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 must go to Yanube City. And it has to be tomorrow, I think.”


He sat up immediately. “You’re not up to the trip, Billy. Is it something I can do for you?” Characteristically, he put up no fuss when I shook my head.


Otter would not permit me to sit Arrow but took me in the buckboard. His decision proved wise when I spent a good deal of time lying in the bed of the rough contraption. He hazed all night, never stopping until we reached the town with my insides well scrambled. Before retiring to a room at the Rainbow and resting to husband the strength I would need, I sent a message to the fort asking James to visit me that evening.


He came, and the shock of my appearance was plainly stamped on his face. “Billy!” he exclaimed.


“It’s all right, James. I’m all geed up, but at the moment I’m resting comfortably. Otter brought me. Drove straight through from the Mead. Sleeping in the livery with the wagon right now, I imagine.”


“Damnation! I’ll get him a room.”


Chapter 115