Tug of Attraction by Ashlyn Chase Read Free Book Online Page A

ages?”
    Hanna smirked. “You’re precious Carolina Panthers lost that year. Didn’t they?”
    “That’s what I meant by the dark ages.” Fayleen sighed. “Don’t worry. Your dig wasn’t lost on me.”
    “Good. Let’s get to that recycling center. Where is it, by the way?”
    “It’s just easier if you grab my hand and let me take you.”
    Hanna twined her fingers with Fayleen’s. A moment later, they were in a large warehouse in front of a conveyor belt. Fayleen was wearing a hard hat and she handed one to Hanna.
    “Safety first.”
    “If you were concerned about safety you wouldn’t have bothered me in the first place.”
    “Oh, quit your bitchin’. Look.” She pointed to a lone worker coming through the double doors.
    “Hey, what are you two—” The middle aged man froze in place.
    “Why did you do that?” Fayleen demanded.
    “Sorry. Reflex. Whenever I’m with you and someone shouts at us, it’s usually because we’re doing something illegal.”
    “Oh. Well, your reaction might not be far off. I may have forgotten to check and see if our being here was okay.”
    Hanna rolled her eyes. “ Quel surprise .”
    “Shall we get started?” Fayleen asked.
    Resigned, Hanna sighed. “Might as well. How does this equipment work?”
    “How would I know? Maybe I can unfreeze the nice worker and use my considerable charm on him.”
    “Yeah. That won’t backfire at all .”
    “Give me a little credit. This isn’t my first time getting around the rules.”
    “That’s for damn sure,” Hanna muttered. “Okay.” She snapped her fingers and the guy said, “doing here?” Then he jammed his hands on his hips.
    Fayleen sashayed up to him and ran her finger along his arm. “There’s no need to get mad at little ol’ us.” She spied his name badge and added, “Henry, honey.”
    He coughed and smiled. “I’m not mad. It’s just that no one is supposed to be back here without a pass.”
    “Oh!” She swiveled toward Hanna. “It’s those silly passes we were given that he has to see. You’ve got them right there, don’t ya, darlin’?”
    “Oh, Yes. Of course.” Hanna fake-fished in her pocket and held up nothing but air. “See? I have them right here.”
    He nodded. “Very good. Now, how can I help you fine ladies this afternoon?”
    “Well,” Fayleen draped her arm over the guy’s shoulder. “We need to find something that shouldn’t have been thrown away. It’s very unique. Very special. There’s only one in the whole wide world.”
    “What is it?” Henry asked.
    “It’s a cup sittin’ on a long, thick stem.”
    “What’s it made out of?”
    Hanna and Fayleen exchanged panicked expressions.
    “We don’t rightly know. It’s gray and has a lot of colorful baubles stuck in it.” Fayleen batted her eyelashes at him.
    “We separate everything by material. For instance, over there’s the plastic...” Henry pointed to a large pile sitting on a beige tarp.
    “Oh, no. The grail is definitely not plastic.” Fayleen said, and Hanna shook her head. “It’s quite heavy.”
    “Glass?” He strolled past the covered pile and headed to some dumpster sized bins.
    “Some of those baubles may have looked like glass,” Fayleen said. “They’re kind of cloudy and scratched and irregularly shaped. We don’t know for sure what they are though.”
    Henry strolled past the large bins. “What does the cup look like? It’s gray, you said?”
    “Yes. It looks like clay, but it won’t crumble, and it holds water without soaking it up.”
    “Could it be ceramic? I don’t know a lot about ceramics, but maybe someone fired it, without painting or glazing it. Or maybe they painted it gray. There’s some pottery in the far corner.”
    Fayleen worried her lip and faced Hanna. “I don’t know if we’re ever going to find it here.”
    “Is there someplace for items that can’t be categorized?” Hanna asked.
    “Mixed materials.” Henry said.
    “Yes. Where is