Winter in the Wilderness

By Sharlene Minshall

When we lose loved ones, we often take off down a far different path, sometimes one not of our choosing. A troubled heart led Josh to leave Maine and family behind to build a communication-free “green” cabin deep in the wilderness with his peaceful view of towering mountains and an awesome lake. Serendipity and early snowstorms bring Jami and Josh together for a winter of unique experiences and intense moments while sharing the incredible beauty of the Northwest. Shannon, a gregarious golden retriever, chaperones the sometimes-strange shenanigans of her mid-fifties counterparts with a quizzical lifting of her eyebrows.

Humor, faith, and tears draw them close. Joshua’s heart is finally healing. With Jami having no recollection of her previous life, she fights falling in love. A springtime hike triggers her memory and Jami deals with a freshly broken heart and fighting her feelings for Josh. Returning to the Midwest and home territory, Jami experiences even stronger maternal ties to her growing family and a surprisingly negative response from her youngest daughter. This situation does not mesh with Josh’s fantasy of marrying each other and living in his isolated dream house in the Northwest wilderness.

Mike Ward, Editor of RV Life, Lynnwood, WA, writes in his review of December, 2012:
"There are several parallels in the novel to Sharlene’s life. Like Jami, the heroine in her book, Sharlene had two grown daughters when her husband died, and like Jami, she is an intrepid and resourceful woman.

Sharlene describes the origins of the novel this way: “The settings and storyline are from my imagination, a melding of people I’ve known and places I’ve traveled. I’m sure my daughters and close friends will recognize similarities to our family lives. The conflicts and the pain of losing a mate are very real.”

In her RV Life column, Sharlene has often written about traveling alone to isolated places. A key setting of the novel is a house in the Pacific Northwest wilderness that is so remote from civilization that its only access is by a dirt road that is impassable in winter. There is no phone service. Wind turbines and solar cells provide electricity. There is a wood stove for cooking and an indoor garden for food.

Sharlene said she modeled the house partly on a three-story log cabin she wrote about in RV Life nearly three years ago. That story was about a couple in Idaho whose home was 13 miles beyond the electric grid. They were “living green,” running all their appliances on solar power and a backup generator.

Winter in the Wilderness is an old-fashioned romance that should appeal to many RVers, though RVing itself makes only a minor appearance in the story. The two central characters are both in their 50s. Josh is a writer who has faced tragedy and moved to a remote house in the wilderness. Jami is the sole survivor of a plane crash who finds refuge at his home.

How these two people interact and recover from the blows that life has dealt them is at the core of this fast-paced novel."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sharlene Minshall
• Release date: Jan 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9780964397095

Sharlene Minshall

Widowed at 45, Sharlene Minshall dusted herself off and left Michigan driving full tilt into a twenty-year solo, full-time RVing saga taking her from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; from Baja and old Mexico to Newfoundland/Labrador; and most drivable points in between. Sharlene gave lectures at Life on Wheels venues for ten years, and published six non-fiction, RV-related how-to and adventure books. Being a mother and grandmother and losing a mate, plus all the years of adventures, gave her just the right viewpoint to launch into the story of Jami and Josh. As in her own life, the over-fifty characters in her novel experience humor, faith, tears, and obstacles after bumping into love unexpectedly the second time around. Ms. Minshall continues writing weekly blogs and monthly columns for RV Life out of Lynnwood, WA.

Book preview

Winter in the Wilderness

By

Sharlene Stilwell Minshall

Smashwords Edition

****

Published on Smashwords by:

Gypsy Press

PO Box 1040

Congress, AZ 85332-1040

U.S.A.

Telephone: [phone]

Winter in the Wilderness

Copyright 2012 by Sharlene Minshall

ISBN: 978-0-9643970-9-5

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

What others are saying about

Winter in the Wilderness

This is a nice story about survival and rebuilding one's life after loss. It also contains some good technical info on living without many modern 'conveniences'.

This is one of the best books on the market. The author definitely knew her story locations and had true feeling for losses of family. It was written from the heart. It will keep you reading to see the next twist. I could not put the book down until the end.

This is definitely a book to snuggle up with in front of a warm fire on winter evenings... the artist's descriptions of the characters and their wilderness setting transported me into their lives & the magnificent locale...thought the plot was engaging with just enough romance...This is the first fiction book I've read by Ms. Minshall & just hope she'll consider doing more...thoroughly loved it!!!

Dedication

In life’s production, all credits go to God.

I may not understand and I may question

But I know in my heart,

He is always there watching over me and mine.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Jack, my bearded love of long, long ago, my best friend, my loving husband, a terrific father to his daughters, and more of a mentor than he could ever have known. He encouraged me and believed in me well before anyone else did, and for sure, before I believed in myself.

Thanks to my daughters, Janet Wadlington and Tracey Norvelle, and their husbands, Bill and Tom, and my two grandchildren, Becca and Will, for their continued encouragement and support. Thanks especially, Janet and Tracey, for reading for me and answering constant questions, What did you think…would this work…what is that word I’m looking for… You cannot know how much I not only enjoy, but also appreciate those brainstorming e-mails and phone calls.

