“I can’t remember his name.” I shrug.
He widens his stance, crossing his arms over his chest and smirks. “So, you wanted to thank them?”
“Yeah, I made cakes and brownies.” I smile wide, proud of my idea.
“I didn’t know you could bake,” he says, his eyes widening.
“I can.” I nod. “So? Could you give me a ride to their… fort?”
He throws his head back laughing before grabbing his keys off the table by the front door. “It’s a compound.” Ahh, right, that makes sense. “I’ll bring the car over.”
“Yes! Thank you, thank you!” I reach up on my tiptoes, kissing his cheek before spinning around and opening the door, jogging back over to the house and collecting all of the tubs.
Once we have them all loaded in his trunk, I climb into the passenger seat and he pulls away from the curb, heading the same way that Evan did a few days ago.
The music plays over the radio, and halfway there, I find myself singing along to the songs, shaking my hips in my seat. It must be catching because by the time we pull up to the large gates, Mal is doing exactly the same and we’re both singing at the top of our lungs.
“Helllllllo?” Someone says when Mal pulls up to a small box and presses a button.
“Hey!”
“Mal?”
“Yeppers! Let us in, Kitty! We have an army’s worth of sugar high here!”
“Ohhhh!”
The gates open and Mal pulls forward, parking next to the car that I know is Evan’s. “Let’s unload!” He rubs his hands together before switching the engine off by a button in the middle console and then pushes out of his side of the car.
My stomach dips when I spot Evan walking with a few guys and two women. I only met two guys last time, but when they’re all walking toward us like that, I can’t help the way my hands start to shake.
You can do this, Lexi. Pull up them big girl panties.
Taking a deep breath, I pull the handle and push the door open, stepping out of the car and walking around to the trunk where Mal now stands with them all.
“Dad.” Evan’s deep voice rumbles around me as I stand back and watch them embrace each other. “What are you doing here?”
“Well…” Mal’s eyes connect with mine. “This one came over and told me she’d baked a thank you present.”
Evan’s eyes snap to mine, and for a second, I think I see a ghost of a smile on his face, but it’s gone as soon as I think I’ve seen it.
“Who?” another voice rumbles. His head moves to the side and I see Caveman as his lips quirk up. “Ahhh, Ex-con.”
“Excuse me?” Mal’s voice cuts in, deeper than I’ve ever heard before.
“I mean… erm…” Caveman struggles to talk and it has a snort coming out of me at the sight of him squirming. “She’s an ex-con?” He sounds so unsure of himself that it’s almost comical.
“That she is,” Mal replies, waving his arm at me. I step forward, letting him put his arm around my shoulders. “But it’s not her name, Luke. It’s, Lexi.”
“Right, yeah.” He clears his throat, obviously uncomfortable. “Lexi.”
“Now, I’m guessing it’s you who fixed our girl up?”
“I did, sir.”
Mal offers him his hand and shakes it before he pulls me closer and whispers, “They’re all big softies really.”
“I can see that,” I answer, my gaze meeting all of theirs. “I erm…” I look at the man that Evan called Ty, knowing that he’s the boss here. “I made cakes and brownies as a thank you for helping me after I was attacked.”