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

After a long silence, Hugh asked, “How long have you been doing photography for a living?”


“About six years, soon after I got out of college. It’s what I majored in.”


“Sounds better than mine,” Hugh said, his mouth tightening.


“If you didn’t like it, why didn’t you change to something else?”


Hugh sighed. “In my family we did what Dad told us to. If we wanted to go to college, and we didn’t have much choice in the matter, we majored in business so we’d get good jobs after graduation.”


“Three. Me, my older brother, and a younger one who’s still in college.”


“Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, but it sounds as if you were stifled, growing up.”


“Pretty much. It’s why I took up hiking, when I could. It got me out from under his thumb for a few hours on the weekends.”


“Were you allowed to go to college away from where you grew up?”


Chapter 13