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David thought that was a little unfair. Despite the pitfalls she had fallen into, she’d done well for herself. David wasn’t sure what she’d got up to at college, but she’d come out of it with a major in education and taught at a high school in Houston. While her love life had been tumultuous, she’d met, married, and settled down with Ryan, and their three kids were doing great.

“You do look a little tired,” Sara said, interrupting his mental wandering.

“I always look tired to you.”

“Yeah, and?”

There wasn’t much he could say about that; he usuallywastired. If their mother had wished Sara was more serious, David was the epitome of everything their mother wanted in a child. Their father had referred to him as an old soul, claiming David had always been quiet and studious even before he couldtalk. He looked at things with a measured approach, whether schoolwork or basic training and MOS training in the military.

“These days, tiredness is a state of being, not an odd occurrence. You should know that by now,” David told her.

Sara shook her head. “You’re the oldest forty-five-year-old I know, David. You need a vacation.”

He was overdue for time off, but every time he thought about taking a week or two, something came up. His plate was currently pretty full, and he couldn’t imagine what it would look like if he had to put it all off for a while.

“And leave this place to fall apart? I think not.”

Sara raised her brow again. “Don’t you have people who can handle things for a few weeks while you blow off steam?”

“In theory.”

“But not in practice?”

David cringed, not wanting to divulge too much. The problem was that the person next in line, Philip Rogan, was not the sort of man David wanted running Fort Dale day-to-day. Rogan was a decent enough administrator, but he wouldn’t be David’s first choice to run the whole base.

“Still having problems with Phil?” Sara asked knowingly.

“I wouldn’t describe it as a problem.”

“If you’re unwilling to let him do his job because you don’t trust him, I’d call that a problem.”

It was both a fair and unfair assessment. Rogan could cope well enough, but David didn’t trust him to do things right. Rogan had joined the military in peacetime, not when the nation was at war, and knew nothing about what it was like to be a soldier, in David’s opinion. Trained and growing up in peacetime had created a politician out of the man in charge of Operations, and David was loathed to put his trust in someone who looked at the men and women at Fort Dale as little more than numbers to be crunched.

“I thought you were going to take care of that at some point,” Sara continued.

David snorted, looking at his screen where his to-do list sat open. The damn thing was so long it required him to scroll to reach the bottom. There was too much at Fort Dale that needed addressing, and he found himself adding things more than subtracting them.

“It’s on the list,” David said with a gesture.

“The ever-growing list that’s going to send you right to an early grave. That one?”

“I’ll have you know I’m in good shape. My last check-up went without a single new comment to worry about.”

“Meaning your blood pressure is still sky-high.”

David shifted uncomfortably. “It’s a tad high.”

“Which you refuse to take medication for or lower your workload.”

“Is this a conversation or an inquisition?” David demanded.

Sara frowned at the screen. “You know damn well I’m worried about you.”

“There’s no need to worry. I’m not in any danger of a heart attack or stroke. I’m eating well, and I always make time each day to exercise.”

“You’re also sleeping like absolute shit and have a workload that would give a dedicated workaholic gray hair at the thought of it.”

“Well, that’s not fair, I sleep just fine. I’m just not getting much sometimes.”