Lacey turned to Tyler and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
He awkwardly patted her back. “What’s that for?”
“Can’t a girl hug her favorite cousin?” she asked, turning back into her seat, feeling a little embarrassed at her spontaneous outburst. Especially when she saw the shock on their faces. Okay, so she wasn’t known as a hugger. But neither were they.
Maybe this place didn’t feel like home, and her parents hadn’t always noticed her, but she had these five men. Right then, being around them was a balm on her ravaged soul.
She’d taken hit after hit lately. Her self-esteem had been ground into the dirt, and she wasn’t sure there was any resurrecting it. But being around people who always had her back was better than any drug or tub of Ben and Jerry’s.
“Hey, I thought I was your favorite!” Travis protested as she knew he would.
Rusty frowned at her, and she sent him a wink.
“You’ve got it all wrong, I’m your favorite,” Jace said. “Who beat up Billy Pine for kissing you in eighth grade?”
“He was my boyfriend!” she protested. “You gave him a black eye. Every time I came near him after that, he’d run away.”
“Damn those were good times,” Jace said with satisfaction. “So much easier when giving someone a black eye solved all your problems.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Lacey shook her head. Idiots.
“I get to be your favorite today. I did rescue you earlier after all.” Clay’s quiet statement brought all protests to a screeching stop.
“Rescued her? Rescued her from what?” Travis asked in a quiet voice that meant he wanted answers. Now.
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that.” She sent Clay a scowl.
“You said that. Not me.” He shrugged.
“Lacey,” Travis warned.
Crap.
“I thought my car was pulling to the right, so I stopped to check the tires. Clay drove up before I could get out. He couldn’t find anything wrong, so I continued on my way.”
Travis frowned at Clay. “You let her keep driving? If there’s something wrong with her car, she shouldn’t be driving it.”
“I can check it now.” Jace stood, his plate still half-full.
“What? No, sit. You’re still eating for goodness sake. My car’s fine. It was just my imagination.”
“I’ll still check it before you go,” Jace told her. But at least he sat.
“She startled something wicked when I knocked on the car door.”
“I didn’t realize it was you,” she protested weakly. Well, shit. They weren’t going to make a big deal out of this, were they?
They’d all grown quiet, and when she looked up, she realized they were looking at Travis. Waiting for him to deal with her. Like there was something wrong with her.
“We got incoming,” Tyler stated quietly.
She looked up to see her father and Brandi making their way towards them. Thank you, God. She smiled big and waved. “Come, sit down.”
Brandi smiled back tentatively, but her father looked slightly startled by her cheerful greeting. As they settled down, Travis leaned into her and whispered, “Saved. For the moment.”
***