Page 51 of Cavern of Silence

"Why does it make you feel old? It's a sign of respect."

"My grandmother and mother were ma'am."

"I'm military. You'll have to excuse my occasional slip."

I whisk eggs together and pour in the cream.

"Hunter's going to be jealous when I tell him you just added cream to my eggs."

"Why?"

"He's got an obsession with cream and chive scrambled egg and bacon sandwiches."

"Really?"

"He salivates like a dog."

"I'll make some later for the road. There should be a warming container I can store them in."

"That's nice of you. Especially when he's been a dick."

I freeze.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No. But I'm not innocent. Hunter and I have both been getting under each other's skin."

"It's not your fault."

"Yeah, some of it is."

"But—"

"Ryker, he tried to apologize, and I didn't give him an easy time."

"Was this before or after he threatened to yank you out of the Jeep?"

I sigh. "Let's forget about it and try to have a stress-free day tomorrow."

He nods. "That sounds nice. Now tell me how we're getting over the borders."

"Easy. We're sitting on it right now."

"What do you mean?"

"This property backs up to it. We just need to get a tarp from the barn."

"A tarp?"

"Yep. It's going to be muddy. And you're going to need to bring your A-game."

He cocks an eyebrow. "My A-game?"

"It's a tunnel of trees and pretty steep."

"So this is dangerous?"

"As long as you keep us in the middle of the lane, everything will be fine. Think of it as a roller coaster with a rain forest in the middle."