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Christian narrowed his eyes. “You sit around in your quarters, doing crosswords the entire time?”

“Oh, yes. I have whole stacks of finished crosswords lining the shelves and tables of my home. It’s got to the point that I could probably stuff the walls full of them and never have to worry about insulation.”

Christian let out a heavy snort. “Okay, now I know you’re being a smartass.”

General Winter’s eyes twinkled. “A little. Perhaps I enjoy giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

“Bah! I’m not that bad.”

Okay, so maybe he was fond of occasionally giving the general a bit of a hard time. The man was so serious Christian found it nearly impossible to ignore the temptation. Plus, thefact that it brought a brief laugh or a flash of a smile to the general’s face was more than enough to encourage him.

“I do enjoy crosswords, though,” General Winter said.

“Just not enough to line the walls of your house.”

“No.”

“So, whatdoyou like to do in your spare time?”

“This all relies on the fact that I have spare time to spend on anything.”

Christian narrowed his eyes. “I get the feeling you’re trying to avoid answering the question.”

General Winter plucked a chip from his dish. “What do you think I enjoy doing?”

Christian let out a laugh, shaking his head. In truth, he had no idea. He could list, from memory, the general’s measurements, what he did and didn’t like with his food, his sleeping habits and workout schedule, and a whole host of other details that could be considered intimate. But when it came down to what General Winter might do in his spare time, Christian had no idea.

Christian decided to go with honesty. “I’ve worked for you for almost a year now, and honestly, I do not know what you do for fun.”

General Winter leaned on the desk, chuckling. “Fair enough. It’s not as if I knew you enjoyed coloring until only a few minutes ago.”

Christian snorted. “I just got done thinking that despite everything about you, there are some things I just don’t know.”

General Winter nodded, taking another bite of his food and chewing thoughtfully. “How’s your sister?”

“She’s doing better. I haven’t had a chance to call her yet, but we texted a bit yesterday. Apparently, she had a flare-up and had to take the day off. Nothing big.”

“So, the medicine is working well for her then?”

“It’s the first cluster she’s had in months, and it didn’t last days, so I’m going to say they are.”

“A pity it doesn’t get rid of them.”

Christian smiled sadly. “The doctors were honest. They said there might be a chance the treatment wouldn’t work at all or wouldn’t have that much effect. Everyone reacts differently, and we were all kind of waiting with bated breath to see how it would go.”

“Well, it’s good the treatment is working. I know you were worried for a little while there,” General Winter said.

Christian nodded. “Her and Lily are all I’ve had for years now. Mary’s always been like my older sister, even when we got sent to different foster homes. Then she practically adopted Lily too. If it weren’t for her, Lily would have had nowhere to go once she hit eighteen. I might not have either if I hadn’t chosen to enlist.”

“That why you enlisted, to make sure you had somewhere to stay?” General Winter asked with a slight crease in his brow.

“I wish I could say I signed up because I wanted to serve, to follow a higher calling or something. Some people joined and realized they’d found their home and that it was all they ever wanted. But really? Yeah, I joined because I knew I would have a constant source of income, a roof over my head, and food on the table.”

General Winter wrinkled his nose. “I’ve heard that some of those homes can be...dire.”

He shrugged. “Some were okay, some awful, but some were pretty great too. Don’t get me wrong, there were people who were fostering so they could get a check and make themselves look like good people while spending the bare minimum on everyone to make sure they stayed alive. Nothing quite like being shoved four to a room, with food rationing like a third world dictatorship.”

“It amazes me places like that still exist. It was one thing before the advent of stuff like the internet and cell phones, but now? So much has come out over the past few decades about how terrible some homes can be. Doesn’t seem right that it continues,” General Winter grumbled.