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Christian tapped a button. “Done.”

“Not that it’ll matter. You’ll keep the ship afloat whether I see the schedule or not.”

Christian tried not to look pleased at the compliment. For all the assholes with superiority complexes and a love of abusing power Christian had dealt with in the service, he was pleased to find there were still men like General Winter in charge. The general was a good man, a bit too serious, but a man who believed in doing right by the men and women serving under him and was not shy with a compliment or a criticism when either was called for.

“I’d rather be out here keeping things neat and trim than dealing with everyone like you do, General,” Christian said.

“Good, because I’m sure it would look like a disaster if I had your job.”

Christian restrained the urge to contradict him. General Winter was dedicated to his job, and Christian suspected that would translate to whatever the older man was doing. Christian considered it an honor to help the general get through his day as smoothly as possible. If that meant doing everything from structuring his schedule to something as mundane as ordering food and cleaning out his inbox, he was happy to do it.

Lily’s voice came through the Bluetooth again. “Oh, General Winter, please tell me how good a boy I am.”

Christian held his smile as he unlocked the door to Winter’s office with a press of a button. “I’ll be sure to let you know if anything changes.”

General Winter nodded, his eyes searching Christian’s face. “I’m sure you will, thank you.”

Despite his resistance to Lily’s words and desperation not to be too obvious, Christian still found his eyes drifting after the man as he entered his office. For all the good things Christian could say about the man’s personality, there was plenty more to be said about him physically. The general was not a man to rest on his laurels and, despite being in his upper forties, was in as good shape, if not better, than many of Christian’s peers.

“You’re looking at his ass, aren’t you?” Lily asked.

Christian almost growled a response until General Winter popped his head back out. “And good morning to your sister as well.”

Christian waited until the door was shut before speaking. “You are absolutely impossible.”

Lily laughed. “God, he said good morning to me. My day is complete.”

“Lily, please,” Christian moaned.

He hadn’t known it at the time, but having his foster sisters come to the base had been a terrible mistake. It had been four months since their visit, but all it had taken was one glimpse of General Winter for Lily to remember and never let go. It hadn’t helped that she was the only one to see the lingering look Christian gave the older man, greeting Christian as he’d passed.

“Damn, I wish I got to see that every day. My boss is greasy from head to toe, and I don’t think he knows what a toothbrush is.”

Christian drew up the day’s schedule he’d created the night before. “And on that oh-so-delicious note, I’m afraid I have to bid you good night, dear sister.”

“It’s seven am.”

“Good night to you and the rest of the third shifters of the world.”

“AKA, shut the hell up, Lily, and let me get to work?”

“Something like that.”

“That’s fine. I’ve made it home anyway. I’ll tell Mary to expect a call from you later as I pass her in the living room.”

“Like two ships in the night,” Christian said.

“Well, at least we have you as a lighthouse.”

Christian smiled. “Love you too.”

He hung up, turning his attention back to the rest of his morning routine. Returning messages and fiddling with the schedules for the rest of the week kept him occupied despite the dull ache of loneliness and homesickness that had settled deep in his chest.

DAVID

It was one of the few days David didn’t need to rush back to the office immediately after a meeting. He decided to take a walk. His stomach was contentedly full from lunch an hour before, and the day was beautiful. He walked through parts of the base each week to see how everything was going without interfering.

He’d come to Fort Dale almost a decade before, a freshly promoted general ready to take on the world. It amused him to think that even a man in his late thirties could still have the same naive confidence and optimistic enthusiasm of a man ten years his junior. Every few years, when he looked back on his life, he wondered how his past self could have been so blind.