Chapter Sixteen: Stubborn
Keith knew something was wrong the minute he opened the door and saw Veronica standing there with all three boys. "Honey what's wrong?" Keith asked, pulling his daughter into a hug before taking Levi and Tony from her.
She wasn't sobbing, but she had unshed tears in her eyes. "We had a fight." Veronica would usually never start crying over a fight with Lamb; they fought all the time, especially over cases. But this was different, Keith could tell.
They put the boys in Keith's room before sitting on the couch. Veronica stared at her hands and Keith asked, "Don't you two fight a lot?"
"Well yeah," Veronica replied, "but never like this." Her eyes darted to her father's face. She sighed and shifted so she was stretched out on the couch. "We were arguing over a case, as usual." She chuckled slightly at that.

"Veronica, stay out of this," Lamb growled.
Veronica put her hands on her hips. "Why? Give me a real reason, Lamb."
Ooh last name, Lamb thought. "This guy's dangerous, Veronica. I don't want you getting hurt."
Veronica crossed her arms now. "I can take care of myself."
"I know you can, but-"
"It's not like I purposely get myself into trouble!"
Somehow the fight escalated even more. Pretty soon, the couple were screaming at each other. And then Veronica slipped. "It's not like I almost got myself killed with a baseball bat because I was too stubborn to take back up! I'm stronger than you were! You almost died three times! I would be doing this whether you were here or not!" She froze as the anger drained from Lamb's face. It was replaced by a stone faced Lamb. His mouth was turned down in a frown and his eyes grew darker. She watched as he looked around. "Lamb-""I'm going out," he said. "I'll be back later." He grabbed his jacket and keys and left, leaving his phone on the counter.

"I've never even brought up him almost dying," Veronica said to Keith. "Never. And I pretty much told him I didn't care if he died or not. I'm a terrible wife."
"I'm sure he didn't take it that way."
"He did, I know he did. Dad, he left his phone. He didn't want me to call him." She dropped her head on her arms, suddenly exhausted. "He didn't want me near him."
Keith stood up. "Want some ice cream?"
She nodded glumly.
Keith kissed her head and grabbed his jacket. "I'm gonna run out and get some. I'll be back soon." He smiled at his daughter as he left the apartment. As soon as the door was closed, his smile faded. He knew where to find Lamb.
Keith stepped into the bar, looking around for any sign of the sheriff. He almost left disappointed when he caught sight of the man sitting in a corner. He weaved through the crowd and approached the table. Lamb was looking down at the table, one arm used to lean on the table and the other was running along the rim of the glass. Keith silently slid into the seat across from him.
"She told you, huh?" Lamb said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah." Keith clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "Want to talk?"
Lamb shook his head with a sigh. He looked up at the older man. "She and the boys okay?"
"Besides the fact she showed up at my door in tears, she's fine."
Lamb shook his head. "I hurt her, I know. But I needed time alone."
"She didn't mean it. She said it just slipped out because of the fight."
"I get that," Lamb said, leaning back against his chair. "And what sucks even more is that it was true. I almost died because I was too stubborn to admit I needed back up."
If someone had told Keith two years ago that he'd be trying to fix Lamb and Veronica's relationship, he would've called them crazy or shot them with his gun. But there he was, sitting in a bar across from the broken sheriff. "If you just talked about it-"
Lamb's bitter laugh cut him off. "Whenever we try to talk after fights, one of us ends us angrier than before. We figured out it's better to just let each other cool off for a bit before trying to talk."
"Do you wanna know something Lamb?" The sheriff's silence told Keith to continue. So he did. "Leanne and I fought constantly after I was...removed from sheriff. Before Leanne left, we fought over the littlest things, sometimes about nothing at all. I know it hurt Veronica. Some nights, I'd notice her peeking through our bedroom door, and I'd shut up. I'd tell Leanne I was tired and I'd go to bed. Leanne always left. I want my grandsons to grow up with parents who talk things out. Not walk away like Leanne or me." Keith stood up. He clapped Lamb on the shoulder briefly, saying, "Choice is yours Sheriff. You can choose to take it or wave as it goes by."
Later that night, Keith was sitting in the living room with Veronica. The lights were off and the TV was on the news. Keith had brought back ice cream, and she'd gratefully accepted it. Keith mentioned nothing of his talk with Lamb. When his son-in-law came back, Keith wanted Veronica to think he'd come back on his own. If Lamb told her, then there was nothing Keith could do.
"Can we stay here tonight?" Veronica asked softly, glancing up at her father. Before Keith could even nod, there was a knock at the door. Keith stood up, hiding a smile, and opened the door.
"I made my choice," Lamb said softly. "Is Veronica here?"
Keith nodded and stepped aside, letting the sheriff in. As he closed the door, Lamb sat on the floor beside Veronica, who was now lying on her side, staring at her husband.
"I'm sorry I walked out," he said.
Wordlessly, Veronica grabbed her purse and took out a phone. She tossed it to Lamb. "You left this."
Lamb flipped the phone over in his hands a few times before his blue eyes locked on his wife's upset blues. "I shouldn't have walked out."
"I shouldn't have said what I did." Veronica sat up and sank to the floor beside him. "I'm sorry, Don. I didn't mean it."
He took her hand. "Yeah, I know." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I love you, you know."
"I know." She leaned over to kiss him softly. Then Tony woke up, whimpering, and Lamb went to get him. As soon as the blue eyed sheriff was out of the room, Veronica stood up and hugged Keith. "Thank you."
Keith pulled back. "For what?"
"For talking to Lamb." Veronica grinned before wheeling around and heading toward her family.
Keith watched her go. He was proud of Veronica...of both of them. Despite how stubborn they both were, they would always find a way to deal with their issues. Even if one stormed off, they'd resolve it.
A lot better than Leanne and me, Keith thought as he went to help the young parents.