"So, Mom, I'm not meaning to sound rude, but why are you here? You haven't been out to visit since we moved."

We're back at the kitchen table. I've pulled out an extra plate to share some of my fettucine.

"Ruby called yesterday and told me you'd had some kind of accident, had been in a coma and that you were now awake and being discharged from the hospital. She said Shaun's gone, so I stopped what I was doing and immediately started making plans to come out to see if you need any help while you're recovering. I didn't even take the time to do the shopping, left your father without any food in the house."

Walt and I exchange looks. It's hard to determine what else Ruby may have told her about Shaun and to be honest, I don't really want to ask.

"Ruby called you?"

"Well, I do seem to talk to her more than I talk to you. You almost never answer that cell phone when I call. I don't even know why you have it if you aren't going to use it. The station has always been the easiest place to catch you, so Ruby and I have spoken many times since you started working for the Sheriff's Department."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. Ruby's a lovely person. Besides, I'm used to you avoiding me. You've been doing it since you were a teenager."

She directs her next comment to Walt, "Has she told you her family nickname? We have Vic the father, Vic the son and then Vic the"

"Holy terror. Yep. She's told me...Vic's talked a lot about her life in Philadelphia. It's nice to finally meet you and put a face to it."

"It's nice to meet you too, Sheriff Longmire. I'd like to say that I've heard a lot about you, but that wouldn't be true. I've only just heard bits and pieces. I'm afraid my daughter has been pretty tight lipped about her life here in Wyoming."

"She has, huh?"

"Yes, almost like it's some secret special place she doesn't want to have to share with anyone else."

"Well, I can honestly say, I've never heard Vic describe Wyoming in quite those terms."

His eyes linger on me long enough for Mom to pause in her eating to look from Walt, to me and back again.

"So, Sheriff, I understand you lost your wife some time ago."

"Mom!"

"It's okay, Vic."

"That must be very difficult for you, managing all alone out here. I mean, there can't be many outlets for you, too many opportunities for...companionship."

"Yes, Ma'am. But, Wyoming's my home. I can't imagine living anywhere else. I've got companionship enough."

"Now Sheriff, I thought I told you to call me Lena. It's not necessary to be so formal. Besides, I can't be that much older than you are."

I fight to keep from rolling my eyes.

"Okay."

"You know, that's the one thing I'm thankful for with Victoria being so far away from family, that she's not alone. I mean, I know Shaun travels a lot for work, but she still has someone to look after her." She turns her attention toward her daughter, "When will Shaun be back home?

"Back?"

"Yes, when Ruby called she said he was in Alaska for work."

"Did she say anything else...about Shaun?"

"No. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

I stand up and gather the empty plates from the table. Walt stands also, grabbing his own plate before I can pick it up, "Let me help you."

He follows me to the sink, leans in and speaks just loud enough for me to hear him over the water I'm running to rinse the dishes, "You okay?"

I give a short nod.

"Okay."

He squeezes my shoulder with his free hand, "You know, Vic, I probably need to be going."

I don't want him to leave but I'm not sure how to convey that without giving anything away to my mother. She protests herself, "So soon? But Sheriff, We're just starting to get acquainted."

"Yes, but I have some things I need to wrap up at the office before I can be finished for the night. Lena, it's been a pleasure."

"The pleasure's all mine, Sheriff."

The next morning...

The intercom beeps and Ruby's voice fills my office, "Walt, you have a call on line one. It's Vic."

"Hello."

"You're a coward, you know that?"

"Seems to be the general consensus lately. How'd things go with your mom after I left?"

"Fine, no thanks to you. I cannot believe you left as soon as she started asking questions about Shaun. You could have stayed and helped me field questions, or at least have offered moral support."

"Isn't that why your mother's here? To help you and offer moral support."

"Shut up."

I chuckle to myself.

"Well, I didn't need to be there for that conversation. I thought it was something the two of you needed to discuss by yourselves. Besides, I wanted to catch Cady before she left work so she could just head home instead of going to your place. Did you know your mother was coming to visit?"

"No. Apparently Ruby forgot to tell me she had called her the day I was discharged from the hospital. I talked to her a minute before she transferred me to you. She said she had realized that Shaun probably wasn't going to contact any of my family and thought they needed to know what had happened. She feels bad for not calling my parents as soon as I passed out and she also feels bad for neglecting to tell me when she finally did call them. But, you know Ruby, she does guilt well. I'm not mad at her or anything. She did the right thing. The family probably needed to know and I certainly wasn't going to call them after the fact."

"So, how'd your mom take the news?"

"Which news? The accident or my divorce?"

"Both"

"Well, I'm from a family of cops, so mom is pretty used to injuries. She's just glad I wasn't shot. She said I'm hard headed enough to fully recover from any head injury I might sustain."

"She's probably right about that. What about the divorce?"

"She's disappointed, as any good Catholic mother should be. I got a stern lecture about the sanctity of marriage and had to listen to a recap of all the obstacles she and my father have overcome to remain together, as if I didn't live through them. As twisted as it sounds though, it helped soften the blow when I told her how Shaun refused to come back from Alaska while I was unconscious. She was furious. Said if my father or bothers ever get a hold of him after hearing that, that Shaun will regret the day he was born. "

"So, your parents, they've had some troubles?"

"Dad is obsessed with two things: work and opera, not necessarily in that order. That hasn't always left much time for his wife. His priorities have sometimes been pretty out of whack. In an effort to get his attention, Mom had an affair with another officer in his precinct. It got pretty ugly. That's the nutshell version. I don't want to bore you with all the details. But, they're still together and relatively happy now.

"That's good."

"She thinks you're handsome, you know."

"I thought she was relatively. happily married?"

"She would say she's married, not blind."

"Well then, she has good taste."

"It's disgusting. The last thing I need right now is for my mother to be hot for my boss."

"Your boss?"

"Well, you are still my boss aren't you?"

"Yes, but is that all I am?"

"Not if I have my way."

"Good, because eventually I'd like to have my way."

"Walt Longmire, are you flirting with me?"

"I'm trying. How am I doing?"

"So far, so good. You should keep practicing though."

"Sure thing."

"So, Mom has requested for you to join us for lunch today."

"Where?"

"Where else?"

"The Bee it is then. What time?"

"How about 11:00? I'd like to get in and out before the regular lunch crowd arrives. I certainly don't want to run into Omar today. If he and my mother start talking, I'm screwed."

"I don't know. If they started talking we'd probably be able to sneak out the back door and they'd never notice."

"Now that sounds like a good plan."