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Shelby and John first met at Kiki and Randon Kruse’s wedding in August of 2020 just outside John’s hometown of Saratoga, WY. John asked Shelby to dance during the band’s last song (probably by design), and for about fifteen seconds they enjoyed a dance together. Fortunately, the evening continued at the wedding’s afterparty where John and Shelby spent hours conversing and getting to know one another.

At the time, John was living between Midland, Texas, and Saratoga, while Shelby was in Castle Rock, Colorado. So, after the wedding weekend in Saratoga, they parted ways. However, they remained in touch, and a few weeks later John drove through Denver and took Shelby out to dinner before heading to Texas.

There was an instant connection and mutual fondness. Shelby was impressed by John’s intelligence and authenticity, and John found Shelby engaging and beautiful. Although they had over 600 miles between them, Shelby and John couldn’t pass up such an undeniable affinity for each other, so they decided to continue talking and traveling to spend time together.

In October of 2020, John invited Shelby to his family’s ranch in Saratoga, the XH Ranch. Unbeknownst to Shelby, John had big plans for them, along with his mother, Laura, to complete the labor-intensive project of clearing unwanted rose bushes, complete with chainsaws, thick leather gloves, and work boots. Remarkably, they had a great time, and it soon became clear that they were crazy about each other. Thus began a long-distance relationship.

They both made frequent travel plans to see each other and visited places like Big Bend National Park and Steiner Valley Ranch in Texas, skied with Shelby’s friends in Telluride, Steamboat, and Copper Mountain in Colorado, took a weeklong vacation to coastal New Hampshire and up through Northern Maine, and got to know each other’s families and hometowns in Castle Rock, Saratoga, and Midland.