?Hello??

?Catherine Hodges??

The slight New York accent sounded familiar, but Hodge?s cobwebby brain couldn?t quite place it. ?Yes??

?Hi, Catherine. My name is Haley Locke.?

Again, something familiar. This time, a name. But still, her mind wouldn?t cooperate. ?May I help you??

The laugh that came over the phone was warm. ?Actually, I think I?m supposed to be asking you that question.?

Brows furrowed, Hodge swung to a sitting position on the bed, wondering if she had awakened in the Twilight Zone. ?Can we start this over, do you think? I just woke up and my mind?s not quite in gear here.?

A moment of silence, then a slightly chagrinned voice came back over the line. ?I forgot the time difference. I?m so sorry. I can call again tomorrow, if that would be better for you.?

?No, no, it?s alright, Ms. Locke.? Comprehension dawned. ?Haley Locke! The agent!?

Haley laughed again. ?That?s me.?

?Oh God! I mean?Mac told me to expect a phone call. I just?.?

?Fell asleep.?

Hodge rubbed a hand over her face. ?Yeah. I?m sorry.?

?For sleeping? Don?t be. I should have called you earlier anyway. I sometimes forget that not everyone operates on LA time.? Haley shuffled the papers in her hands to cover an awkward pause. ?As you?ve probably guessed by now, the reason for my call is to ask whether you?ve obtained legal representation for yourself.?

?No,? Hodge replied. ?I had a lawyer, but he sort of ditched me at the altar the other day.?

?That?s a lawyer for you,? Haley commented, chuckling.

?Aren?t you a lawyer??

?Shh. Don?t spread that around. People might talk.?

Hodge found herself laughing, instantly at ease with the wise-cracking woman on the other end of the phone.

?Well, your misfortune is, as they say, my good fortune. If you?re planning on being in Birmingham for a little while longer, I?d like the opportunity to fly down and discuss the possibility of representing you.?

Hodge?s eyes widened. ?That would be?that would be wonderful,? she replied. ?I?ve extended my stay until Tuesday morning, if that helps.?

?Perfect. I?ll fly down there and meet with you tomorrow evening. If things work out between us, we can head over to the Badgers? offices and take a look over your contract on Monday. Sound good to you??

?It sounds great!?

?Alright then. See you tomorrow afternoon. We?ll have lunch.?

?See you tomorrow, Ms. Locke. And thank you.?

?It?s Haley, and don?t thank me until you?ve seen what I have to offer. Night.?

Hodge hung up the phone, beaming. ?I go from no agent to the best in the business. Whatever angel I?ve got sitting on my shoulder, thanks.?

?Delta flight 274 to Boston now boarding at gate 24. All ticketed passengers should proceed to gate 24 for boarding.?

Hodge stood and slung her carryon over her shoulder, pulling her ticket out from the zippered pouch as she did so. Handing the ticket to the gate agent, she passed through into the bright tunnel of the jetway, then touched, by force of habit, the plane?s outer shell for luck before stepping inside.

A smiling steward led her into the first class cabin, and she sat down, luxuriating in the wide, impossibly comfortable leather seat. Her original return ticket hadn?t been in first class. It was just one of the many perks the human hurricane known as Haley Locke had negotiated for her.

Truth be known, Hodge was still in a bit of a daze. A daze that had started the moment the curly haired brunette blew into her hotel room, shook her hand, and pitched her spiel. Hodge couldn?t have stopped her if she tried, and by the time Haley had paused for her first breath since entering the hotel room, Hodge discovered she didn?t want to try at all.

There was good, and there was great. Haley Locke surpassed both of those by a long country mile. She was the kind of person who made you feel good; about yourself, and about her. She would have made a great preacher, or a horrible one?the type who would lead you to a bridge and tell you to jump, and you would, willingly, a smile on your face as you plunged to your death.

Lunch had turned into dinner, dinner had turned into drinks, and before Hodge quite knew what was happening, she found herself standing in front of Mac, Haley at her side. Her only consolation was that Mac looked as stunned as she knew she did. The expression on his face as he willingly handed over perk after perk would have been laughable if Hodge hadn?t been feeling exactly the same.

She came away with more than she?d ever thought possible, along with a very nice signing bonus tucked comfortably in her wallet. Part of that bonus was going to send her parents on the trip of their dreams. They would fight it, she knew, but stubbornness was an inherited trait, and she had inherited it in spades.

