not right away, but eventually.
I also wanted to tell you the truth about my relationship with Clay. We never had one. I was pretending to be his girlfriend so that his wife, that's right, wife and unborn children were safe.
He has two beautiful children, a boy named Neville Clayton Webb and a daughter named Sarah Porter Webb. Yep, they named her after me, poor kid. Anyway, his wife, Catherine Gale, yes another surprise, had them three weeks ago and if you ask him nicely, he might show you the pictures.
I will miss you so much, Harm, in fact, I already do. I promise to e-mail you soon.
Your Best Friend Now and For Eternity,
Sarah
Gazing out his window and up to the sky, he whispered, "Watch out for her, dad." He turned to the knock on his door. "Enter."
"Sir, we were wondering if we could talk with you for a minute."
Smiling at Bud, Harriet, and Sturgis, knowing what they wanted to talk about, he consented, "Sure, but maybe we should take a coffee break and go into the conference room; that way we aren't late for the staff meeting."
They sat talking about their letters and learned that she had written similar letters to each of them. They all hoped to hear from her soon.
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Monday
March 15, 2004
8:00 CST
Over the Midwestern states
Watching the clouds pass by, Mac thought over the past week and all the surprises she had received from both Clay and Porter. From Clay she received a one-year old golden retriever that she named Duke after a character from her favorite John Wayne movie. He was trained by the head instructor who trained police dogs for the Washington, D.C. police department. Clay said that Duke would be a friend for those lonely days and that he would protect her.
The best surprise Mac received was when she went to visit her uncle. He was waiting for her at the entrance to Leavenworth, dressed in civilian garb with a duffle bag in his hand asking what took her so long. She just stood there opening and closing her mouth for several seconds before she could comprehend what was happening.
Now here they both were on a plane heading toward Colorado. Uncle Matt said he would stay with her and help with the lodge until she was able to handle it on her own. Mac knew that the real reason he was staying was to make sure she did not fall off the wagon which she was grateful for. She wasn't confident that she wouldn't.
Feeling a hand grab hers, she looked over to Matt. Squeezing his hand back, she gave him a little smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "You okay, Sarah?" Matt asked, he was concerned about her.
"I'm better now that you will be going with me."
"Me too, honey, me too, but you could have handle it without me being there. I'm just glad that I can and that you have friends that could make it possible," he said while laying his head back against the seat's headrest.
Turning back to the window, Mac wondered what everyone's reactions were when they found out about her leaving.
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Tuesday
March 16, 2004
1:00 p.m. MST
Peaceful Valley Ranch
Lyons, Colorado
Before going to the ranch, Mac went to a car dealer and bought a new Jeep with the money she received from selling her Corvette. Though she loved her snazzy red sports car, she knew it would not be an ideal car to have around here. Uncle Matt also bought one, a tan one. Hers was dark green, of course.
They loaded what bags they had and stopped at the local grocery store for supplies. They weren't sure what there was and she would need more dog food for Duke.
When they pulled up to the main lodge, Mac thought that it was perfect. It was peaceful looking and was so breathtaking. Climbing out of the Jeep, she saw a man in his late sixties riding towards them on a beautiful horse. From what she could see he had gray hair and was about her height. She remembered him from the picture Clay had showed her.
He dismounted and came over to greet them, "Hello, you have be Mac, Clay told us all about you. And this must be Duke." He rubbed Dukes head before shaking hands with Mac and then Matt. "That would make you Matt O'Hara. I'm Zane Edward Kirby Mallory!" Laughing at the looks on their faces, he replied, "Yes, I know, long name, but everyone calls me Zek for short. I'll show you around the grounds after you get settled."
"Thanks!" Matt said while shaking Zek's hand.
"Now, just follow me and Spirit, that's my horse, and I will lead you to the Homestead, that's what we call the old lodge." He climbed back onto his horse and led them to the Homestead glancing back occasionally to make sure they were following in their Jeeps.
When they came around a bend, after driving about three miles, they could see the Homestead. Mac thought the first view was breathtaking, but this, this was amazing. They pulled up to a four car garage and before Mac could climb out, Duke pushed past her and started chasing the squirrels. So much for training Mac thought.
Zek pulled out a set of keys handing them to Mac. "The first two are to this place. The other two are for the lodge, then you have some for the stables and other various buildings." The door to the Homestead was already open because the workers were still hard at it. "We have been working hard the last few weeks. The main bedroom and the six bedrooms on the left side are completed. Clay shipped everything you owned and we tried to put it where you might want them. If not, we can move it around for you."
"Thank you, but I'm sure it'll be fine." Mac loved what she had already seen. It had one of the things she had always wanted for her dream home, a covered wraparound porch. They walked into the entrance stepping down three steps that took them into the great room. To the left of them was an open fireplace that, since it was not lit, you could see through to the den. In front of the fireplace there were two very long L-shaped couches in a soft brown color that appeared to sit at least six people each. The couches were facing each other but were set a good five feet apart with a huge coffee table in the middle.
Walking over to the door on the left, they looked in and Matt was imagining having lots of poker nights and smoking cigars. Mac saw that look and said, "Until we get an air filtration system in here there will be no smoking cigars."
Laughing, Zek replied, "Well you're in luck, Matt, we installed the best one they make and have it going through the whole house." Seeing Mac's look, he replied, "Clay did warn us about what you liked and didn't like."
"He would. So what else did he say?" Afraid that Clay had said too much.
"Just that you're the best damn Marine he knows and the best friend anyone could ask for." Zek didn't tell her Clay had told him everything. He had known Clay and his family for years and having worked for the CIA as a profiler, he had access to a lot of information. Finding out about how she feels about psychologists he wasn't going to mention his previous dealings, or the fact that he was a psychologist, at least not yet.
"Okay, over here on the other side of the great room and directly across the den is the only bedroom on this floor and the reason we call it the main bedroom." Zek pushed the door open so Mac could walk in.
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