Chapter 31

Later the next week Oliver came home after choir to a silent house. He knew Shane was home because her car was in the garage. After looking in the guestroom and bedroom he didn't find her. Gryffin met him in the hallway. "Where is she Gryffin?" Gryffin turned around and headed towards his office. Shane rarely came in there without him. It was the one room in the house she hadn't changed anything and left it as his space. He could hear music softly coming out of the room as he approached. Recognizing Lauren Daigle's 'Remember' he stopped at the door.

Shane was curled up on his chair with Raven's head resting on her lap. She was wrapped in one of his flannel work shirts as a jacket while silently crying. Coming into the room he asked, "Shane, love, what happened?"

"My mom called. Alex is back in rehab."

"I'm sorry." He knelt next to her wiping her tears. "How long has it been going on this time?"

"Evidently since right before Christmas. I don't understand why she can't see what this does to herself and our family." Shane said angrily.

"Addiction isn't something that is easily explained." Oliver said sighing. He turned the music off so they could talk.

"I borrowed your shirt." Shane said sniffling. She'd needed his arms around her, and it was the next best thing.

Oliver stood up and he pulled her out of his chair sitting with her on his lap putting his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder hugging him. "How's your mom handling the situation?"

"She's upset. I was afraid to ask any details when I'm this angry. I didn't want to upset her more."

"Shane if Alex were Diabetic would you blame her for winding up in the hospital?"

"If she was there because she chose to eat an entire cake and went into a Diabetic coma I would." She said testily.

"It's hard watching someone you love make bad choices. My point I was trying to make is addiction is a disease. There's a choice in taking that first step but afterwards the spiral out of control is the disease. Think about how hard it was to give up coffee and how hard would it be for you to give up chocolate?"

"The mediocre chocolate or the really good stuff?" Shane responded trying to avoid the question.

"The seriously mouth-watering delectable stuff." Oliver answered. "Think about never being able to feel the sweet melting gooey goodness again. How hard would it be to walk away?"

"Really hard." Shane said sighing at the thought. "I get the point you're trying to make. With the high Alex gets it's even harder to walk away."

"Let's try to focus on the positive. She's willing to try to get help." Oliver said. "It's got to be hard on her knowing she's messed up again letting her family down. All we can do is keep praying and be there for your mom and her when she gets out again. Do you think the divorce triggered things?"

"Probably although a stubbed toe could trigger things with Alex." Shane said sarcastically.

Oliver took a deep breath knowing he didn't have the years of history and hurt with Alex Shane did. "Have you had any dinner?"

"No. I wasn't hungry."

"Why don't you take a warm bath while I make dinner. Try to relax a little. Read a book or watch something on your tablet to get your mind off things." Oliver suggested.

"Ok." Shane said reluctantly getting up.

After he was sure Shane was occupied, he called her mother to get more details while he made dinner. Finding out that supposedly there was only a couple incidents before Alex came to Anna asking for help paying for rehab again, Oliver felt slightly relieved. Reminding Anna to pay the rehab facility directly, she responded, "Believe me this isn't my first rodeo Oliver. Already done." He was off the phone before Shane returned.

Sitting down to dinner Oliver started updating Shane on staffing for the retirement home. "Do you really think everything will be ready to go in time for when the opening is scheduled?"

"I think so. We can fly out for the opening and spend a couple extra days if you'd like to spend some time with your mom."

"That would be great."

While cleaning up the kitchen, Oliver could tell Shane was wiped out. As they finished, he said, "I'll take the dogs for a walk and maybe we should go to bed early tonight."

"I already took them." Shane said leaning against him. "I was so angry when I got off the phone. I needed a distraction. We could still go to bed early."

Oliver made some tea while Shane changed. Taking it into the bedroom he found her skimming through one of the fertility books he'd picked up. "Did you know some fish have really high mercury levels? We need to be more careful when shopping for groceries." Oliver told her seriously while handing her a decaf tea in a USPS mug.

She sat it down laughing. "I love you Oliver. What else have you learned?"

He looked at her quizzically while looking for his pajamas, "I'm not sure why you find mercury levels in fish funny Shane."

"It's not the fish. I find the change in Oliver O'Toole's nightly reading material hilarious." She said smiling at him while taking a sip of tea. "What other fun facts have you learned?"

He finished changing before returning to sit next to her. "We already eat pretty healthy other than someone's chocolate fixation. Did you know avocados reduce inflammation?" He asked while gently rubbing her neck.

"I did not." She said trying not to smile at how seriously he was taking this. "Am I going to be seeing a lot of salmon and avocados in our meals?"

He moved behind her to rub her back, "Possibly. Also, your cutting down on the coffee is a good move. The caffeine causes dehydration, and the amount of sugar you use can create insulin issues. I put honey in your tea. Natural sweeteners are easier on your system.

"I thought it tasted different. I actually like it." She was slowly relaxing as he moved his way down her back.

"Also, you need to avoid low fat dairy and soy products. Soy products can disrupt your hormone balance by mimicking estrogen."

Shane snickered at the idea of Oliver worried about her estrogen levels. "We wouldn't want that occurring."

Seeing she was more relaxed he moved her hair over her shoulder to brush his lips against the back of her neck. "No, we wouldn't. The vitamins the doctor gave you are they for folic acid?" He asked his lips moving to her shoulder.

"Hm..." Shane was struggling to focus, feeling his hands on her back and his lips dusting her skin, vitamins were the last thing on her mind. "Sure."

As he kissed his way back to her other shoulder he smiled slightly, "Shane do you even know what I asked?"

"Not really." She said turning to kiss him hands diving into his hair stopping him from roaming again. Lips occupied his hands gently pulled her closer before he leaned back taking her with him. The tea got cold as they became immersed with each other.

Much later Oliver tried again, "About that folic acid?"

Shane took an extra pillow and put it over her head. He could vaguely hear, "Go to sleep Oliver."