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

When he was out of sight, I turned to Andre. “We’d better start cutting grass across the crick for the tabby.” I indicated the hay pile covered with a tarp west of the burned barn. “You lost the hay in the loft, so you’re going to be short on fodder for the animals. We’ll use as little of that as possible for the tabby.”


Andre’s face cleared as he picked up a stiff piece of hide and called to his wife. “Look, Bella, I salvaged this for you.”


Without a word, I took it from his hands and threw it into the flickering embers of the destroyed barn. Then I waded across the cold crick and began hacking tufts of prairie grass with my knife and stacking them into small piles.   27


“You are a strange man, Joseph Otter,” James said upon his return to the Tiller farm from Yanube City. “You’re as well educated as anyone in the territory, yet you toss a deerskin into the fire because of superstition.”


Chapter 85