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

“Lotsa blood. Yes sir, a good blood trail. But if there’s any justice in this world, you ain’t dead yet. When I take your crown, I want you to feel me ripping your scalp off. Just like my mama and papa when you took their crowns. I want you to scream just like they done.”


His mother and father? Was that the source of his hatred? I caught sight of him in my peripheral vision. He was afoot, carrying his rifle in one hand and a knife in the other. A moment later, he stood over me, his colorless, walled eyes glaring madly in two different directions. One was fixed on me.


“Yep. You ain’t dead. So I get the pleasure of watching you die when I slice you up, Joseph Otter. Joseph. That’s a blasphemy if I ever heard one. Giving a lying, thieving, murdering red belly a Christian name like that is sinful.”


Chapter 119