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

“What do you think?” Ansel asked after Hugh and Orion had finished exploring.


“Compared to my old apartment, this is a palace. Not that mine was bad, but this…” Hugh swept his arm around. “It’s great.”


“So you’ll stay?” Ansel asked, grinning.


“I’d stay if it was a hovel, as long as I was living with you.”


“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Ansel replied before kissing Hugh passionately. That led, of course, to their ending up in his bedroom, where they made love, falling asleep in each other’s arms.


Friday and over the weekend, Ansel showed Hugh around the city then helped him shop for clothes, since all Hugh had was what he’d taken with him when he’d left home more than two months earlier.


Chapter 45