I’ve written monthly RV/Travel-related columns and occasional articles for RV Life Magazine out of Lynnwood, WA for almost 22 years and for the last few years, weekly blogs covering nearly any subject. Thanks to Editor Mike Ward for his many years of kind encouragement in all phases of my writing.

Thanks to all those outstanding friends, neighbors and new friends, who enmeshed into special friends within the story. They have inspired me throughout the years whether they realized it or not. Thanks to North Ranch readers, Delores Huckabone and Nancy Rex, and others whose expertise I enlisted, Jo Ann Anderson, Carol Butterfield, Walter Eckhart and Ron James.

Of course, thanks also to Jami and Josh who have lived in my thoughts for many years, constantly niggling me to finish their story!

****

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1: September 2010: Northwest - Joshua and Shannon

Chapter 2: Northwest Wilderness: Jami

Chapter 3: Northwest Wilderness: The Coming Holidays

Chapter 4: December 2010: Michigan - Suzanne and Lynnette

Chapter 5: December 2010: Christmas in the Northwest

Chapter 6: Northwest 2011: A New Year – Finding Treasures

Chapter 7: Joshua’s History

Chapter 8: Summers 2002 & 2003: Joshua, Joseph, and Jeremiah

Chapter 9: The Northwest: Jami’s History

Chapter 10: Northwest: Making Plans

Chapter 11: May 2011: Going Home

Chapter 12: Michigan: Readjusting

Chapter 13: Michigan: Reconnecting

Chapter 14: In a Heartbeat

Chapter 15: Looking to the Future

Epilogue

Conversation with the Author: Summer 2012

About the Author

Connect with Me Online

****

Prologue

Unless you have chosen to remain single all your life or you are lucky enough to die previous to or at the same time as your mate, you will, as sure as there is a tomorrow, through death or divorce, be alone. Your faith, physical health, and mental status, will determine whether you curl up on the porch and wither away in your rocking chair, or get up, dust yourself off, put a smile in your heart, and take off down a different path.

Dying is a part of living…or so they say. I guess that is supposed to bring comfort but I’m not sure how. Maybe just that dying is what we must all do at the end of living. They don’t explain that for those doing the dying, their anguish is over…at least from an earthly point of view.

But for those left behind, the loss of a mate brings unbearable pain. Life as you know it is over but you still awaken each morning, get dressed, and pretend to do something worthwhile with your days.

A spouse dying is akin to being cut in half, leaving your body dangling and awkward until you grow into your complete self again. It is feeling guilty because you are alive and moving forward and your partner is not. It brings great sadness to know that you will no longer share life’s precious moments, graduations, weddings, baptisms, sunrises, moonlight nights, or anything you shared previously.

The strange thing is that after a few months or even years, when you think your sanity is once more in tact, suddenly the pain returns for a fleeting moment. It flies in on a snatch of song, a fragrance, something remembered, a photograph, a feeling, a dream.

Books and people tell you it will take a year (usually by someone who hasn’t experienced it) before that terrible emptiness begins to fade. For some it takes much longer, especially if you have been best friends as well as spouses.

…It took Jami and Josh a while to realize that their Bucket List still held a beautiful portion of life yet ahead of them. They almost passed on God’s gift of love the second time around during their…

Winter in the Wilderness

****

Chapter 1: September 2010: Northwest - Joshua and Shannon

Joshua Chesterton flew along this questionable backwoods thoroughfare, oblivious to bouncing from one rut to another. He was also oblivious to the beating his one-ton W300 Dodge Power Wagon was taking on its elderly 1958 body. He was high in spirits and eager to collect his winter provisions. Shannon was just happy to be bouncing along with him.

It took many hours to drive to the nearest town, although it was easier at this end of the summer. Thirty miles wasn’t terribly far as crows fly but he never found the local crows hospitable enough to fly his supplies in for the winter. His trips to town were limited to the warm months. Already the end of September, this would be his last run of the season. Winter came at its own whim in this country.

Pinetop Village wasn't exactly a thriving metropolis, but it provided all his needs since moving to the backcountry. He could only find a few basics by just dropping in to shop but he could leave an order when he first arrived and by the time he left a few days later, everything he ordered was always ready for pick up, either flown in or barged in.

Buying for a nearly eight-month chunk of time, his lists were legendary. Especially on this last trip of the season, he bought canned milk, powdered milk, condensed milk; salt, mustard, ketchup; peanut butter by the bucket; granulated sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar; salt, mincemeat, various nuts; and of course, a tremendous amount of etc. The whole month of September, he stewed over the never-ending list taped to the refrigerator, adding, subtracting, and trying to think ahead to his winter needs and desires.

Living so far along an impassable winter road, he also replenished all the required doctoring supplies needed for keeping the body functioning in an area where there were no doctors and no communication. Office supplies were high on his list so he could continue working. Living in the wilderness required ammunition both for sustaining his meat supply and for other dangers he might encounter.

Where it sometimes took strangers and the village residents a bit of time to warm up to each other, they gathered Joshua in as one of their own almost from the time they met him. True and helpful acquaintances turned into forever friendships.

