Chapter 26 Making It Work
MAKING IT WORK
Six Months Later
Mara woke up to her phone buzzing on the nightstand. She reached for it without opening her eyes, already smiling because she knew who it would be. Logan. Same as every morning for the last six months. A photo and a message to start her day.
This morning's photo was of terrible DFAC scrambled eggs with the caption: "Still not as good as your cooking. Miss you."
She typed back: "That's because I actually use seasoning. Miss you too."
The response came immediately. "When do you land?"
"Three hours. Meet you at the usual spot?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
Mara set the phone down and stretched, feeling the familiar mix of anticipation and contentment that came with knowing she'd see Logan today.
Six months of figuring out how to make long distance work.
Six months of stolen weekends and careful planning and learning how to balance two demanding careers with a relationship that mattered more than either of them had expected.
It hadn't been easy. But it had been worth it.
She got up and started packing. The mission in Houston had wrapped up two days ago. Four women extracted from a trafficking ring operating out of a massage parlor. Clean operation. Everyone safe. Now she was heading to North Carolina for a long weekend with Logan before his team deployed again.
They'd developed a rhythm over the months.
Video calls every night when possible. Texts throughout the day when they couldn't talk.
Visits every two to three weeks, alternating between Louisiana and North Carolina.
Sometimes Logan would fly down to L'Abri S?r and spend time with her team.
Sometimes Mara would go to Fort Liberty and integrate herself into Logan's world.
They'd learned to exist in both spaces, supporting each other's work while building something that was just theirs.
The flight to Raleigh was smooth. Mara landed at 1300 and found Logan waiting at arrivals like always.
He looked good. Relaxed. Happy. The tension he'd carried for years had eased over the last six months.
He claimed it was because he'd learned to actually take leave instead of working nonstop.
Mara suspected it had more to do with having something worth coming home to.
"Hey beautiful," he said, pulling her into a kiss that made the elderly couple next to them smile.
"Hey yourself." Mara leaned into him, breathing in the scent of his cologne. "How was training?"
"Brutal. Hawk's got us running scenarios for the deployment. New guys are shaping up but they've still got a lot to learn." Logan took her bag and they headed for the parking lot. "How was Houston?"
"Good. All four women are safe. Local contacts are helping them get situated. Quinn's already tracking three more potential targets in the same region." Mara slid into the passenger seat of Logan's truck. "Sloane wants to schedule a follow-up operation in three weeks."
"You'll be back at L'Abri S?r by then?"
"Should be. Unless something urgent comes up." Mara reached over and took his hand. "What about you? When do you deploy?"
"Two weeks. Afghanistan this time. Probably four to six weeks in-country." Logan's thumb traced circles on her wrist. "I know the timing's not great."
"The timing's never great. That's just part of what we do." Mara squeezed his hand. "We knew this was the deal when we decided to make it work. Deployments happen. Operations happen. We adapt."
They'd had this conversation before. Multiple times.
The reality of their careers meant that sometimes weeks would pass without seeing each other.
Without even being able to talk. But they'd learned to handle it.
Learned to trust that the relationship would survive the distance because the foundation was solid.
Logan drove them to his place off base. Small apartment. Neat. Organized. Very much a reflection of twenty years of military discipline. Mara had slowly added touches over the months. A blanket on the couch. Photos on the bookshelf. Evidence that someone other than Logan lived here part-time.
"I'm cooking tonight," Logan announced, dropping her bag in the bedroom. "Real food. Not DFAC garbage."
"What are we having?"
"Steak. Baked potatoes. Salad. The works." He pulled her close, hands settling on her waist. "But first, I'm going to kiss you properly. Without an audience. Without worrying about airport security giving us looks."
"I'm not complaining about that plan."
They made it halfway to the bedroom before Logan's phone rang. He groaned and checked the screen. "It's Hawk. I have to take this."
"Go. I'll unpack."
Logan answered the call and moved to the living room.
Mara could hear the low murmur of his voice discussing training schedules and deployment logistics.
