Chapter 1

As the sun was brightening the sky, Shane sat on her porch swing with a cup of coffee. Her wedding day finally arrived, and she was wondering what Oliver was up to that morning. Her mother opened the front door peaking her head out, "Morning Crackers."

Shane rolled her eyes as her mom sat down on the swing next to her. "Morning Mom."

"I'm glad I've had this week with you."

"I'm grateful Oliver arranged for you to come. It's been wonderful to have you here and being able to catch up. Thanks again for all the help packing. I couldn't have gotten everything done on my own."

"Having the time here and getting to know Oliver & his father has given me peace of mind."

"What do you mean peace of mind?" Shane asked curiously.

"When I came out to visit after your engagement, I could tell you were in love and I really liked Oliver. There wasn't much time to get to know him and marriage is a big commitment. I've prayed for so long that you could find the right partner. Oliver is loving, smart, and thoughtful. You're marrying a very impressive man that loves you and loves God."

"He is a wonderful man. You really prayed for me to get married?" Shane asked surprised.

"Not specifically. I prayed you could find someone to share your life with that loved you and made you a priority. Shane dear, you tended to date men that were unavailable in some way or put other things first. When I first heard you mention Oliver after you moved out here, I could tell from your voice and how you spoke about him you thought he was someone special. He was still married at that point. It concerned me. By the time you started dating, he was no longer married. I had no way of knowing that he was different from the other men you've dated. It didn't take long after meeting him to realize he was completely in a category all his own."

"Oliver is unique. I'd never met anyone like him." Shane said wryly. "We're friends as well as being more. He taught me to have hope and to believe in miracles. He's my complete opposite in so many ways but somehow we work."

"I know that now. I can see that you bring out the best in one another. You fell in love with someone that can not only say the right things but actually does the right things."

"While Oliver does have a way with words, his actions are often much more indicative of how he feels about things."

"Actions do speak louder than words."

They were both thoughtful for a moment before her mother asked curiously, "How in the world do you focus on work at the DLO?" She sighed, "He's so handsome and some of the looks he gives you...The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space."

"Mom," Shane said embarrassed and trying not to laugh. She forgot she got her curiosity from her mother.

"I didn't say it. Marilyn Monroe." She said sheepishly.

"Oliver doesn't believe in rushing into anything. After his first marriage, he wanted to do everything he could to make sure we were starting off in the best manner possible. Oliver and I wanted a solid foundation. We went through pre-marital counseling talking through a lot of topics together and with the pastor while we were engaged. We both thought it was better not to rush things physically until we talked through how we felt about the issues that usually caused problems in a marriage. We haven't… We've never..."

"Been together." Her mother finished. "I wondered from the way he looks at you. Sometimes the looks he gives you could start a forest fire. How are you feeling about tonight?"

"So many things." Shane admitted quietly. "He was every bit the gentleman while we were dating. Oliver was always the first to set boundaries and pull back. When we were engaged, he let go a little more after asking if I was comfortable first. Although Oliver's version of letting loose is drastically different than the general populations." Shane paused unsure how to explain all the emotions running through her head, "Oliver's been married before. I've never even lived with anyone. I feel as if I'm about to dive into the ocean when I've barely learned how to doggy paddle in a kiddie pool."

"Shane any experience or relationships you've had in the past..." Her mother paused already having said her piece about how she felt about Shane's previous choices in men. "Every relationship is different. Anybody that spends even a short amount of time around you together can see Oliver loves you so very much Shane. The relationship the two of you have built together, the care you take with one another, if you both put the work in that won't change when you get married. If he's a gentleman enough to wait the entire time you dated, and he asked before taking things to another level while you were engaged, he'll ensure things are right tonight."

Shane tried to change the subject, "I really had no idea how much my life was going to change when I moved to Denver. When I first got here, I thought I landed in an alternate universe and that the whole transfer was a mistake. For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." She smiled slightly, "I wouldn't have known that verse when I moved here."

"After your father left, you started to keep people at a distance, keep God at a distance. I was so overwhelmed at the time I didn't notice at first. Over the years it became more ingrained, then when Alex started to have her problems, it became fully entrenched. Oh, I know you've had friends, but I was always worried about how cynical you'd become. Since you've moved here, you've changed, you've softened, and you let people in more now. I'm pleased to see you let God into your life."

"It started with Rita and Norman. They are both so sweet and supportive you can't help but love them. Oliver and I found early on we'd experienced some of the same hurt in life getting left behind. It made it easy to understand where the other person was coming from. We've all changed and grown as we became a family."

"Joe and Bill seem like they're both great dads."

"You have no idea." Shane said laughing. "When the DLO office moved, I was trying to hang up a frame. I missed and managed to punch a hole through the wall into what we found was another room. It was going to take maintenance six months to show up to fix everything. Joe arrived with tools. Together he and Bill completely fixed the room, the wall and sorted it all out in a couple days."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there more for you as things got difficult over the years. You were always the stronger one and sometimes I'd forget you'd need me too."

Shane placed a hand on her arm, "I understood. It couldn't have been easy raising us on your own. Did it bother you I asked Joe to walk me down the aisle?"

Her mother put an arm around her and leaned her head against Shane's. "Oh, honey. I know you didn't have the best relationship with your father before he died. I don't care how old you get it's always nice to have a dad on which you can rely. If you found that with Joe, it would never bother me. I would like to be able to spend more time with you and Oliver after you get settled. I was wondering if I could come at Thanksgiving if you're both not too busy at work?"

"We'd love to have you here. Things at work usually start to get busy the day after Thanksgiving." Shane said.

"Alex is still sleeping. I'm happy you've both made attempts to reach out to each other. I know it will take time to build trust again with Alex, but it's been nice to have us together again. We've got a lot to get done today. Should we go wake her?"

"I'll let you. She never was a morning person," Shane said smiling as they headed inside. She turned back to glance at the porch swing looking forward to it sitting on the porch at her new home.