As the plane taxied to the runway and began to pick up speed, she stared at the ground rushing beneath her. It was the perfect axiom for her life.

Dylan used the hem of her jersey to wipe the sweat from her face. The sun shone brightly down on the court, causing heat to rise up from the clay in wavy, visible lines. Siegfried lay on his belly in the cool grass, head on his paws, eyes darting from the ball lying on center court to Dylan, whining.

?Hush,? Dylan said fondly as she walked over to the stone bench and lifted a warming bottle of spring water to her lips. Her cell phone rang just as she began to drink. Wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she traded bottle for phone and held it up to her ear. ?Lambert.?

?We?re even.?

Dylan chuckled.

?I?m serious, Dylan. Everything I ever owed you is now officially paid back. Understand??

Dylan laughed louder as she reached out for the water bottle and took a healthy sip.

?Hello??

?I?m here, Mac.?

?Yes, well, just remember?.?

?We?re even. I?ll remember.?

?Hmmph.?

?Oh come on, Mac! You put the job of finding an agent in my hands. Who?d you think I was gonna pick, huh??

?Certainly not the Bride of Satan!!?

?Oh, please. She?s not that bad.?

?Oh yeah? I?m lucky she didn?t take the shirt off my back while she was at it!?

Dylan grinned. ?She doesn?t swing that way, Mac. Not even for a stud such as yourself.?

?Ha. Ha. That woman should be outlawed.?

?Is the contract signed??

?Well, yes, but?.?

?Then everything worked out the way it was supposed to.?

?For you, maybe. When Johnson gets wind of this, I?ll be lucky to get a job digging ditches.?

?Who says he has to get wind of anything? As far as I can tell, the last time he looked at a player?s contract, Moses had just brought the tablets down from the mount.?

?Yeah, well if your mouthy little friend has anything to say about it?.?

?Come on, Mac, you know better than that. Haley might be hell on wheels, but she?s not a braggart. She?s not gonna tell anyone anything about that contract. And I don?t think Catherine will either.?

?I agree with you there. She was about as flummoxed by Ms. Hot Shot New York Lawyer as I was.?

?Well there ya go then. Maybe next time, you?ll stick to doing your own job instead of foisting it off on me, hmm??

?Hmmmph.?

Dylan laughed. ?Bye, Mac. I?ll see you in the office tomorrow.?

Ending the call, she tossed the phone back on the bench and finished off her water. Siegfried, still as a statue, whined again. Dylan rolled her eyes.

?Oh, alright. Fetch!?

With a happy bark, Siegfried jumped to his feet and ran after the ball. His huge mouth opened wide, and Dylan watched as sharp teeth, made to tear and rend, dimpled the ball?s tough skin.

?Pop it and you?re a throw rug.?

Siegfried whined, looking at her with sad eyes. After a moment, he pushed the ball toward her, barking.

Dylan stuck a foot out and hefted the ball high into the air. Siegfried barked again and leapt up, using his nose to bat the ball back to her. Taking the pass, Dylan put up a sweet, easy shot from the top of the key, smirking as it went through without touching the rim. ?Nothin? but net.?

Siegfried scrabbled after the ball, leaving claw scrapes in the brick colored clay. A fast learner, he nosed the ball back to her, then leapt in the air, his teeth snapping as she kicked it to him. The ball went off in an errant direction, but Dylan roped it in easily and, spinning, got off a shot whose arc was perfection itself. The ball swished through the net, and Siegfried happily tore after it.

They played like that for some minutes until the dog?s tongue lolled out and his muscled sides heaved with the strength of his panting. Still, he whined and shot her a pathetic look as she tucked the ball under her arm and gathered up her things from the bench.

?That?s enough for now, buddy. Maybe later after it?s dark, alright??

A happy bark was her answer, and, laughing, she walked up the short, partially wooded hill of her grounds and entered the house through the back door. She chuckled again as Siegfried rushed past her, darted into the laundry room and was soon enthusiastically drinking from the toilet.

?Men.?

Cat put the last box in the bed of her truck, a sturdy old Chevy S-10 that she?d owned since High School. Turning, she found everyone standing on the porch staring at her with wide, sad eyes. She smiled and shook her head as she jogged back over.

?I?m not leaving forever guys, come on don?t look at me like that.?

Her brothers all tried to give varying degrees of smiles. They weren?t as sincere as they could have been. ?Now come on, I promise as soon as rookie camp is over and I have some free time I?ll either come back or bring you boys up. So just be good, okay??