Cole put a hand over his heart.
“That sounds like a loyal man.”
“He yelled at you a lot too.”
“That sounds even more loyal.”
Maisie laughed, and hearing that laugh in a stadium Gavin had always wanted to bring her to nearly broke me.
Cole asked for the football.
Then he pulled a marker from his pocket.
“I usually just sign my name, but I think this one needs something better.”
He wrote slowly across the white panel.
When he handed it back, Maisie read the message.
For Maisie and Gavin — keep watching together.
Her lips trembled.
She hugged the ball against her chest and
started crying again.
Cole looked at me with mild panic.
“Did I make it worse?”
I shook my head while wiping my own face.
