Chapter 1 – New Horizons

Monday evening Oliver was driving Shane to his house for dinner. Since getting engaged, carpooling to work, and eating dinner together in the evening had become routine. Listening to the radio during the rides frequently started discussions on differing musical tastes. Oliver tended to prefer the classics and Shane enjoyed a more eclectic range of music. Normally Oliver would comment about Shane not picking a station when she jumped from station to station, but this evening he was quiet. As she was shifting through stations, Shane thought he had been rather distracted all day.

When Shane arrived at work that morning, Oliver had not seen her since Friday. Rita and Shane had enjoyed a girl's day shopping and then relaxing at a spa the previous Saturday. Shane was sporting a new hairstyle for the spring that was slightly shorter & more layered. She was wearing tan pants with high heeled boots and a new boat neck sweater that matched her eyes. Oliver commented "she uh, looked different" under his breath on his way out of the DLO to a department meeting. Upon his return, he finished work at his desk, while Shane, Norman and Rita continued to work on the unattached items bin.

Shane watched him thoughtfully when he pulled the car into the driveway. As they entered the house, Shane asked, "What are we making for dinner?"

"I made lasagna last night. I can put it in once the oven has warmed."

He helped her off with her coat and hung it in the closet. "I can start a salad to go with it," Shane said as they started towards the kitchen.

"I already made that as well. I prefer a less complicated salad than your science experiments."

Shane smiled, "What happened to exploring new horizons?"

Oliver grinned to himself taking the lasagna out from the fridge. "Could you set the table while I get this started?" Shane picked up the placemats and napkins heading towards the table. He heated up the oven.

Shane glanced towards Oliver. "Is everything ok?"

Oliver placed the lasagna in the oven and found the salad to go with the meal. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Shane was placing silverware on the table. "Oh, you seemed distracted today. I wasn't sure if you were worried about anything or if you were just being contemplative?" She went to a shelf to pick up glasses as he put the salad on the table.

Oliver slowly rounded the island in the middle of the kitchen placing his hand on the edge of the counter next to her. "I was very distracted, which led to being contemplative." Sighing he leaned in closer placing his other hand at her waist. Shane stilled with one hand gripping the edge of the shelf and the other on a glass.

Even after their engagement, Oliver didn't initiate physical interactions very often, allowing Shane to set the pace in that part of their relationship. Shane smiled slightly. "Was there something in particular you found distracting?"

"I try to keep things professional at the office. It would have been unprofessional of me to tell Ms. McInerny that her new hairstyle and sweater put me in mind of exploring new horizons," Oliver said slowly running a finger along her neck to brush her hair out of the way.

"I didn't think you liked it," Shane replied as his finger continued running down her shoulder to the edge of the sweater.

"Shane, my love, the only thing I didn't like, was needing to wait until we left the office to fully demonstrate my opinion regarding the subject. It made focusing today rather difficult." Shane's smile widened as she leaned her head back against his shoulder. She let go of the glass to take his hand on the counter. Oliver took his free hand and tilted her head to give him more room to place a kiss on her neck.

They both distantly heard the doorbell ring. Oliver kissed his way up to Shane's ear. "Maybe they'll go away," Oliver said. Shane turned around reaching her arms around his neck to play with his hair. "One can hope." Oliver brushed his lips against hers as he ran a hand through her hair and another down her back pulling her closer.

Persistent knocking on the door was followed by its opening. "Oliver, you here? I saw your car outside." Shane whispered, "No, no, no, no."

"In the kitchen Dad." Oliver gave her one last kiss and walked towards the front of the house to give her a moment. Shane leaned back against the counter wondering what had gotten into Oliver. She sighed while she straightened her hair and sweater.

"I was dropping the tools off I borrowed this weekend. Dinner smells great." Joe O'Toole noticed his son was a bit flustered. Oliver tried to stall Joe in the entryway asking about what tools he borrowed. Joe was a little confused since Oliver had helped him load them in the truck when he picked them up.

When they stepped back into the kitchen, Shane's face was still a bit flushed. "Would you like to stay for dinner? There's plenty of lasagna." Shane turned to finish taking the glasses off the shelf. "I was just setting the table. We can add one more."

Joe saw Oliver's reaction and realized he must have interrupted something. "That would be great. I was going to pick up something on the way home, but this way I can catch up with you two." Joe said teasingly, "Shane you have a bit of a glow it must be the new hair. You look beautiful."

