I gotta say, when chapters come to you they come to you. Other times, it's a struggle to get more than one sentence out at a time. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

After she finished talking to the talent scouts after JV's season opener, Lizzy headed towards the locker room to shower and change. She didn't even get halfway when another man stopped her. "Hey, Lizzy, wait up a second?" her dad called. She sighed but did as he asked. She really hoped he wasn't going to ask about her being on JV and if she wanted him to do something about it because that answer was a resounding no. "Do you have a minute to talk?" Rob asked.

"I guess. I'd like to go shower, but if you need to talk, it can wait," Lizzy answered.

"No, go ahead, shower and change. I can wait until you're done. Then maybe we can get dinner."

Lizzy nodded and walked into the locker room while her dad waited outside. "So, what's up?" Lizzy asked as she approached him as she nervously braided her hair.

"I loved your mother. She meant the world to me. I also know that you don't have any memories of her. She was a beautiful woman who was strong and competent and never let anyone hold her back. You remind me a lot of her."

"When I stayed with Matt this summer, he had some old home movies of her. I do see her in me sometimes. And both he and Nat have told me stories about her."

"I'm glad. I will never forget her. She meant that much to me. I know that you don't like it when I forget things about you because it reminds me of your mom, like I'm living in the past or something. I'm trying to avoid doing that and part of that is trying to move on."

"Ok. I'm happy for you ... I think. I'm not sure what that's got to do with me." She frowned. As she tied off the end of her braid, now having nothing to do with her hands.

"Do you remember a couple months ago at Casey and Gordon's wedding when you met a woman named Michelle MacKay?"

"Yeah, she was the tutor for Team USA a couple summers ago. She seemed pretty nice."

"She's very nice and she's got a degree in Education. She's a wonderful woman. Liz—" He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I've fallen in love with her. I know this is even more change for you and I haven't even been divorced a full year but she's helping me move on and be a better man and hopefully a better father."

"She never struck me as being around your age. I thought she was maybe Aunt Casey's age or younger."

"She is slightly younger than your aunt Casey."

"How "sightly" are we talking?" she asked with air quotes.

"She's 10 years older than Matt."

"She—She—She's ..." Lizzy stared at her father for a few minutes. "You were 19 when Matt was born. She is 10 years older than your oldest child. She's barely old enough to be my mother. That's like ... like me falling for one of Matt's friends or him falling for one of mine. It'll never work; it'll never be accepted. Nine years. How can you even ... I don't even know what I'm saying."

"She isn't going to try to replace your mother or Nat—Lizzy, would you stop?" He asked as she started walking away.

"If I say anything else to you, it won't be nice and I really will be acting like a brat."

"Ok."

She took a few more steps away then turned around and walked back to him. "Why did you ask me about her? You said you were in love with her and I figure that means that you're dating her but why do I need to know that?" Lizzy said.

"We're getting married."

"You're … please excuse me." Lizzy walked away from him and headed for her dorm. Once she reached her room she remembered that Portman was at the State game and so were most of the Ducks so there was no help there. She stared at her cell phone wondering who she could call or if she wanted to talk to someone at all. Finally, she decided to call Matt. Before she could, her phone rang. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, it's Ads. Do me a favor, pull the phone away from your ear," the voice on the other end said before she could even get out a hello.

"Ok." Lizzy pulled the phone away and heard a very loud rendition of "We are the champions". When it cut off, she pressed her phone back to her ear. "Ads? What in the world?" Lizzy asked.

"Port's idea."

"I take that to mean you won?"

"We did. We—"

"We beat those Trojans into the ground," Portman's voice was in her ear. He must have stolen the phone from Adam.

"Congrats. Can I ask you a question?" Lizzy asked.

"Uh, sure. What's up?"

"You remember Michelle MacKay?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

"Did you like her? Is she a decent person?"

"She's really nice. I liked her. I think you met her at Bombay's wedding."

"I did. Fulton introduced us. I just … I don't know. Let me talk to Ads."

"Ok."

"Hey, sorry about him," Adam said.

"Don't be. I'm used to him by now. Congratulations, Adam, I know you played your heart out."

"Thanks. Who'd you meet at Bombay's wedding that Portman thought was nice?" Adam asked.

Lizzy sighed. "Michelle MacKay. I know she's a decent person, at least what I got from that ten-minute conversation from her but … I don't know, maybe I'm just being blindsided here and it's throwing me off," Lizzy told him.

"Blindsided by what?" Adam asked.

