Shane was relieved. Once Oliver uttered "Come back, Shane", the ice had been broken, and things seemed more natural between them. They talked about Rita and Norman and about what an incredible team they made inside the DLO and out. They talked about the new smoothie station at the Denver Branch, affectionately dubbed Eleanor's blends. The evening seemed to go by so quickly once they began talking.

Nicki returned to the table with dessert menus. Though neither wanted the evening to end, neither seemed to want dessert. Shane suggested they return to her house where they could continue the conversation on her porch swing, and it had not been a mistake. They talked about the next O'Toole Foundation project, and then Shane steered the conversation to the time Oliver and his father had spent in El Dorado Canyon.

Oliver had shared some of what happened when they were in the chapel at Denver Mercy Hospital, but she knew there'd be more to say. That experience had been life changing, for all of them.

"When dad fell, "Oliver began, "it all seemed so harmless. It was just a small cut. Neither one of us anticipated that he could get sick. It was frightening how quickly he declined. He'd smashed his cell phone when he fell, and we were alone in the woods in the dark, with no way to get help. The only thing I could do was pray for his survival. Before he got sick, he told me I needed to leave my pain on the mountain, and I vowed that if we made it off that mountain together, I would. I wanted desperately to have that chance."

"You're not the only one who prayed that night." Shane said quietly. She looked him in the eye. I went to Joe's. I saw your car there, but neither of you were there." Her face changed, and he could see how deeply shaken she had been.

"I was afraid," she continued, "We couldn't reach Joe, so I called Dale. I knew that she could—and would—help. She listened and called in back up, but as it got darker and darker, and we thought there would not be a search until morning, there was nothing more I could do. I felt so powerless and afraid, and right there in the woods, I knelt down and prayed. She paused, looked at Oliver. "And then, as if by Divine Delivery, Rita and Norman showed up with Sandy".

He wiped a stray tear from her face with his thumb, let it linger a moment, deeply regretting that his misadventure with his father had caused her grief, humbled, because he knew that Shane had struggled with faith, but found it because she was afraid for him . He took it all in. She prayed for us, for me.

He reached for her hand, and as their fingers interlaced, sitting side by side on the porch swing, he felt a deep sense of contentment, like he was home. They fell into a brief silence, this one much more comfortable than the silence of the earlier evening.