"Dad why don't we get those tools unloaded while we can still see outside." The two men headed outside leaving Shane to finish setting the table. By the time they were done putting things away, Shane had dinner and drinks on the table.

When they returned, they washed up and sat down with Shane at the table. Joe asked, "How are wedding plans going?"

"With the holiday rush and then Valentine's Day last week, we haven't had time to look into much. We're looking forward to finally having time to put some plans in place." Oliver reached over to take Shane's hand. "We wanted to be able to put our full attention on the wedding once we started."

"I've been thinking, what about towards the end of May? The weather would be nice enough to have an outdoor reception after a service at your church Oliver." Shane paused, "Could you check with the pastor next week? We really need to pick a date before we start planning any other details."

"I think a Spring wedding will be wonderful. I can help in any way you need," Joe offered. "This lasagna is really good. Did you or Oliver make it?"

"Oliver made it last night. He doesn't always fully appreciate my experiments in the kitchen," Shane replied smiling at Oliver. "It is really good."

"Dad, how's the gardening coming? Are you going to be volunteering again this spring?" Oliver changed the subject as they were finishing with the meal.

"It's coming along. We've got more people involved with the community garden this year. It probably won't be as much work as it was last year." Joe stood with his plate, "Are you done Shane? I can take it over to the sink."

"Thanks. Would you like dessert? Rita and I went by a bakery this weekend while we were shopping. I brought the brownies from the trip."

"That sounds great." Joe noticed Shane seemed at home in Oliver's kitchen as she went to get the brownies and placed them on plates from the cupboard. It was good to see them happy together after what he had heard about Oliver's previous marriage.

As they were finishing dessert, Shane was having difficulty hiding a yawn. Oliver glanced over, "I can clean everything up later. It's been a long day. I should get you home."

Joe interjected, "I can take her home." Joe could tell by the look on Oliver's face the offer wasn't completely appreciated. "I'll go clean off the other seat in the truck while you two say your goodbyes," Joe suggested. At that Oliver's face brightened somewhat. As Joe stepped outside, he had difficulty not laughing at Oliver's transparent desire to spend as much time with Shane as possible. He hoped they could pull off a wedding as quickly as they discussed this evening.

"Thank you for asking my dad to stay for dinner." As they stood in the entryway, Oliver wrapped his arms around Shane's waist as she moved her arms around his neck.

"I enjoy spending time with your Dad."

"The feeling is mutual." Oliver leaned his forehead against hers.

"Before we were interrupted, you mentioned you were distracted today?" Shane asked.

"I believe I was demonstrating how your new look was challenging my ability to focus on work because it made me think of other activities," Oliver teased.

Shane smiled, "I'll keep the sweater for date nights and the weekends."

"As for what else I was contemplating maybe we can talk tomorrow night." Oliver kissed her goodnight. He stepped away but held onto her hand to walk her outside to his dad's truck.

On the ride to her house, Joe told stories about Oliver when he was younger. "Oliver always asked hard questions. Keeping a step ahead of him always made me up my game," Joe said.

"I know what you mean. Between debating in high school and philosophy classes in college, I thought I learned how to look at things from different angles. There's still times I struggle with how his mind works," Shane responded.

"Oliver told me you lost your dad before you moved out to Denver?" Joe asked.

"In some ways I lost him long before. He left our family when I was 10 and we never saw him much after that. He died before I moved to Denver," Shane explained.

"I'd like you to feel comfortable coming to me if you need anything. I'm grateful for everything you've done to bring Oliver back into my life. You've made him happy and it's good for him when you push him out of his comfort zone now and then."

"Like when you signed him up to play baseball?" Shane laughed as she reached out to touch his arm. "I don't like to see Oliver hurting. Being estranged from you hurt him."

Joe pulled up in front of Shane's house and exited the truck to walk her to the door. "Thank you for bringing me home," Shane said as she unlocked the front door.

"Anytime. I meant what I said about if you ever need anything," Joe replied.

Shane turned to look at Joe, biting her lip, uncertain how to ask. "There is one thing. When Oliver and I get married, could you…would you…" Shane took a breath and said shyly with tears filling her eyes, "would you walk me down the aisle?"

"I'd be honored." Joe gave her a hug. "We're family now."