Page 101 of Full Send

The first week back in Wyoming felt like the start of an entirely new chapter. I didn’t know exactly what was next, but I was happy to be away from Fischer and looking for a fresh start. I still felt like I needed to close out that chapter of my life though, so I followed up with Cindy, as I had promised.

She was frankly not shocked that I left Fischer. As for the special project she wanted to talk about. Well, it was an offer to be the new Director of Marketing at Earth SnaX. One month into that job, and it already feels like I’m where I was always meant to be, like I found my professional home. I realized it wasn’t the work that I hated, just the toxic environment that I was in and the people I was surrounded by. And the best part about my job at Earth SnaX is that I work remotely, except for the occasional in person meetings I’ll need to attend every few months.

Now I realize I needed the closure of going back to Dayton, to see just how much my life there was no longer what I wanted. Going back there, leaving the happy bliss of Jackson with Tanner, was the wake up call I needed. It made it that much easier to know I made the right choice to quit and do literally anything else besides stay at Fischer.

“I can’t wait to get you back home and all to myself again,” he says, his ever confident grin back. Those words, the thought ofhomewith him, have never sounded better.

Instead of going into a dreary drab office five days a week, my newcommutewill be walk across the yard from the cabin to the old barn. After taking the job with Earth SnaX, Tanner started turning the loft of the old barn into a bright, airy, cheerful office for me. Instead of a worn gray cubicle with a view of a windowless hallway, I’ll have a cozy room to myself with white shiplap walls and salvaged wood floors. Beyond the oversized picture window is going to be an incredible view, looking out over the yard and the mountains.

I look down at my hand now, staring at my Grandma’s engagement ring on my finger, the one that my Grandpa had custom made for her, the one that I thought I would never find thatspecial someoneto wear it for. It’s the perfect reminder of my grandparents’ love for each other, their love of Wyoming and skiing, and now my love for Tanner.

Looking back into his eyes, my heart pounds. “I love you, and as good as that sounds, I’m pretty sure Lizzy will kill us if we go home early. She’s been looking forward to this trip so much.” I say, still grinning ear to ear. “But we’ve got a big comfy bed back at her condo we can put to use tonight.” I wink at him, getting a gruff laugh in return.

“Alright, horny badger.” He smirks and I can’t help but giggle back at him. This man has my heart and it’s so painfully obvious.

I have to admit that I can get a little distracted daydreaming about what our life will be like. I imagine looking out my office window into the yard to see Tanner playing with Rex, or listening to him work on knives in his shop. The feeling of warmth I get from picturing him smile out in the yard or hearing him use the forge, knowing he’ll always be nearby, always there for me, is borderline overwhelming in the best of ways.

I know he would always say that Jackson isn’t all fairy tales, but after living here now, with him, it feels like a dream cometrue. I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be. Building a life with this man in the mountains.