Rex took the kid’s hand and shook vehemently, careful to keep his eyes pinned to their visitor’s. “Where ya from, kid?”
Billy withdrew his hand, acting as if he were afraid he might lose an arm if he didn’t take a step back. “Dallas.”
“Hmm,” Rex muttered. “Dallas, Texas. You’re a long way from home, aren’t ya?”
Billy shrugged. “From what Lucy said, Tennessee is home for us now.”
Rex snarled. “Really? She said that?”
How had Rex missed this? Immediately, he thought of the night before, revisiting the conversation they’d had with Lucy. Hadn’t she said something about a younger lover? His gaze flickered across Billy. Surely not. This guy was nothing more than a silly boy. He had big dimples, a cleft chin, dancing eyes, and exemplified youth.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two. Why?”
Twenty-two’s ass! He was probably still in his late teens. If Rex cared to add a guess, the boy hadn’t figured out his balls weren’t a misplaced potato sack. He laughed at that.
The kid watched him. “Something funny?”
“Nothing,” Rex replied.
“Say you’re movin’ to Tennessee, are ya?” Luke asked, grabbing a shirt from the back of the wagon and tossing it over his shoulder.
“Most likely,” Billy said. “Is she home?”
“Who?” Rex asked.
“Lucy. Is she here?” Billy looked from one brother to the next.
“Nope,” Rex said. “We haven’t seen her.”
“But she lives here, right?”
Luke grinned. “Yep. She lives right here in Church Hill.”
“But she hasn’t been here?” Billy asked, rubbing his chin. “I talked to her on the way in, and I could’ve sworn she said she was getting in the shower. That was just a few minutes ago. I was in downtown Church Hill and needed directions. Lucy apparently hasn’t been here in a while. She kept telling me to take a left at the only light in town. There are several traffic lights, so I wasn’t sure where she meant. Apparently, she doesn’t concern herself with street names.
“Whenever I call her for clarification on a route, it’s always points of local interest. Take a left by the dumpsters next to the school, a hard right at the corner store, stay on that road until you come to a four-way, and then go right next to the house with a blue fence.
“Who the hell can follow directions like that?” He shook his head. “I can’t get a physical address out of her. GPS is of no use.”
“That’s Lucy for you,” Rex said, already sick of Billy’s rambling. He looked like a pretty boy and talked as much as a woman.
Billy walked over to his car and rummaged around in the front seat. Retrieving his cell, he said, “I’ll just call her.”
“Go ahead,” Rex told him.
“I was hoping I could catch her before she starts working for the day.”
Luke crossed his arms. “Lucy, working? Psht!”
Billy’s brows gathered. “Lucy’s a workaholic. By the way, are you guys her brothers?”
“Not quite,” Luke replied.
Billy frowned.
That’s right, little fucker. Sit there and wonder. Rex watched Billy fumble through his contact list. After locating a number, he hit a code and raised the phone to his ear. “Let me see if I can reach her.”