“There are reports coming in by the droves that men are going wild with lust. Once they start eating, they can’t stop. Why, one woman in Mississippi got her big toe bit off by her husband who wouldn’t wait for her to pull her undies up. He smelled bacon and went in for the kill.”
Barrett felt a bit nauseated.
“What did the woman do?” Jayden asked as he reached for another pair out of the taco-flavored box.
“Apparently it wasn't the first extremity she’d lost. Lost her pinky finger when she was helping her husband set traps for nutria rats.”
“Damn, she got her finger caught in a trap?” Barrett winced.
“Not exactly. When she went back to check the traps there was a live nutria rat. That sucker latched onto her pinky finger and snapped it right off. Like biting into a candy bar.”
“Damn.” Jayden cringed but reached for another set of underwear, obviously intrigued by Granny’s storytelling.
“Now she’s trying to sue the company for an unsafe product and for being traumatized. Said her husband couldn’t help himself, he was attracted to her drawers like a bee to honey.”
“Sweet Jesus,” Barrett mumbled and scrubbed his hand down his face.
Jaxon snorted.
“Granny, please,” Jayden implored.
“I think she’s trying to make a quick buck. Any woman who goes trapping nutria rats with her husband knew what she was getting into when she purchased those bacon-flavored drawers.” Granny glared.
“So why did you bring them here?” Barrett rubbed the bridge of his nose. His headache was now approaching hurricane strength and he wouldn’t be surprised if he blew an aneurysm. On the bright side, if it did happen, he wouldn’t have to listen to Granny and her bacon-flavored thongs, and he would be put out of his misery.
“The company doesn’t want me to send them back. Said they’re not going to make them anymore. Too much bad publicity. So you lucky boys get them.” She picked up a cardboard box, opended it, and spilled the contents out onto the table. Colorful thongs— green, pink and red— decorated the table like a strip club on Mardi Gras.
“Try this. It’s the waffle-and-chicken flavor.” Granny held it out to him with a smile. “You look like a waffle-and-chicken kind of guy.”
“I’m not.” He scowled, hoping to scare the old woman into quiet submission.
“Taco?” She offered him a red thong.
“No!” He shook his head and struggled to keep his voice calm. “Look, you can’t keep this stuff in here. I’m not running an adult store.” Besides, he had bigger fish to fry, like trying to keep his Guardians from getting skinned alive.
“I think Lucien would like the waffle.” Jaxon picked through the thongs spread out on the table. “Speaking of which, how much longer is he going to be gone?” He met Barrett’s steady gaze.
“As long as it takes.” He narrowed his eyes, daring Jaxon to push the issue. Silence stretched between them, and Jaxon finally shrugged and went back to eating.
“In the meantime, you boys eat up!” Granny clapped her hands and smiled.
Chapter Nine
“Let’s get this over with. I’m not going back to Jonesboro.” Catty lifted her chin and pointed her finger in his chest, despite the pounding of her heart. She wasn’t going to let some stranger roll into town and start dictating to her, no matter how big he was.
“What are you talking about?” His brows drew together and he scratched his unshaven cheek.
“I know my parents sent you to find me.” The desperate words seemed to echo and bounce off the shrubbery as she fought and failed to keep her voice confident. “You can forget it. I’m not going back.”
“Your family didn’t send me.” His tone, slow and deliberate, landed like a punch to her chest.
Her heart felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and any moment she expected it would break out of her chest and land on the grass with a thud.
“They didn’t?” She cleared her throat and mentally shook herself. What had she been thinking? Why would they want her back if they knew what she was?
She could feel the heat rising in her face but forced herself to maintain eye contact.
“No, they didn’t send me.” He looked around and then narrowed his eyes at her.
“Then what do you want from me?” He might be hot as hell, but she knew better than to trust a handsome face. He was up to something.
“I need some information. There is something going on with the Arkansas Guardians. Some are missing.”
“So?” She snorted. “Maybe they got tired of doing what they were told and decided to leave.” She understood all too well the desire to follow her own rules and not live under the command of anyone else.