Far from the world he knows, he’ll find a home. Among strangers, he’ll find acceptance. And in the arms of an unexpected man, he’ll find love. Young Billy Strobaw comes West to escape the stigma of his Tory family. In the Dakota Territories, he encounters the Yanube warrior Cut Hand. Billy’s attraction to the other man is as surprising as the Yanube perspective on same-sex love. Unlike Europeans, the Siouan tribe celebrates such unions. Billy and Cut Hand can live as partners and build a life together, which Billy agrees to do. As Billy struggles to acclimate to a very different culture, quickly discovering the Yanube have as much to teach him as he has to impart to them, a larger struggle is brewing. The white man is barreling through the Great Plains, trampling underfoot anyone who stands in his way. As a leader of his people, Cut Hand must decide whether it will be peace or war. In a historical romance taking place against the epic backdrop of the early American West, where a single spark can ignite a powder keg of greed, lust for power, and misunderstanding, one man must find his place in history and his role in the preservation of all he has come to value.

Cut Hand

I hounded him into helping drag the undamaged Conestoga well off the trail and loading it with items from the wrecked wagon, after which we eliminated any sign leading to our hidden trove. Nervous over spending too long in one spot while hostiles were in the area, Cut demanded we leave. I gave in gracefully because I fully intended to return and retrieve that wagon. Its contents would make my future life infinitely more secure. As there was nothing to identify the men, there was no moral quandary over appropriating their belongings, since it was no less sinful to abandon such riches to the elements.


Chapter 17