"Can we finish this conversation when you get back? I'm on minutes here and there's only so many of them," Lizzy said.

"Sure. Just—How was your game?" he asked, cutting himself off mid-sentence.

"Decent. We won of course, but I'd rather be back on Varsity. Those fielders know how to field a ball," Lizzy answered. "I'll see y'all when you get back." They hung up and Lizzy frowned. She stared at her phone for a few more minutes then called Matt.

"Hello?" he asked, picking up.

"Tell me you don't have a game today."

"I do have a game today."

"How soon?"

"More than an hour away. Liz, what's wrong?"

"Have you talked to Dad in the last week?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Did he tell you about Michelle MacKay?"

"Yes. I know it's more change and it's hard to deal with but Dad loves you."

"He's only known her for three months and she's less than 10 years older than you are. How can that be right? She was barely potty trained when he was going into high school."

"I know and it does worry me. I talked to her though."

"You talked to her?"

"Yes. She's very nice and she doesn't want to replace our mom. I know that doesn't mean a whole lot to you because you didn't know Mom but it does mean a lot. She just wants to be a friend to us kids. Dad seems to really love her and I think she really loves Dad."

"I don't want to hurt Dad and I certainly don't want to destroy something that is true and pure and makes him happy, but at the same time … I don't know. For some reason it just feels like it shouldn't be happening."

"I know and I know that part of you is scared she's going to turn out like Alicia but I sense none of that in her. I knew from the jump Alicia wasn't all that interested in us kids. She liked Dad and that apparently was enough for him. Didn't you say Michelle was a teacher?"

"I never said what she did, though she did tutor Team USA. I don't know specifically if that translates to was a teacher."

"Well, to make it through teaching your bunch of friends you either have to be dead inside or love kids. She strikes me as the latter."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Even if I'm not, then you only have to deal with her for a couple weeks this summer and then you never have to see either one of them again."

"I get it."

"I didn't mean to come off so rough. It can be disconcerting when so many changes happen all at once but I think you have a strong support system that will do nearly anything for you if you only ask."

"Yeah, you're right. Good luck tonight."

"Thanks." After hanging up with Matt, she went to eat and found more people than usual in the cafeteria. Soon she found out why. The doors flew open as she was finishing the last of her mashed potatoes and the cafeteria erupted into cheers louder than she had heard in a long time. Lizzy looked up, especially as the JV Ducks stood applauding. There pouring through the doors was the Varsity hockey team and they were heading her way. She stared at them for a moment until Kyle set the State trophy in front of her.

"You were right. We did it."

"See, you didn't even need me."

"Need? No, but it would have been nice to have you there and Coach wanted me to tell you that while he didn't like that you had to make the choice, he understands why you did and he's proud of you for sticking to your guns."

"Thanks, Kyle. Now, I'm sure you all could eat so why don't you go?" Lizzy asked.

"I didn't ask, how was your game?"

"We won."

Kyle nodded and most of the team followed him to get dinner.

After dinner, Adam followed her back to the dorms. He pulled her to sit on the bench in the entryway. "So, tell me about Ms. MacKay," he said.

"I don't know what to say. I feel like she deserves to be happy and if my dad can do that for her then so be it but at the same time …" She stared at the floor and Adam waited. "It's not like my dad and I are close and I think that she's going to mess that up. And sure, maybe the nine years between them is a lot, and maybe he has only known her for three months, but I don't think that's truly what's bothering me."

Adam continued to wait but this time she didn't go on. "Then is it because you're worried she's going to be another woman in your life that turns out like your former step-mom?"

"Maybe. I mean you've met them both, what do you think?"

"That after the way your step-mom treated you for most of your life you do have a right to be concerned about any woman coming into your dad's life even if you only have to deal with them a few times a year. She did a real disservice to the word mom. Ms. MacKay on the other hand, if her parenting is anything like her teaching, I think she'd be a great mom."

"You really think so?"

"The way she called Bombay out on his crap coaching and she was rather decent when any one of us had a problem. I think, and don't take this the wrong way, I think that you should give her a chance like you're doing for Bombay."

Lizzy stared at him. For a moment she wondered if everyone knew about that or if it was just a select few. Either way he was her friend and it didn't really bother her that he knew. "Maybe I should but I don't know when I'll see her. Or if I will before they get married."

"If you don't, I don't think it'll be such a big deal."

