When Hugh Mathews decides it's time to get out from under his tyrannical father's thumb and away from the life he's been living, he does it in a big way. Packing what he'll need to survive in the wilderness, and with only his dog, Orion, for companionship, he heads into the mountains. When they find a abandoned cabin, Hugh begins the arduous task of repairing it, as well as hunting for food and everything else they'll need to stay alive.<br><br>Soon after, Ansel Jeffries, a nature photographer, arrives at Hugh's cabin, seeking an abandoned mine he wants to photograph. After talking with him, Ansel sees the potential for a story in what Hugh is doing -- and why.<br><br>Ansel convinces Hugh to let him tell it, meaning he'll be living at the cabin with Hugh. When he moves in, will what becomes friendship between the two men grow into more?

Off the Beaten Path

Some of the boards from the walls lay on the ground where they’d fallen, rusty nails still protruding from them. Standing a ways back, he surveyed the hole in the roof.


“Maybe, possibly…” He had a piece of heavy plastic, which he’d brought along for ground cover in case of rain, folded up in his backpack. “And I can use the tent to cover the walls if I run out of boards. This will be a hell of a job, but worth it, I think.”


He was antsy to get started and might have if the sun wasn’t lowering behind the mountains, casting long shadows in the valley.


“Let’s eat, sleep, and get a start on this first thing in the morning,” he told Orion as he set the tent up beside a cabin wall. “Not that you’ll be much help, but you can cheer me on from the sidelines.”


Chapter 6