CHAPTER 11 - A NEW CHAPTER

Tiffy pressed her fingertips hard against her temple and rubbed, but it didn't relieve the stress headache. Jen had mentioned Jamie joining them for dinner with Mack alerting her to the fact that Jamie hadn't left town at the beginning of the week. From what Tiffy could ascertain, the girls didn't know much. She managed to learn from Jen only that they had kissed once and said they were good friends. And then there was the mention of her coming to visit again, on a weekend when Mack had the girls. That Jamie told the girls she'd be staying in a hotel did little to appease Tiffy.

Mack hadn't returned her calls yesterday. He'd be here to pick up the girls in just over an hour and Tiffy hadn't decided what to do. Did she admit she knew Jamie had stayed? The girls would probably tell him they'd told her. Hell, Tiffy thought, he'd known the girls would say something. So, did she let Mack know it ticked her off? Should she play it cool? Would Mack even believe that? Or should she take Annie's advice and just move on? Let it go? Tom had called wanting to see her twice this week but she'd made excuses about needing to work extra shifts to make up for being gone last week. What did she want? Why couldn't she decide?

Jonas and Mack both cringed, instinctively turning away from the direction of the explosion which sent debris flying forty feet into the air.

"Perhaps a little less boom-boom next time," Jonas admonished a grinning Charles Grey.

"Just wanted to let you know what this stuff could do." Charles was undeterred.

"Yeah, let everyone in a five mile vicinity know we're there," Mack ribbed his buddy.

"Well we know we can totally destroy it if we have to."

"True," Jonas concurred. "Okay, let's look at the next little obstacle we have to get past in…" his voice trailed off at the sight of Bob Brown hustling over to where they huddled in the early stages of planning an upcoming mission.

"The colonel said he needs to see us and Bravo team now." A breathless Brown informed his teammates.

"No way we're ready for this," Mack mused.

"It's Operation Starlight."

Those two words sent the men scurrying to the meeting room. They knew it could go down at a moment's notice though each hoped in a way that it never came to fruition. Until they executed, they might not know if it was just a wrap up or a worst case scenario. This mission had been planned, run and tweaked in preparation for the go command. The most recent intel updates hadn't reflected any noticeable changes which meant the inside contact had to have sent out the alert. That information would determine the urgency of initiating the mission.

After an hour long briefing the men were dismissed to gather their equipment and make preparations for their departure. They'd have packets of the most recent surveillance photos available and two unmanned drones would be readied to patrol the skies over their target area once they arrived. Ryan wanted two drones in the event anything went wrong with the first. He wasn't leaving anything to chance with a tactical operation this important and needing such precision. If the wrong person was killed, the entire mission would be shot to hell and could have drastic implications.

Charlie and Mack rushed back to their apartment to collect their kit bags and pack a few changes of clothing. Mack had already calculated travel time getting to the base in Iraq, plus the final planning, execution, wrap up and time to get home. Five days minimum. Bravo Company was on short call but this mission required two teams and they were the teams that had trained for this mission. Totally screwed. That's what his plans for the weekend trip to Dallas to be with Jamie were. He wondered how she'd handle the news. It could be a breaking point this early in the relationship—cancelling out on their first planned weekend together. He knew she was immersed in the middle of a big job and the clients were testing her patience by flip-flopping on what they'd agree to regarding the job. Maybe the timing for his visit hadn't been great but, still, that might not matter to her when he cancelled his trip.

Jamie couldn't help but smile when she heard Toby Keith's "American Soldier" playing. She'd downloaded the song as a ring tone on her phone two weeks ago and when she heard that song, she knew the caller was Mack, or the girls. But this was Tuesday and too early in the day for the girls to be with him anyway. He typically didn't call at this time in the afternoon but anytime he called, it put a smile on her face. She gripped the paintbrush between her teeth and stepped down from the ladder to quickly retrieve her phone.

"Hey, there," she greeted him.

"How's it going?"

"I'm putting the third coat of paint on the castle. It's once again a realistic gray stone castle."

"I thought you said they had to have it pink."

"They did until I got it repainted and they saw I was right. It made it look like a cartoon."

"They should have listened to the expert the first time, huh?"

"It would have saved time and some aggravation but when their daughter looked at the pink castle and whined that it looked like a candy castle instead of where a real princess would live, that sealed the deal. I just hate that it's added at least two days to the project. But don't worry I won't let it interfere with our weekend."

"Um, that's why I'm calling. I have bad news. I have to go out of town and I won't be able to come down this weekend. I'm sorry to do this."

Jamie bit back her disappointment. She could tell Mack felt the same and making him feel bad about not being able to come served no point. "Are you going to Vegas to gamble and oogle show girls?"

"Not this time," he relaxed at her teasing comment.

"So it's a logistical emergency?"

"You could say that."

"Well, I know that happens. It's not like you planned it to get out of a romantic weekend with me cooking for you, neither of us wearing much in the way of clothing and to get out of your love-making duties."

"You're killing me here," Mack moaned.

"Look, I'm not going lie and say I'm not disappointed, because I am. I really was looking forward to seeing you. But I understand, Mack. I knew going into this that things like this would happen. We'll find a time to get together."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised.

"I'll hold you to that promise, soldier. Call me when you get back and take care of yourself, okay?" I love you. But she couldn't say that to him, not yet. Even if a part of her had loved him for fifteen years. They needed more time together to see if they could make this work.

"Always. And it may be a little while before I can call. But you don't need to worry. I will call."