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

“Snow, snow, go away. Come again another day,” Hugh grumbled as he opened the cabin door.


It was Saturday again, a week after the first real snowstorm, which had been followed two days later by a second, if not as intense one. Now, it was snowing yet again. Softly, but it was still snow.


Ansel joined him, wrapping his arms around him. “As much as I hate to say it, we need to go hunting.”


Hugh nodded. “At least we’re fine on firewood, for the time being.” He moved aside to let Orion out. The dog dashed down the path through the snow toward the privy, then the one to the stream, and finally the one across the field to the trees. It hadn’t taken him more than a day to understand clearing the paths was his chore and he’d taken to it enthusiastically—with a little help from the men to complete it.


Chapter 37