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

We placed food and water and all of their possessions in the grave to sustain them on the journey to the West. Little Bear kept only his brother’s rifle and Whisper. I suspected he was silently vowing to run down the killers with the horse and slay them with the weapon. I prayed time would purge the thirst for vengeance from him.


We sang prayers to the All Powerful to protect the two souls on their journey and begged a great welcome when they arrived. Then we shoveled dirt into the pit and walked the horses over the spot to obfuscate the gravesite.


With the burial over, we returned to the farm where we stripped and bathed in the pool near the farmhouse, a sort of cleansing ceremony for both of us. Bear was not his usual yammering magpie self as we allowed the water to soak away the contamination of death. A sweat lodge would have been better, but I hadn’t gotten around to building one yet.


“Why do they hate us?” he finally asked.


Chapter 32