"Ok." Lizzy went back to her room and sat down outside her door. As she stared across the hallway her mind played back over the last few days. Part of her wondered why this year was turning out harder than the year before and she figured that was because there were so many more changes this year, but part of her figured it was because she was growing up and the older you got the harder life turned out to be. She wasn't sure if it ever got easier or if that part of her life was over. Her eyes refocused on the red-head suddenly crouching in front of her. The girl tucked a strand behind her own ear before placing her hand back on her knee. Lizzy watched the movement but didn't otherwise react.

"You okay?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know," Lizzy shrugged. "Should I be?"

"Well, your team just won state and I heard you kicked butt on the field today and you've got a really great group of friends. What more can you want?"

"I never thought about it that way."

Ashley held a hand out. "After we lost my dad, my mom said the only way to move forward is to find the best in life. Focus on the good and not the bad." Ashley stood still offering her hand to Lizzy.

Lizzy nodded, considering the words then took the hand, letting Ashley pull her to her feet. "You know, I think you're going to be the best roommate I've ever had," Lizzy said.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "I'm the only roommate you've ever had," Ashley answered sarcastically.

Monday, Lizzy was called out of classes at the end of the day. She arrived in Dean Buckley's office to see the JV and Varsity baseball coaches as well as Bombay.

"Did I do something wrong?" Lizzy asked.

"No. Well yes, but no," Buckley said. "Please, have a seat." Lizzy sat down on the couch as the coaches did as well. Buckley leaned back against his desk. "Do you find me unapproachable, Ms. Jacobs? That you feel like you can't come to me with or that I won't listen to your concerns?"

"Um … No, sir. I know that you care and if you are busy, I can leave word with your assistant and you'll get back to me soon," Lizzy said.

"If you honestly believe that then why not come to me when you didn't make Varsity baseball after your spectacular performance last year?" Buckley asked.

"Because Coach Williamson is the coach and perhaps he sees something in Gary that I can't compensate for or that he's better at that I'm not capable of working on. Either way the coach is the coach and I can't argue with what he thinks is best for the team."

"Where was that stance when it came to Coach Wilson's team? If I remember correctly, you had the entire team mutiny," Buckley said.

"That was different. He said we weren't good enough. I couldn't let that happen. Julie's a great goalie and deserves to play and besides the mutiny wasn't my idea. I just didn't stop it. Dean, why is Coach Bombay here? Am I in that much trouble?"

"Coach Bombay is only here because he knows Minnesota law, not as a coach and not to cover my butt," Buckley said.

"Then? I don't understand."

"Ms. Jacobs," Coach Bobby drew her attention, "do you believe you're good at baseball?"

"Of course I am. My brother Chris made sure of that," Lizzy said.

"What would you say was the speed of your slowest pitch on Saturday?"

"87 miles per hour."

"And number of strikes thrown?"

"55 of the 63 I could have had."

"So essentially you had one inning where you didn't throw a single strike?"

"Right. Two batters hit and were caught out, one walked and was left on base after two foul balls and a third strike."

"Has anyone ever hit your fastball?"

"No."

"Coach Bobby, how would you say she's doing?" Buckley asked.

The JV coach turned to the dean. "Fantastic. And according to these scouting reports, she's one of the best in the league."

"Have you ever coached a player with her stats?"

"Coached? No. Coached against, yes. Back in '90 when Eden Hall played against Stillwater HS. He was a freshman but he was amazing. I'd have said twice but we didn't get to place against Edina High School back then. Tom Nevers was drafted right out of Edina High."

"Really, so just once?" Williamson asked in disbelief.

"Just the once. There have been some decent players drafted out of high school, like I said Tom Nevers was one of them, but I've never seen anyone throw like he did until her and we all know Nevers was a shortstop. I always wondered what happened to him." Coach Bobby looked at her.

Lizzy did the math quickly. Then she smiled. "He injured his right wrist at the end of his senior year so he took a year off for PT. When he recovered, he went to Tennessee and now plays for the Memphis Redbirds. He would have been drafted like Nevers, actually got to play against him in Nevers' senior year and Chris's freshman, but like I said, his injury required time that the majors couldn't give him."

"Your brother." Williamson sighed.

"Yeah. It runs in the family. It's why Bash is so good. When he mentioned those college players who helped him, my brothers. He's my cousin. Coach Williamson, I respect your decision to put Gary Henson instead of me on Varsity and I wish we weren't having this conversation but I'm sure everyone here is wondering the same thing as to why."

"You just don't have the stamina that is required to play at this level."

"And why don't I?" Lizzy asked. Williamson only stared at her. "You won't hurt my feelings. I grew up with four brothers and Coach Wilson was not shy about female hockey players and his feelings about them."