She unpacked methodically, hanging up the few clothes she'd brought, placing her toiletries in the bathroom that had slowly accumulated her things over months of visits.
This was their life now. Stolen moments between missions. Phone calls interrupted by work. Deployments that meant weeks of silence. But also homecomings. Also reunions. Also the knowledge that someone understood exactly what the work cost and chose to be there anyway.
Logan came back looking apologetic. "Hawk needs me on base for two hours. Training thing with the new guys. I tried to get out of it but—"
"But you can't. I know." Mara kissed him. "Go. I'll be here when you get back. I brought work anyway. Quinn sent me files to review for the next operation."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure. Go be a professional soldier. I'll be a professional operator. Then we'll come back and be regular people who cook steaks and watch movies."
Logan left reluctantly. Mara settled on the couch with her laptop and pulled up Quinn's files.
Three potential targets in Houston. All connected to the same trafficking network they'd just hit.
Quinn's analysis was thorough as always.
Probability assessments. Risk factors. Recommended approach vectors.
Mara made notes, flagged items for team discussion, and lost herself in the work.
This was the other part of their life. The part where they both disappeared into their jobs.
Where the mission took priority and personal time got pushed aside.
But they'd learned to accept it. To not resent the interruptions.
To understand that this was who they both were.
Two hours later, Logan returned to find Mara still on the couch surrounded by files and notes.
"You're in operator mode," he observed.
"Sorry. Quinn's analysis is detailed. I got caught up." Mara started gathering the papers. "I'm done now. Ready to be regular person who eats steak."
"Leave it. I like seeing you work. Watching you think through problems." Logan sat beside her and pulled her feet into his lap. "Tell me about the operation. What's Quinn found?"
So Mara did. She walked him through the intelligence, the connections, the potential approaches.
Logan listened with the attention of someone who understood tactical planning.
Asked smart questions. Offered perspectives from his own experience.
This was new too. The ability to share the work.
To get feedback from someone who understood the stakes.
When dinner was ready, they ate at Logan's small table and the conversation shifted to easier topics.
Mara told him about Winter's latest cooking disaster that had resulted in the fire department being called.
Logan shared stories about the new guys on his team and their increasingly creative excuses for missing PT.
After dinner, they settled on the couch to watch a movie neither of them paid attention to. Mara curled against Logan's side, his arm around her shoulders, both of them content to just exist together after weeks apart.
"I've been thinking," Logan said during a quiet moment. "About after I get back from Afghanistan."
"Yeah?"
"I've got leave coming. Two weeks. I was thinking maybe we could actually take a trip somewhere. Not Louisiana. Not North Carolina. Somewhere neither of us has to work. Where we can just be together without missions or deployments or any of it."
Mara tilted her head to look at him. "Where would we go?"
"I don't know. Somewhere with beaches maybe.
Or mountains. Somewhere we can disconnect and just focus on us.
" Logan's hand traced patterns on her shoulder.
"We've been doing this for six months. Making it work.
But I want more than just making it work.
I want time with you that isn't squeezed between operations. "
"I want that too." Mara sat up to face him properly. "But you know something's going to come up. Some mission. Some deployment. Something that means we can't just disappear for two weeks."
"Probably. But we can try. We can plan for it and hope it works out." Logan cupped her face. "I know our careers come first. I know the work matters. But you matter too. We matter. I want to prioritize that sometimes."
"Okay. Let's do it. Two weeks after Afghanistan. We'll plan a trip. Somewhere we can be regular people who don't rescue hostages or assault compounds." Mara kissed him. "We can probably manage two weeks without the world ending."
"Probably," Logan agreed, smiling.
They went to bed early, making love with the ease of familiarity and the urgency of knowing their time was limited.
The small apartment was quiet except for the low hum of the window AC unit and the occasional rumble of a passing truck on the main road.
They'd left the bedroom windows cracked to let in the warm night air that carried the scent of pine and distant salt from the coast miles away.
Streetlight filtered through thin blinds, casting gold bars across the mismatched sheets and their bare skin.