Logan looked down and grimaced. “I apologize for the rough road conditions. Getting this area paved was put off until the contractor trucks weren’t coming in daily.”
“I don’t mind asking for assistance when it’s needed.”
He moved behind her chair, took hold of the handles, and pushed her closer to the others. “Sisco, Devlin, Bert,” Logan called as they approached.
She felt that same flutter of awareness when Bert’s blue eyes found hers.
“I’d like you to meet the newest member of LSI Montana. Mary will be our administrative manager, starting next Monday.”
The congratulations were immediate and genuine. Sisco’s grin was infectious, and Devlin clapped her on the shoulder with easy camaraderie. But it was Bert who held her attention, even as she tried to focus on the others.
“Congratulations,” he said, his deep voice carrying clearly. “Looking forward to working with you.”
“Mary,” Logan continued, “I’d like you and Bert to spend some time next week going over what we have, what we need, and how to coordinate your efforts. Can you both manage that?”
“Absolutely,” Mary said at the same time Bert nodded. “I start on Monday.”
“How about Tuesday?” Bert asked, his gaze on Mary. “If that works for your schedule.”
“Tuesday is perfect,” she agreed, proud that her voice stayed steady.
The sun was lower by the time Mary finally headed back to her van, her mind spinning with everything she’d learned and everything that lay ahead. Logan’s phone rang, and he apologized as he took the call. Bert jogged over to her vehicle, and she appreciated that he didn’t hover as she got back inside and secured her wheelchair.
The drive back toward her parents’ home felt different from the drive out. The landscape was the same, the mountains still rose in magnificent silhouette against the darkening sky, but Mary felt lighter, somehow. Like a weight she’d been carrying for a long time had finally started to lift.
She’d done it. She’d gotten the job on her own merits, without accommodations or special consideration. Logan had seen what she could do, not what she couldn’t, and he’d offered her a position that would challenge her and use her skills fully.
By the time she reached her parents’ condo, the sky had deepened to indigo. Her mother met her at the door, questions already forming, but Mary just smiled.
“I got it, Mom. I got the job.”
The celebration that followed was warm and loving as her father opened a bottle of wine he’d been saving, her mother already planning to help her find an apartment or house that was wheelchair accessible.
That evening, Mary went through her nighttime routine with practiced efficiency. After she transferred to the bed and settled against the pillows, she finally allowed herself to process everything that had happened.
She would be part of something extraordinary. Something new and challenging and important. After two years of feeling like her life had stalled, she finally had direction again. A purpose. A place to begin and belong.
Her mind drifted over the day, cataloging details. Logan’s quiet intensity and the way he’d assessed her without judgment. Sisco’s easy warmth and Devlin’s quick acceptance. The scope of what they were building on that compound, the sophistication of the operation, even in its early stages.
And Bert.
She closed her eyes, allowing herself to think about him now that she was alone and didn’t have to guard her expression. Those blue eyes that had looked at her with such careful attention. The deep voice had made her pulse skip. The way he’d shaken her hand like she mattered, like he was taking the measure of her as a person, not as a person in a wheelchair.
She’d be working closely with him. She’d see him on Monday when she started, and on Tuesday, they’d work to coordinate their efforts. The thought sent a little thrill through her that was absolutely, definitely not professional.
Stop it, she told herself firmly. You’re not a teenager with a crush. You’re a professional woman who just got an amazing job opportunity. Focus on that.
But as she drifted toward sleep, her mind pleasantly fuzzy with exhaustion, wine, and possibility, it wasn’t the compound layout or the organizational systems she needed to implement that filled her thoughts.
It was the memory of calloused hands, careful and warm as they shook, and of blue eyes that had looked at her like she was someone worth seeing. Mary smiled in the darkness.
Monday couldn’t come soon enough. And Tuesday was going to be very interesting indeed.
6
Two months later
Bert had settled into a rhythm at LSIMT that felt both familiar and entirely new. The compound was taking shape, systems were being implemented, and the team was gelling in ways that exceeded even Logan’s careful planning.