In 2006, six years after meeting Savannah Lynn Curtis, John sits on the hillside watching Savannah work at her ranch. John, still a grunt in the Army, due back to base in Germany soon, thinks back to what he thought his life would look like when he met Savannah. When he met her, he hoped to have “achievable dreams” with her—marriage, family, and holding her at the end of the day. Looking back, he sees that their story has a beginning, middle, and end. Watching Savannah tend to her horses, he is flooded with memories.

Twenty-three-year-old John Tyree grew up and lived in North Carolina all his life. His father was his only parent after his mother left shortly after John was born. His father worked at the postal service his entire life, which gave John a stable life, but money was tight, especially when all the extra money went to buying coins. His father loves collecting coins, and it was something that he and John did together for a while. The only picture of the two of them together was taken at a coin show. After work and dinner, John’s father would go to his den and look over the Greysheet and his coins.