Although friendly, Josh had mostly been a quiet visitor on his trips into town, and then friends from back home presented him with Shannon. At first, he was not thrilled but it didn’t take long before the wiggling ball of warm golden retriever fur and bright eyes was his constant companion in the, some would say, God-forsaken outback.

Joshua was much more contented since the arrival of Shannon and the locals loved seeing the two of them. He always found going into town an adventure although he never missed being with people particularly. The energetic and extremely excited Shannon loved the trip into town, too, anything to be with Josh.

Amelia was especially glad to see him. She owned Amelia’s Café, Tearoom & Bakery and he stayed in her upstairs B & B rooms whenever he was in town. They could not be labeled fancy or even all that big, but they were clean, and cheerfully decorated.

Josh, you’re back! She loved to see the big lug with the warm smiling eyes come into the cafe. She knew he was a big deal author but he never acted any different than anyone else and everybody valued his friendship. Shannon was so well behaved that her wiggling happiness was always welcome, too. He ate his meals at the café and Amelia offered treats to Shannon as well.

Is this the big trip before winter sets in? Short and stout Amelia asked as she grabbed him in a big bear hug around the waist.

He returned the hug with gusto. It sure is, Amelia. Have you got some really delicious hot dinners and breakfasts this week to sustain me through the long winter months of my cooking?

Well, they might not last you that long but maybe until you go back.

After greeting half the town where most of them also ate Amelia’s good cooking, he and Shannon settled into their upstairs room and crashed for the night.

His first stop the next morning was to greet his friends at the Pinetop Village General Store and leave his lengthy list with them. He always felt like he was walking back in time with its aisles filled with barrels of various beans, peas, or nuts and shelves of jellies and jams and honey. It offered the fragrances of various spices and special soaps. He was careful to go in there only after a big meal because everything was so tempting. He always found a 3-canister set of cocoanut macaroons and tins of brown bread and date-nut bread. Dried pepperoni and summer sausage made their way to the special treats pile as well, foods where he didn’t have to worry about spoilage.

The first two weeks after a trip he always had lots of fresh fruits and vegetables on hand, but mostly these trips meant buying the kind of non-perishable canned or dried goods that gave him a reasonably balanced diet. He managed some of that balanced diet with produce from a summer garden and a unique year-round basement organic garden.

In a corner by the front windows was an old-fashioned pot-bellied stove with the local old-timers sitting around the fire telling I can top you stories. They always gave Shannon an extra dollop of love and she returned it full measure. After exchanging greetings, conversation, stories, and a sarsaparilla with them, he made his way to the combination Post Office-Drug Store-Library-WiFi building. He spent hours completing business over the Internet, reading and returning e-mails, and dealing with whatever mail had accumulated since his last visit in August.

With no cell phone, he did the required pre-winter season calls to his brothers, mother, dad, and grandparents, and gathered a boxful of used books to last the winter.

The next days he enjoyed hugging friends, ordering and picking up supplies, and packing them into the truck. He didn’t bother to lock it. It wouldn’t make sense for anyone to steal anything; they couldn’t make a fast get away. Anybody leaving town had to leave via boat, plane or foot power. All the tourist places like the Souvenir and Ice Cream Shop, and the Fishing Shack, where they rented boats and bikes, were already closed up tight for the season.

With the long winter ahead, Josh had his teeth and eyes examined and a general check up by the Health Services unit that came in once a week. On Sunday, he joined the congregation of the Community Church, sitting in the back so Shannon could sprawl out under his seat. His life experiences had promoted a lot of questions in his heart but it always felt good to be there singing the hymns, hearing the sermon, and saying his goodbyes to these people who had become so dear to him.

By Monday afternoon, the list was fulfilled, the items paid for, and everything gathered and packed. He drove down to Harvey’s Place beside the Volunteer Fire Department and in front of the airstrip. Harvey Waldham was a talented Jack-of-all-trades.

Hey Harvey, are you done with that welding job?

Just finished it an hour ago. You’re right on time, said Harvey as he shook Josh’s hand. Are you ready to leave?

Going in the morning. I think I finally jammed as much as I can into that poor old truck you sold me, laughed Josh. I’ll be lucky to get it to go up over the mountain.

You be careful now. That mountain will bite you in the butt! That’s one miserable road.

Aw, it’s a challenge Harvey. You know all about that with living here at the end of the world all these years. By the way, thanks again for staying with Shannon and watching the property when I had to be away during the summer.

You’re welcome, Josh. I love it out there. he said as he hugged Shannon. Be safe.

Thanks, Harvey. We’ll appreciate those good wishes as we head out tomorrow. See you next spring.

The next morning early, Amelia handed him a packed lunch (and selected goodies for both he and Shannon that he hadn’t ordered) ready for him to take on the road.

Josh, we’ll be thinking of you this winter and keeping you in our prayers. You sure are brave to be all the way out there with no means of communication. Don’t you even want a snowmobile? That’s how we get around in here when that deep snow comes.

"Maybe some day, Amelia. I