Page 71 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

“Yes, and they still haven’t stopped sending apology letters with coupons,” General Winter said dryly.

“I can’t believe you’ve gone back to them,” General Winter said.

General Winter raised a brow. “I don’t know if I’ve said it before, but why am I not surprised that someone as little as you is a food person?”

General Winter hesitated. “I can’t say I’ve ever referred to you as a kid.”

Hearing that made Christian smile warmly.

General Winter had never treated him as anything but a capable adult, which is more than could be said for some people Christian had met in the general’s age group.

Not being seen as a kid made it far more comfortable for Christian to enjoy ogling the older man when he had the chance.

He might know damn well that he had to keep his hands to himself, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the view.

And if the general didn’t make it strange by seeing him as a kid or some sort of son figure, then all the better for Christian’s fantasies.

“Well, that’s good, but I still reserve the right to color on my off time,” Christian told him.

“You color?”

Christian nodded. “I get a good coloring session in now and again. It was something cheap for my foster parents to buy me. Of course, now, as an adult, I can buy good colored pencils.”

“Colored pencils, huh?”

“Colored pencils are the superior coloring tool, and no one can change my mind. Trust me, my sisters have tried.”

“Clearly, they don’t have any taste.”

“That’s what I keep telling them!”

General Winter chuckled, shaking his head. “And I’m sure they’re bound to listen to reason one of these days.”

Christian poked a fork in his direction. “I know when I’m being mocked, but I also know I’m right, so I’ll deal with it.”

General Winter smiled. “Well, at least you have that going for you.”

“Yes, my ability to withstand being harassed has come in handy more than once.”

“I was referring to your willingness to entertain yourself, to have something you enjoy doing. Both of us know working in this office isn’t the most leisurely of jobs, and you’re required to do a great deal, and then you do double that. It’s nice to hear you have something other than work.”

That went a long way toward confirming Christian’s steadfast belief that General Winter really and truly did care about the men and women who served under him.

It was the same man who had tried and failed to get Christian to unload some of his work onto someone else, another assistant.

It was also the same person who’d constantly given Christian hell about his chips and candy habit until, finally, Christian had given in and switched to veggies and fruits.

And to his great dismay, he enjoyed them.

“What about you? What do you do in your off time?” Christian asked.

“Crosswords.”

Christian blinked. “Crosswords?”

General Winter laughed. “Yes, crosswords.”

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, the fact 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, what do you 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.

Christian laughed. “I mean, shit people are still going to be shit, and they’re going to do shit things, even if the world is changing. Never really thought to look back, but I hope some of those homes are no longer taking in kids. Still, there were a lot of good ones.”

“All things considered, it might not take much to be better than being half-starved by someone.”

“True. But there was this older couple who lived off their pension and savings. It wasn’t a lot, but they did a lot with what they had.

The wife, Gloria, was a great gardener and cook.

In the six months Lily and I were there, we learned how to keep the garden and preserve food, so stuff lasted for a long time. ”

“Oh, so that’s where you met her?”

Christian nodded. “She showed up shortly after I did. She was as loud and pushy as she is now. There was no telling her no. Gloria adored her, though, loved her a ‘girl with some spunk’ or something like that. Her husband, Frank, was just as great. Despite years of working in a factory, he was an artist in his spare time. Used to let us kids watch him sketch and paint if we promised to be quiet, and even taught us some things. I was no good at it, but it got me into coloring.”

“Really? I guess he left an impression on you.”

“I also have a little window garden in my apartment. It’s only growing a few herbs for cooking, but it’s there.”

“I stand corrected. They both left an impression on you.”

Christian beamed. “They were wonderful people. They taught us how to take care of ourselves even if we don’t have much, and they did it like the warmest and kindest people I’ve ever met. I like remembering those homes instead of all the miserable and cruel ones.”

General Winter cocked his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “I think...that’s a perfect way of looking at things.”

Christian snorted. “Well, I like to think so. I thought the same thing growing up, but even the other kids used to say it was stupid. Now, as adults, most people look at me weirdly or say, ‘how optimistic’ but with that same tone, as if they’re trying not to look at me like I’m a freak.”

Most people assumed that someone who lost their parents at the age of nine and was thrown into a system that, even today, had plenty of pitfalls shouldn’t be as cheerful as everyone said he was.

Christian didn’t understand why he couldn’t see the good things in life and focus on them.

There were plenty of good things in the world.

You only had to keep your eye out for them.

“Reminds me of a quote I heard once, that it takes the same amount of energy to make yourself happy as it does to make yourself miserable, or something like that,” General Winter said.

“Oh, I’m going to have to steal that one.”

“By all means, I’m not sure I got it right.

And for the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with keeping your attention on the positive.

I think people are all too willing to look at the problems in the world, me included.

And I think some of them forget that problems aren’t what makes the world go round. ”

Christian nodded. “And the world needs people who focus on the problems; otherwise, we might not take them as seriously as we should.”

“I think you’re giving the pessimists too much credit.”

“Maybe it’s just because I’m naturally a happy-go-lucky person...apparently.”

That brought a laugh from the general. “Fair enough. All the same, it’s nice to have someone around here I can rely on to do their job well and also to be agreeable.”

“Well, that’s not the worst way someone has ever described me,” Christian said with amusement.

General Winter winced, tapping the top of the desk. “Well...okay, that was a terrible compliment, wasn’t it? I mean to say, if there were anyone I would choose to work alongside, knowing what I know now, I would choose you a thousand times over.”

Christian had been joking when he’d commented on the general’s compliment.

Hearing an even better compliment from his lips left Christian with an open mouth and a still tongue.

Color flooded his cheeks as he desperately tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound like some cheesy soundbite and came up with nothing.

The only source of comfort from his embarrassment was that the general looked a little bashful.

Anyone who didn’t see him day in and day out might think General Winter was feeling grumpy or thinking a little too hard.

Yet Christian had no other name for the creased brow and ever so slight pink on his cheek than embarrassment.

“I’m not even going to try to come back with anything because it’s all going to sound stupid. So I’m just going to sit here and feel incredibly touched and thankful that I have someone like you to work under,” Christian managed to say, proud that he didn’t stutter over a single word.

General Winter continued to stare at him for what felt like forever.

Christian found himself gazing into the pale green of the man’s eyes for longer than he could ever remember doing before.

For a moment, he watched the older man’s lips twitch, and Christian’s heart raced, wondering what was going to be said.

He couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of disappointment when the general straightened instead, his features realigning to a dignified poise.

“Thank you, Christian, this has been a good lunch. Try to take advantage of the slow day and not work yourself to death,” General Winter said as he retreated toward his office door.

“I make no promises,” Christian called after him.

“I know.”

It had been an odd moment. Christian couldn’t say how he knew, but he’d been left with the impression that the general needed to say or do something rather than continue their staring match.

Maybe the compliment shouldn’t have affected him as much as it did, but Christian couldn’t help basking in the warmth of a genuinely lovely comment as he turned his attention back to his work.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later, as he was checking over the next day’s schedule, that it occurred to him that General Winter had just..

.talked to him. It wasn’t like they hadn’t had conversations or passed different tidbits about one another casually across a room or desk.

But it was the first time he could remember the two of them just having a one-on-one conversation.

It left him feeling warm and wondering if the general was lonelier than he seemed.

Christian glanced at the small cloth doll that was supposed to be Lily. “I wouldn’t mind being the one who kept him company a little more often.”

Which was something he would never have dared to admit to his sister. She’d never let him live it down.