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blue eyes that looked down at her. “I gave it my best shot, but I guess it wasn’t good enough.”

Dylan’s eyes narrowed, then cleared as she put two and two together and immediately came up with four. Ah, Diana, my friend, I love you, but we’re going

to have a long talk, you and I. Very soon.

Stepping away from the door, Dylan gestured toward the arena’s exit with a tilt of her head. “Follow me,” she commanded softly.

Hodge followed numbly behind Dylan as the taller woman led them into the sunny warmth of the late afternoon and over to a smaller building several

hundred feet away from the main arena. When they stepped inside, Hodge’s ears perked to the sounds of bouncing basketballs, squeaky sneakers, and the

cheerful shouts of several women. She looked curiously at Dylan, but the smirk on the Coach’s face gave no clues.

Several steps later, and they were standing on the sidelines of yet another basketball court which was ringed on all sides by simple wooden benches and

not much else. Cat’s eyes widened as she came to the realization that she recognized each and every single one of the women currently practicing on the

court.

Angela Tippens, the six foot six inch center with the bleach blond hair and androgynous features, had been drafted from Australia two years back. With her

ability to jump like a pogo stick coupled with her Australian heritage, she was immediately nicknamed ‘Roo’.

Shaniqua Chaney, six feet of cornrows, tattoos, piercings and attitude, had been drafted from Temple the year prior and had the makings of the best

shooting guard in the league, taking a great number of cues from her idol, Allen Iverson.

Rosalie King and Marcette LeRoy were two potential-filled forwards from North Carolina, and Nanette Mackey, point guard and Tamara Stern,

center/forward were two crafty veterans who’d played for several teams during their long tenure with the WBA.

Realizing she was looking at the starting lineup of the Birmingham Badgers, Hodge stared up at her Coach, her face one large question mark.

Dylan’s smirk became more pronounced. “Think you’re ready to swim in the deep end of the pool, Catherine?”

Hodge blinked once, then cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”

Dylan took a significant glance at the court, then back to her newest star in the making. Her eyebrow rose.

Hodge flushed, then paled as the realization stole over her. “You…you mean I’m not fired?”

Dylan snorted. “Hardly.”

“But I thought….”

“I know,” Dylan replied, her eyes warming. “And I’m going to talk to dear Diana about that this evening before she leaves for home. I pay her to be a bitch,

but sometimes she goes a bit too far.”

“So, does this mean…?”

“Yes it does.” Dylan grinned. “Welcome to the Badgers, Starting Point Guard Catherine Hodges.”

Scarcely aware of what she was doing, Hodge opened her arms and closed the small distance between them, clasping Dylan in a fervent, effusive hug.

“Thank you so much!” Hodge’s voice was muffled against the fabric of Dylan’s jersey.

Dylan stiffened, stunned at the very unexpected action, then slowly returned the hug, albeit a bit awkwardly. “You’re very welcome.”

The moment was interrupted by laughter and catcalls. Immediately mortified, Hodge pulled away, only now fully aware of her actions. Her face flushed a

color that would have done an overripe tomato proud. “Oh my god,” she moaned, dropping her head into her hands. “I did it again, didn’t I.”

Dylan’s answering laughter was music to her burning ears.

“Good afternoon and welcome to the Southern Sports Network ,television home of the Birmingham Badgers. I’m Todd Black and this is my co-host, the

lovely Melinda Morton. We’re coming to you live tonight from inside the beautiful Horace Johnson Arena where the Badgers are set to open their season

against last year’s WBA Champions, the New York Thunder. The house is pretty packed, Melinda.”

“You’re right about that, Todd. A nice sized crowd has shown up tonight to see if Coach Dylan Lambert’s offseason wrangling has paid off.”

“That’s true, Melinda. She’s made a lot of changes this year, including the shocker of the decade, her choice for first pick of the draft, the diminutive

Catherine Hodges.”

“Well, Ms. Hodges may be small, but she has heart, and she knows her way around a basketball court, leading her college team, the UCONN Huskies to an

NCAA championship. It’ll be interesting to see how she fits into the new offensive scheme sources say Coach Lambert has spent the entire offseason

developing and perfecting.”

“Sounds interesting, Melinda. Anything else your sources have to tell you?”

“Not really, Todd. Just that this is an entirely new Badgers team, and that we should look forward to seeing some things we haven’t before from them.”

“I’m sure we’ll all be keeping our eyes and ears open, then. And now, let’s get courtside and listen to the team introductions.”

Hodge stood on the sideline, shifting back and forth on her feet and shaking her hands.

“You doin’ alright, Shortchange?”