Chapter 601: Jamlyn

Monday, March 3rd, Evening

After a quick walk through the house, she entered the living room. Looking it over, she found her briefcase and Dad. He sat in a chair, holding a cup of coffee and watching TV.

Ashlyn nodded as she walked to the briefcase.

"Watching the game tonight?" Ashley Buckingham "Buck" Pierce IV, Ashlyn's dad, asked.

"Yes, I do whenever Miami plays. Are you watching the game?" Ashlyn asked.

"No, I'll be watching other things," Buck said.

"Okay, I'll be in my room," Ashlyn said.

"You're going to watch the game with your briefcase," Buck said.

"I'm going to be pulling double duty," Ashlyn said.

"Double duty?" Buck asked.

"Going to go over the scouting reports for Saturday," Ashlyn said.

"Who are you playing?" Buck asked.

"Northwest Guilford from Greensboro," Ashlyn said.

"They any good?" Buck asked.

"They only lost twice," Ashlyn said.

"Okay," Buck said.

"Well, enjoy your show, and I have things to do?" Ashlyn said.

"Good night, Ashlyn," Buck said.

"Good night," Ashlyn said and left the living room.

Ashlyn went upstairs; she looked to the left and then the right at the top of the stairs. She could see the lights under several rooms. Ashlyn nodded and headed toward her bedroom.

Once in her room, she closed the door behind her and put her briefcase on her bed. Ashlyn looked around and walked to her bathroom. Ashlyn started to undress, then walked over to the shower and started it. Once the water got hot enough, Ashlyn finished undressing and climbed into the shower.

Ashlyn washed off the grime and stress of the day. After getting out of the shower, Ashlyn wrapped herself in a towel and started to dry her hair. She looked into the mirror and sighed. Ashlyn noted she looked tired; it had been a long day.

When she talked to Angela earlier, she seriously said she wanted her as an assistant coach. Ashlyn has had several conversations with Lucas about his retirement. He did want her to take over as some form of continuity between the years. Lucas wanted to retire when Sawyer graduated high school.

Ashlyn finished scrubbing her face clean. Angela wanted to coach for years, and she wanted someplace stable for Jess. Ashlyn would assume Angela would stay in Connecticut if the job offer were there. She suggested bringing Jess down early so she could play with Nomi, Key, and PJ. That way, they could start to progress together.

It would be a few years, but Ashlyn knew that if those girls played together and stuck it out, they would be a beast of a team. With Jess, they would only be missing a dominant center. That could be solved easily, as Nathan was a great talent scout, and he could find a center, and train her, along with the other girls.

Once Ashlyn was done drying herself, she stepped out into her bedroom. Dropping the towel, she dressed in her pajamas and turned on the basketball game. Ashlyn got into bed and got comfortable. She pulled her briefcase over and opened it. Pulling out a file, she opened it and started to look over the scouting reports.

Ashlyn pulled out a notepad and started writing down things she wanted to see on film. That way, she could prepare her post players for the upcoming game. The scouts say that Northwest Guilford was an excellent defensive team. Tree Hill was also a good defensive team because of Ashlyn, who worked with the girls on the defense.

Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Angela. Ashlyn knew that if she got Angela on her coaching staff, she had the guards locked down. Angela is a great guard, but she also was good at teaching and refining guard skills. Ashlyn had watched videos that Angela had sent her of Jess playing basketball. Jess looked good, and much of her training was done by Angela. The only problem with Ashlyn's plan, now she thought about it, was she didn't know who she would pick to take over her place of coaching the post players.

Ashlyn looked up from her notes and papers and noticed it was halftime. Ashlyn put aside what she was working on. She shifted herself into a sitting position on the side of the bed. Getting up, she put on her slippers and found her robe. After trying her robe sash, she headed out of the bedroom.

Ashlyn first headed towards the bedrooms of her children. Brett is in residence this week, but she was at Baylee Miller's house. That was interesting; Ashlyn half expected her to be at her boyfriend's house, Garvan Muir. But Ashlyn was trying not to interfere.

Ashlyn checked in on her three younger children, Maeghan, Landen, and Logan. Ashlyn kissed each of them and tucked them in. Finally, she also shut off their radios. Once done with the last one, Logan, she headed across the house.

In this wing, Buck lived with Ashlyn's niece and nephew. Ashlyn looked in on her niece, Joplin Matthews, as she slept. Ashlyn turned off her radio, tucked her in, and kissed her good night. Next, Ashlyn checked on her nephew, Ashley Buckingham "AB" Matthews. Ashlyn kissed AB good night after tucking him in and finally turned off his radio.

Ashlyn walked out of Buck's wing and headed toward her bedroom. At the top of the stairs, she found Brett standing there. Mom and daughter lived with each other.

"Momma," Brett said.

"Brett," Ashlyn said, "How was your night?"

"It was good, and yours?" Brett asked.

"Okay, working on game plans for Saturday," Ashlyn said.

"Okay, I heard they're tough," Brett said.

"That's what the scouts are saying," Ashlyn said.

"Okay, I'm going to bed, have a big day tomorrow," Brett said.

"Good night, Brett," Ashlyn said.

"Good night, Momma," Brett said and headed towards her room.

Ashlyn nodded and returned to her room. She kicked off her slippers, dropped her robe, and climbed back into bed. She picked up her paperwork and started up again. At the end of the game, Ashlyn watched the TV and saw that Miami had beaten Cleveland 106 to 98, with James Scott leading Miami in Assists with 6. Ashlyn smiled, packed up, and laid down, waiting for James to call.