mystified her. She never sought companionship of any kind that Fiona knew of.
At first she thought her mother didn’t feel comfortable sharing her sexuality, and when she’d told her mother it was okay if she was gay, Judice had laughed and assured her that if she were interested in women, she’d happily settle down with one. After that, with no further explanation, Fiona had no choice but to spin her own story to fill in those gaps.
In her version her father had died before they could marry and her mom hadn’t gotten over him enough to allow someone else in. Perhaps she couldn’t talk about him because of the pain she was still in. Whoever he was, her father and the rest of her mother’s past were closed subjects.
“I’m hot already,” Judice said as they hugged.
“Some of those guys you flew in with certainly thought so.” Fiona took her mother’s bags, freeing Judice to give her a light slap to her midsection. “You’re beautiful, Mom, accept it.”
“That’s a small consolation. I’m losing my baby to this heat. You’ll have a constant sunburn.”
“I’ve lived in California all my life. I know how to use sunscreen.” They descended on the escalator to baggage claim, and the teasing about her decision started taking on a different tone. Her mom wanted to change her mind but was trying to be subtle about it. “Did you have a nice flight?”
“Small talk, sweetling?” Judice asked with a smile that was the definition of melancholy. “You don’t have to humor me that much.”
“I’ll have to until you admit you’re either pissed with me or something else is going on.” She hefted the hideous pink faux-snakeskin roller bag and led the way to her car. Her mother was right that it was easy to spot on the carrousel, but then she had to walk with the damn thing.
“I’m not upset,” Judice said when they sat next to each other in the garage. “I just don’t understand. You walked a beat for years waiting for that gold shield, and now that you have it, you run and hide down here.” Fiona lowered her head when her mom held her hand. “Tell me why, and I’ll accept it, but I haven’t heard a good reason yet.”
“You’ve kept books all your life, and you were good at it.” Her mom had run her business from a home office, and she vividly remembered the parade of people dropping off and picking up documents and files. She’d never cared since her mom was always close by. “That’s what I want for myself. I worked my ass off to make detective grade, and the brass kept me down for years. When I entered the academy I wasn’t stupid or blind to the boys’ club, but I’m past forty, Mom. I don’t have a lot of time left to make my mark.”
“The force here is that different?”
“It’s good to be needed, and that’s what I have now. They want me on their streets, and they trust my skills to close cases.”
Judice nodded and smiled again, but she still wasn’t happy. Fiona knew better than to push. Her mom would share whatever was on her mind only when she was ready. “Where are you staying? You never said.”
“With a friend for now, but I thought you could help me decide on a place while you’re here.” Fiona glanced at her mom as she handed her credit card to the booth attendant. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find a place close to mine and we can explore together when I’m not working.”
“Maybe,” Judice said with her head turned away from her. “Or you might get homesick.”
“Hopefully I am home, Mom.”
*
“Pull,” Cain said, then tracked the clay pigeon with her shotgun. At the height of its arc, her shot splintered it into pieces. “Pull,” she repeated, so she could empty the other barrel.
“Good shot, Mom,” Hayden said as he waited his turn. The range she’d found was an hour from the house, and after her meeting with Shelby she’d decided they had enough daylight left to go through a box or two of targets. “We need one of these in
At first she thought her mother didn’t feel comfortable sharing her sexuality, and when she’d told her mother it was okay if she was gay, Judice had laughed and assured her that if she were interested in women, she’d happily settle down with one. After that, with no further explanation, Fiona had no choice but to spin her own story to fill in those gaps.
In her version her father had died before they could marry and her mom hadn’t gotten over him enough to allow someone else in. Perhaps she couldn’t talk about him because of the pain she was still in. Whoever he was, her father and the rest of her mother’s past were closed subjects.
“I’m hot already,” Judice said as they hugged.
“Some of those guys you flew in with certainly thought so.” Fiona took her mother’s bags, freeing Judice to give her a light slap to her midsection. “You’re beautiful, Mom, accept it.”
“That’s a small consolation. I’m losing my baby to this heat. You’ll have a constant sunburn.”
“I’ve lived in California all my life. I know how to use sunscreen.” They descended on the escalator to baggage claim, and the teasing about her decision started taking on a different tone. Her mom wanted to change her mind but was trying to be subtle about it. “Did you have a nice flight?”
“Small talk, sweetling?” Judice asked with a smile that was the definition of melancholy. “You don’t have to humor me that much.”
“I’ll have to until you admit you’re either pissed with me or something else is going on.” She hefted the hideous pink faux-snakeskin roller bag and led the way to her car. Her mother was right that it was easy to spot on the carrousel, but then she had to walk with the damn thing.
“I’m not upset,” Judice said when they sat next to each other in the garage. “I just don’t understand. You walked a beat for years waiting for that gold shield, and now that you have it, you run and hide down here.” Fiona lowered her head when her mom held her hand. “Tell me why, and I’ll accept it, but I haven’t heard a good reason yet.”
“You’ve kept books all your life, and you were good at it.” Her mom had run her business from a home office, and she vividly remembered the parade of people dropping off and picking up documents and files. She’d never cared since her mom was always close by. “That’s what I want for myself. I worked my ass off to make detective grade, and the brass kept me down for years. When I entered the academy I wasn’t stupid or blind to the boys’ club, but I’m past forty, Mom. I don’t have a lot of time left to make my mark.”
“The force here is that different?”
“It’s good to be needed, and that’s what I have now. They want me on their streets, and they trust my skills to close cases.”
Judice nodded and smiled again, but she still wasn’t happy. Fiona knew better than to push. Her mom would share whatever was on her mind only when she was ready. “Where are you staying? You never said.”
“With a friend for now, but I thought you could help me decide on a place while you’re here.” Fiona glanced at her mom as she handed her credit card to the booth attendant. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find a place close to mine and we can explore together when I’m not working.”
“Maybe,” Judice said with her head turned away from her. “Or you might get homesick.”
“Hopefully I am home, Mom.”
*
“Pull,” Cain said, then tracked the clay pigeon with her shotgun. At the height of its arc, her shot splintered it into pieces. “Pull,” she repeated, so she could empty the other barrel.
“Good shot, Mom,” Hayden said as he waited his turn. The range she’d found was an hour from the house, and after her meeting with Shelby she’d decided they had enough daylight left to go through a box or two of targets. “We need one of these in
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