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

Nature and carrion animals had not been kind to the rotting carcasses of the slain raiders. Fortunately, the tribesmen have an aversion to cadavers, so the curiosity exhibited by Buffalo Shoulder and Little Eagle was quickly exhausted. None too soon for me, we moved on to the Broken Wagon Ambush site.


The hidden Conestoga was serviceable with only minor repairs. I exasperated my companions by taking time to dismantle and salvage most of the second, damaged vessel. I was glad I brought six of the big horses, because the scoop wagon was heavily loaded. Once I figured out which was the hand horse, I lashed the spans in place with salvaged harness, and we set off.


Darkness fell before the wagon broke out onto the plains, so we marooned in the foothills. Cut and I slept in the Conestoga, but the others merely toppled over in place once their jug was empty. I reached for Cut as soon as everyone was settled. “I want you,” I whispered in his ear. “I had hoped we would be alone.”


Chapter 28