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

“If nothing else, I’m gaining muscle,” Hugh grumbled Saturday morning as he hauled the last board heneeded from the ruined cabin to the one where he and Orion were living. With some shuffling to get the pieces in alignment as much as possible, he nailed them over what remained of the hole in the wall.


“There, done and done,” he said with some relief. The cabin was now about as weatherproof as was possible, considering what he’d had to work with. He’d find out how well he’d done the first time it rained. He figured they’d been lucky that hadn’t happened so far.


Chapter 10