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Egan recalled Joyner mentioning that “knowing each other for years” at some time or another, but he sure as heck hadn’t known Audrey would be here. “Are you going to the ranch?” Egan asked.
She shook her head, checked her watch. “I don’t have time. I flew in for a meeting that ended early so I came to see Phil. I’m flying back out in about fifteen minutes, but I’ll call your dad on my flight to the Pentagon.” She took a step and then stopped. “You’ll probably hear talk that I’m up for the deputy commander position at Third Air Force.”
“Third Air Force,” Egan repeated. “At Ramstein, Germany.”
She nodded, though it wasn’t necessary for her to confirm it. “My mentors and advisors believe it’s a good way for me to earn a second star.”
It probably was, and that’s why Egan made a sound of agreement. It was a high-visibility position with a lot of responsibility. It would also mean Audrey would be thousands of miles away from Texas and her husband. Ironic, since Egan had adjusted his career so he could be closer while Audrey was considering an assignment that would take her as far away as possible.
“I’ll talk to Derek about it,” she added. “In fact, once he’s up to it, I’ll see if he wants to make a trip to Germany to see the base.”
Egan held back on saying “good luck with that” since he probably wouldn’t have been able to keep the sarcasm out of it. His dad didn’t make trips, period, and if he hadn’t gone to Audrey before now, Egan doubted he would start with a place as far away as Germany. Especially considering how down he’d been since the heart attack.
“Well,” Audrey muttered when Egan didn’t say anything. “I’ll keep you posted about the assignment.” And with that, she walked out.
Egan considered giving her a heads-up that Cal was in the waiting room, but he decided he’d let her figure that out for herself. Besides, any encounter with Cal would be a short one. Cal had a knack for getting along with everyone.
“Take a seat,” Joyner insisted, motioning toward the sofa that Audrey had just vacated. “That’s possible good news about Audrey,” he said and slid right on to a new topic. “How’s your dad?”
Egan had known the question would come. Had known, too, that he was going to have to tell the truth, which meant spilling all about things that his dad probably wouldn’t want anyone outside the family to know. Still, Joyner had to have at least the big picture to understand why Egan was here.
Well, understand why he might be here.
Egan wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to ask, but something big had to be done. Then, once it was all settled, then he could fill his siblings in—and yes, Audrey—on what had all been decided.
“My dad’s not doing as well as his doctors expected,” Egan started. “He’s still in a lot of pain and has limited mobility and hasn’t been able to step into his usual duties at the family ranch.”
Of course, some of those limitations were due to the pain and the lack of medication that make it at least tolerable. Egan was worried about his dad’s physical problems, but he was just as concerned about his dad’s emotional ones.
“I know my leave runs out in eleven days,” Egan went on. “But I want to see if I can extend it for another two weeks. If that’s not possible—”
“It’s possible,” Joyner interrupted. “You’ve got it. Just submit the paperwork, and I’ll approve it.” But then he paused. “Any thoughts, though, as to what you’ll do if your father is unable to go back to work full-time?”
Oh, yeah. Plenty of thoughts, none of them ideal, especially since his dad had repeatedly nixed the idea of having an office manager. “I could continue to stay at the ranch and make the one-hour commute here to the base. Again, if you’ll grant permission.”
Squadron commanders were expected to live on base where they’d be easily accessible, but waivers could be given.
“Done, I’ll approve the waiver,” the colonel was quick to assure him. “As far as I’m concerned, you can continue the commute for the entire duration of your assignment.”
That would buy Egan almost two years. Plenty of time. But even that might not be enough. There’d been a lot of damage to his father’s heart. Maybe so much that he’d have to avoid even minimal stress for, well, the rest of his life. That was almost certainly one of the reasons, that and the depression, his dad had yet to jump back into his duties.
“I can use the next two years to see how things go at the ranch,” Egan went on. And he dreaded down to the marrow what he needed to say next. “If things stay as is, though, in four years, I’ll have my twenty in.”
Egan saw the shock on the colonel’s face. Not because the man hadn’t known how much time Egan had in uniform but because Joyner wouldn’t have been expecting him to bring up the R-word.
Retirement.
Egan could, indeed, retire after twenty years on active duty, but before his dad’s heart attack, he hadn’t considered the possibility of retirement for at least another decade. With his track record, he was on pace to make full colonel. Maybe even general. No way would that happen if there were any signs that he was cutting his career short.
This was the definition of a rock and hard place.
If he followed his career plan, it would put the responsibilities of the ranch on his dad’s shoulders. Maybe he’d be able to handle it, but at the moment, that was a very big maybe.
“Well,” Joyner said, obviously processing that. “I’m guessing none of your siblings could step up?”
They could. But Egan wouldn’t ask any of them to do that. They were all on the fast track, all decorated officers with stellar career potential ahead of them. Egan was the oldest, and whether it was fair or not, he believed the responsibility of the family ranch was his.
Egan shook his head. “None of my siblings is as close to twenty years as I am,” he settled for saying.
