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

“I feel like a new man,” he said when he’d gotten out and dried off. He set the wet clothes over the top of the tent, hoping they’d be dry by morning. Not that it mattered if they weren’t. He wasn’t going anywhere, so he wouldn’t have to pack them up. Then he refilled his water bottles from the stream, adding purifying tablets. While he doubted he needed to, since the stream was so high in the mountains, he wasn’t about to take chances. Once the cabin was ready to be lived in, and he knew for certain that the fireplace chimney would draw properly, he’d boil any water he planned on using for drinking purposes.


Chapter 7