Born into a society tolerant of homosexuals, River Otter is confused by the white culture’s persecution of such men. As the war begins to wind down, Otter leaves the only home he has ever known to help Major James Morrow, commandant of Ft. Yanube, build a farm north of the fort. He begins a new life with the handsome major while coming to grips with growing hostility toward natives and rising danger from a local militia bent on eliminating all bloods from the territory.<br><br>As his physical attraction for the blond soldier slowly grows into a love perilous to both of them, Otter is distracted by personal challenges. As he struggles to survive the social and political upheaval sweeping the plains, can remain true to his own set of values?

River Otter

I returned to tracking the Cherokee. Spatters of blood made the task easy, even after the man reached the forest. When the blood trail dried up abruptly, my skin crawled. A trap!


The noise he made launching from a tree behind me gave me time to throw myself backwards. He overshot me, but his left foot caught my right shoulder, throwing me hard against the bole of a pine. I lost my grip on the Henry. We both reached the weapon at the same time.


Scar grasped the stock and swung the rifle up in a vicious arc. I evaded the blow and barreled into him, throwing him against a tree trunk and separating him from my rifle. He was hurt, but I didn’t wait to find out how badly. I lunged again, this time with my knife in hand. The blade bit deep. He cried out and rolled away, wrenching the hilt from my hand.


Chapter 7