"You're just not built that way."

"Because I'm a girl?"

"Essentially," Williamson agreed.

Lizzy turned a glare back to Dean Buckley and Coach Bombay. "Can I go? I don't want to be late for practice."

"Yes."

"And Dean, next time you want to hire a coach, perhaps ask them that specific question before they actually get the job."

"We will keep that in mind, Ms. Jacobs."

That night Varsity practiced against JV and everyone could see how much better Lizzy was than Gary. He even commented on it. She told him there were no hard feelings because she knew he had no influence over the decision. It was the next day when Dean Buckley met them at the locker room doors and told them that Coach Bobby would be running both JV and Varsity until they hired another coach.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Usually, varsity would have a game this afternoon however Minneapolis Central High has been hit hard with the flu and as such they will play a double header at their next scheduled game, which is good news as we still don't have a varsity coach," Coach Bobby told them as they hit the field Tuesday afternoon. "Instead of running drills though, I'm going to have the two teams play against each other. Henson, you'll pitch for JV, Jacobs for varsity."

"Coach, are you sure?" Lizzy asked.

"Yes. I want to see how you and Marshall work together. Especially if I have to coach Friday's game against St. Paul. Varsity, you'll take the field first."

By Thursday, things changed. Dean Buckley and another man were standing with Coach Bobby on the practice field. "Afternoon everyone," Buckley said. "This is your new varsity baseball coach. I hope you show him the same respect you show Coach Bobby. That said, I will leave you to it and wish you luck against St. Paul this weekend."

Once Buckley left, all eyes turned to their new coach. "Right, well, a little about me. My name is Kurt von Waggoner, like X-Men's Nightcrawler but slightly different. I've coached baseball since my boys were in little league and coached High School for the last seven years at Alexandria High. I've seen your tapes; I know you're good but it's going to take time to see if we work well together."

They got to work and by the end of practice their new coach gathered them. "I can see why your old coach made the decisions he did and I'm going to keep most of them. Smitty, keep an eye on those foul balls. I know it's extra work but it helps." Varsity's new right fielder nodded. "Jonas, your batting needs improvement. Don't swing at everything just because you can. And Henson," the coach stopped and looked at him.

"I know, I know, fastballs are great but it can't be the only tool in your belt, been told that since little league. But if no one can hit it, what difference does it make?"

"That's why I'm putting you back on JV. I could show you why an all-around player is better than a one trick pony but that's not what Varsity is about. Jacobs."

"Here," Lizzy answered.

"You're putting a girl on varsity over him?" All eyes turned toward the speaker and Bash grinned. Lizzy glared and he only shrugged.

"Like I told your school board and Dean Buckley, I have no issue coaching a girl. Gender has very little to do with competency at sports and since I've seen both her brothers play and I saw her tapes from last year, I know she's a competent pitcher. I also played college ball against her father. It runs in the blood. Now, it's late and you need fuel for tomorrow so hit the showers, get some dinner, then get some sleep," Coach Kurt, as he told them to call him, said.

The one thing that Lizzy forgot was though their game against St. Paul was a Friday, the Sadie Hawkins' Dance was the day after. She figured she'd show up for a few hours, or minutes, then head back to her dorm.

Adam, Kenny, and Luis had other plans for her though. Despite Adam and Kenny both having girlfriends, the three of them decided to make sure she was never alone.

With less than 30 minutes left in the dance, Portman plopped down next to her, leaning back against the bleachers behind him.

"Are you four up to something that I should know about?" Lizzy asked eying the man who had gone back to just being a friend.

"Because we want to keep you company?" Portman answered.

"Because I know you Ducks and it's a little odd."

"Despite seeing you a decent amount some of us feel like we don't see you often enough."

Lizzy stared at him but knew there was no chance of getting anything more out of him. Not at the time. "Dance with me, cowboy," she changed the subject.

"No cowboy here," Portman told her. Lizzy rolled her eyes and held out her hand. Portman took it and followed her onto the dance floor. As they danced, Portman looked down at her. Part of him was glad to have her in his arms again but since she wasn't technically his, he knew not to get used to it. There was one thing he had to say though. "I know you don't like a whole lot of change and lately that's all that seems to be happening, but change can be a good thing. Ms. MacKay is a wonderful woman and she's a great friend when you need one. I know if you give her a chance you'll really like her."

"Thanks, Goose, I appreciate the pep talk," was Lizzy's only answer.