do the two of you like?” Robert muttered, shaking his head.
“Let’s not do this again.” Tern set down her plate, no longer hungry. At Gage’s expectant look, she handed him her leftovers.
“Am I the only one who hates being ordered around?” Robert scanned the group, settling on Lucky. “What about you, Lucky? You enjoy being bossed around?”
“Listen, dude, don’t drag me into your rage.”
“Pansy,” Robert spat and then addressed Nadia. “Nadia?”
“I’ve no complaints.” She dismissed him by picking up her tea and drinking deep, though the grimace was visible as she choked the bitterness down.
Robert stared at Gage. “You’re just a mini Mac, aren’t you? Is that what Tern saw in you? A younger version of the old man.”
Tern sucked in her breath. Robert wasn’t pulling any punches tonight. The idiot was out for blood.
Gage tightened his jaw. His knuckles whitened around the fork clenched in his hand. The comment had obviously hit a nerve. In a way, Robert was right. Gage had a lot of the same qualities that Mac did. What had she been thinking hooking up with Robert in the first place? He was showing his true colors now, instead of what he’d wanted her to see when they’d been dating.
“Seems to me you have a burr up your ass.” Gage laid his plate on the ground beside his feet.
“What is this? A pissing contest?” Tern asked. “I’ve had enough of this. Robert, quit being a jerk. Gage, don’t take the bait.”
“You tell ‘em, girlfriend,” Lucky said, shutting up with a murderous stare from Robert.
“I find it interesting, Robert, that you were the one who left camp, alone, and happened to find a geocache that was filled with Tern’s favorite candy bar.” Mac folded his arms across his chest. “Better start explaining.”
Robert now resembled a mouse with his tail caught in the claws of a cat. “What? You think I set this up?”
“Did you?” Mac asked.
“Hell, no.” Robert glanced at Tern. “Tern, honey, I’d never do anything to hurt you. You gotta know that. I lov—”
“Just explain why you left camp,” Gage interrupted.
“When I entered the cabin, on my bunk was the GPS coordinates that we’d found in the previous geocache. I was bored. So I decided to check it out.”
“That’s convenient,” Mac said. “Why did you leave camp without letting anyone know where you were headed? This is Alaska, not Maryland.”
Robert huffed a deep breath. “Fine. I wanted to find that damn cache and destroy what was in it.”
“Why? Afraid of what else might be inside?”
“Yes, goddamn you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Why must we know every fucking secret about each other?”
“What else are you hiding?” Gage asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Robert shot back.
“Yeah, I would. I’d like to know if the whiny jackass sitting in front of us is the one capable of organizing this farce?”
It was like a tennis match with Tern, Nadia, and Lucky looking from Gage and Mac to Robert as they volleyed accusations at each other.
Where was a referee when you needed one?
“Fuck off,” Robert said.
“Yeah, that kind of attitude doesn’t endear you to others,” Gage said. “Exactly how pissed off are you that Tern left you for me?”
“Do we have to go there?” Tern jumped into the fray.
“You bet we do,” Gage said, arrowing a volley at her that had her wanting to duck. “This is about you. Which means it’s about your relationships. The most current ones are me and him.”
“This is wrong,” Tern said.
“And a little fascinating,” Nadia added, wide-eyed. “What? It is. Too bad this isn’t a reality TV show. We’d make millions.”
“Nadia!”
“Sorry.” Nadia waved her hand. “Carry on with the drama.”
“All right, I’m tired of hammering this to death,” Robert said. “I went after the cache to see what damning information was in there, hoping to spare the rest of us. Leave it at that.”
“No,”
“Let’s not do this again.” Tern set down her plate, no longer hungry. At Gage’s expectant look, she handed him her leftovers.
“Am I the only one who hates being ordered around?” Robert scanned the group, settling on Lucky. “What about you, Lucky? You enjoy being bossed around?”
“Listen, dude, don’t drag me into your rage.”
“Pansy,” Robert spat and then addressed Nadia. “Nadia?”
“I’ve no complaints.” She dismissed him by picking up her tea and drinking deep, though the grimace was visible as she choked the bitterness down.
Robert stared at Gage. “You’re just a mini Mac, aren’t you? Is that what Tern saw in you? A younger version of the old man.”
Tern sucked in her breath. Robert wasn’t pulling any punches tonight. The idiot was out for blood.
Gage tightened his jaw. His knuckles whitened around the fork clenched in his hand. The comment had obviously hit a nerve. In a way, Robert was right. Gage had a lot of the same qualities that Mac did. What had she been thinking hooking up with Robert in the first place? He was showing his true colors now, instead of what he’d wanted her to see when they’d been dating.
“Seems to me you have a burr up your ass.” Gage laid his plate on the ground beside his feet.
“What is this? A pissing contest?” Tern asked. “I’ve had enough of this. Robert, quit being a jerk. Gage, don’t take the bait.”
“You tell ‘em, girlfriend,” Lucky said, shutting up with a murderous stare from Robert.
“I find it interesting, Robert, that you were the one who left camp, alone, and happened to find a geocache that was filled with Tern’s favorite candy bar.” Mac folded his arms across his chest. “Better start explaining.”
Robert now resembled a mouse with his tail caught in the claws of a cat. “What? You think I set this up?”
“Did you?” Mac asked.
“Hell, no.” Robert glanced at Tern. “Tern, honey, I’d never do anything to hurt you. You gotta know that. I lov—”
“Just explain why you left camp,” Gage interrupted.
“When I entered the cabin, on my bunk was the GPS coordinates that we’d found in the previous geocache. I was bored. So I decided to check it out.”
“That’s convenient,” Mac said. “Why did you leave camp without letting anyone know where you were headed? This is Alaska, not Maryland.”
Robert huffed a deep breath. “Fine. I wanted to find that damn cache and destroy what was in it.”
“Why? Afraid of what else might be inside?”
“Yes, goddamn you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Why must we know every fucking secret about each other?”
“What else are you hiding?” Gage asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Robert shot back.
“Yeah, I would. I’d like to know if the whiny jackass sitting in front of us is the one capable of organizing this farce?”
It was like a tennis match with Tern, Nadia, and Lucky looking from Gage and Mac to Robert as they volleyed accusations at each other.
Where was a referee when you needed one?
“Fuck off,” Robert said.
“Yeah, that kind of attitude doesn’t endear you to others,” Gage said. “Exactly how pissed off are you that Tern left you for me?”
“Do we have to go there?” Tern jumped into the fray.
“You bet we do,” Gage said, arrowing a volley at her that had her wanting to duck. “This is about you. Which means it’s about your relationships. The most current ones are me and him.”
“This is wrong,” Tern said.
“And a little fascinating,” Nadia added, wide-eyed. “What? It is. Too bad this isn’t a reality TV show. We’d make millions.”
“Nadia!”
“Sorry.” Nadia waved her hand. “Carry on with the drama.”
“All right, I’m tired of hammering this to death,” Robert said. “I went after the cache to see what damning information was in there, hoping to spare the rest of us. Leave it at that.”
“No,”
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