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Lars wrapped her back up in his arms. I met his gaze, wishing I knew what to say.
Several people came down from upstairs and introduced themselves. I met Annie’s brother and sister-in-law, Annie’s parents, and one of Sawyer’s best friends.
Wes came back into the living room and we were all standing around talking when Sawyer walked downstairs. As soon as he saw the three of us, his eyes welled with tears. My throat tightened as Wes embraced Sawyer. It was devastating seeing my tall, broad-shouldered, seemingly fearless teammate crying so hard that his shoulders shook.
“We all loved her,” Wes said.
He was crying, too. Hell, we all were. I wiped at the corners of my eyes and hugged Sawyer.
“I’m so sorry, man. I wish I knew something better to say.”
“Nothing helps, anyway,” Sawyer said, pulling away from me and embracing Lars.
“What can we do for you?” Wes asked him. “Anything you need.”
Sawyer shook his head. “I don’t know. I appreciate you guys coming. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I know it’s the playoffs, but—”
“Hockey’s just a game,” I said, interrupting him. “Annie was your whole life. Take the time you need.”
He nodded, looking numb. “I can’t imagine ever playing again. I can’t imagine…”
When he broke down again, his mom came over and put an arm around him.
“This isn’t the time for anything but grieving,” she said softly. “You don’t need to do anything else.”
Sawyer nodded, wiping his hands across his cheeks and composing himself. Then he held his hand out to Wes for a handshake.
“I want to thank you for the way you welcomed us when we came here,” he said solemnly. “Hadley and Sheridan were the first friends Annie had here, and the past six months—” Tears welled in his eyes and he cleared his throat. “We felt like we had family here. Going to games and cookouts and birthday parties…it meant a lot to Annie. Thank you for that.”
“You guys do have family here,” Wes said. “I meant it when I said we’re here for whatever you need. We’ll be checking up on you so much it gets annoying.”
Sawyer smiled. “I’m used to you guys annoying me.”
My gaze landed on a wall of framed photos. Sawyer and Annie on their wedding day, looking into each other’s faces adoringly. The two of them with a dog. Annie standing in a field of sunflowers, smiling radiantly, with a bright pink scarf covering her head.
Fuck. It was like a punch in the gut for me to look at those pictures, so I could only imagine what that would feel like for Sawyer in the days and weeks to come.
“I’ll be watching the game tonight,” Sawyer said. “Win it, okay? I appreciate you guys coming by. Sorry I’m such a mess.”
“Don’t apologize,” Wes said. “You’ll be with us in spirit, and Annie will be, too.”
Sawyer nodded, looking unsure and lost.
Lars clapped him on the shoulder and said something in Swedish. It was rare for him to speak in his native tongue, and we all listened in earnest.
“That is a proverb that means shared joys are doubled and shared sorrows are halved,” he said to Sawyer. “We are here to share in your sorrow, my friend, now and always.”
Sometimes Lars butchered the English language; other times, he was more eloquent than I could ever be.
“Love you, man,” I said to Sawyer, embracing him again.
We left then, taking note of and ignoring the photographers trying to snap photos from the end of Sawyer’s privacy gate. We drove back to the arena in near silence, and as we pulled in, there were more photographers waiting.
“Game faces, boys,” Wes said. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Sariah
* * *
I hadn’t known Annie Cain, but my heart broke for everyone in the Mavericks organization that did. Monique had been quiet and teary-eyed for most of the morning, and even the sales guys seemed subdued. Monique was putting together a short video tribute that would be shown tonight at the game in Annie’s honor, and it was hard to believe the beautiful, vibrant young woman in all the pictures was dead. And poor Sawyer. I couldn’t fathom what he was going through right now.
Nash had come up with my midmorning Starbucks, but even though he smiled and we chatted for a few minutes, he definitely wasn’t himself. Those who had offices stayed in them, mostly behind closed doors, and the rest of us did our best to hold down the fort. I spent most of the day answering the phone since so many of my colleagues sounded too depressed to take sales calls. It was good in a way, because it kept me busy and distracted. I might not have known Annie, but Sawyer came around now and then, just like the others, signing postcards and doing whatever he could to help us sell ticket packages.
