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Chapter 37

Much to her surprise, it looked like Nora would be coaching a girls' basketball team. Tanya had been in touch to let her know that the other parents were okay with her sponsoring and coaching the girls in the rec center league.

"I had to do some persuading," Tanya said. "They're a little suspicious, to say the least. But Willow likes you and she really wants this, and if I don't let her have it, she will pester me to death."

"Tanya—thank you," Nora gushed with surprise and elation. "You won't regret it."

"There you go again, promising something you don't know you can deliver. I'm bringing the girls next Thursday after school. Get your doctor's note, then come and show us what you've got."

"Can't wait," Nora said.

She hung up and danced around her living room with her basketball... until it occurred to Nora that she'd never coached anything and wasn't sure how to go about it.

Her law degree came in handy. Over the next twenty-four hours, she filled out the paperwork required to establish the team at the rec center (which she named Hot Shotz in a moment of what she considered inspired brilliance), drew up a proposed practice schedule, and even drafted an agreement for Tanya and the parents of all the girls to acknowledge shared costs.

She arrived at the community center fresh off her visit to the clinic, with her doctor's note, her sponsor credentials, her new sneaks, and her University of Texas women's basketball jersey for inspiration. She had a plan for practice, and had even made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sliced up the last cucumber from her garden for snacks.

Her team—five of them—arrived with Tanya shortly after school. Willow led the way, her basketball tucked under her arm. One of the girls, who had not been present the last time Nora met this crew, stared at Nora incredulously. "You play basketball?"

"I do."

"Are you, like... good?"

"I used to be. I know the game, though. I think the better question is, are you good?"

The girl looked at the others and shrugged.

"Uh-uh," Nora said. "You have to believe you are the best on the court and then play like it." The words tumbled out of her before she recognized them—Grandpa had said those words to her. He'd said it to the skinny girl standing on the edge of the court at the Pflugerville YMCA, afraid to join the others. "Go on out there,"he'd said. "Don't be afraid. You have to believe you are the best on the court and then play like it."

"Did your dad really stab your basketball?" another one asked. "That's mean."

"Somean," Nora agreed.

Willow began to dribble her ball. "Are we going to stand around talking about your psycho dad or what?"

Nora grinned. "Come with me."

Tanya stuck around to watch, but she spent most of the practice on her phone. Near the end of the hour, a sweaty, exhausted Nora left the girls to work on their layups and climbed up onto the bleachers to sit next to Tanya. Her inner athlete clearly needed to get to the gym.

"Their first game is in a few weeks. Do you have more in your bag of tricks, or are layups all you got?" Tanya asked without taking her eyes off her phone.

"Come on, Tanya, give me some credit—I have a wing and a prayer too. Also, I've been watching some coaching videos on YouTube."

Tanya was silent.

"Are you okay?"

"Got a lot on my mind."

Nora snorted. "Don't we all."

Tanya looked up from her phone. "You want to go toe to toe on who has more on her mind, MissHigh and Mighty Lawyer? You have no idea what kind of troubles I have. You are a lawyer, right?"

Nora leaned back, propping herself on her elbows against the bench behind them. "I have a law degree, and I am licensed. But let's just say I'm better at writing briefs than actual lawyering."

Tanya sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You're not exactly selling yourself."

Nora gave her a curious look. "Should I be?"

"You know anything about independent contractors?"

Ah, the old hypothetically-speaking-let-me-ask-you routine. People always wanted free legal advice from a lawyer. Hell, Nora wanted free legal advice. "A little."

"My brother, he does home renovations. He's got a client that owes him a lot of money and he's saying he doesn't have to pay for work my brother did."

"I'd have to look at the contract," Nora said. A spark of an idea inserted itself into her brain. "He does home renovation?"

"Yeah. Kitchens, baths... that sort of thing."

Kitchens.Nora sat up. The spark was suddenly ablaze. "How much is he owed?"

"Twenty-five thousand."

"Wow." Nora reached into her gardening tote and rummaged around until she found a business card. She handed it to Tanya. "Tell him to call me."

Tanya looked at the card, then at Nora. "For real?"

"For real."

"I don't know if he can pay much."

But maybe he'd be open to some trade in services—like, her legal help in exchange for repairing Lacey's kitchen? Optimism began to bloom. Was it possible that she really could get Lacey's kitchen fixed? She didn't want to get ahead of herself, but she was feeling a little giddy with the possibility. "Don't worry about that," she said to Tanya. "Have him give me a call."

Tanya suddenly beamed. "I still don't understand why you want to get all up in our business, but thank you."

When Nora handed out the bags of sandwiches and cucumbers at the conclusion of practice, Willow said Nora was lame but ate a sandwich anyway, then asked her if they were getting jerseys or what.

Nora and her inner athlete were going to love this.

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