Mississippi, 1834 "Protect the book as you do our seed corn. We must have both to survive." The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek changed everything. The Choctaw Nation could no longer remain in their ancient homelands.Young Tushpa, his family, and their small band embark on a trail of life and death. More death than life lay ahead. On their journey to a new homeland, the faith of his father and one book guide Tushpa as he learns what it means to become a man and a leader.But before long, betrayal from within and without rip at the unity of the band. Can Tushpa help keep his tattered people together? Or will they all be lost to sickness of the mind, body, and spirit on the four hundred mile walk? A continuation of the anthology Touch My Tears: Tales from the Trail of Tears, this story follows an original manuscript written by Tushpa's son, James Culberson. "As the great-granddaughter of Tushpa, a...

If thou knewest the gift of God...thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water... There comes a time when one questions every decision they've made in life. That moment is here for Doctor Rebekah LaRoche when she is taken captive by her nemesis, the bandit Sancho Guerra, and spirited across the desert to a hidden village in Mexico. With no hope of rescue, Rebekah must earn a place among the families of bandits as a medical doctor until she can devise a way to reach the top of the road leading out of the valley—without being shot by the three sets of guards. Little does Rebekah know that her long-time friend, Laramie Jones, is on his way to attempt a hopeless rescue. If she knew his plans, she'd beg him to stay away: no one has ever penetrated the bandits' valley and lived to tell about it. With factions closing in all around her, time is ticking down toward an explosive conclusion, and...

Traveling the West as a female physician, 34-year-old Doctor Rebekah LaRoche is no stranger to trouble. On her way to New Mexico Territory, an unexpected stay in Amarillo leads to Rebekah's confrontation with the Baxters; four brothers bred for trouble. Cattle rancher Clem Baxter's private war with sheepherder Sam Lowell over grazing rights in the Palo Duro Canyon turns disastrous. The dust settles, and one of Clem's brothers is hurt. Clem sends for a doctor, not a woman, but that's what he gets when Doctor Rebekah LaRoche, known as "Doc Beck," arrives at the ranch. When Clem Baxter holds Rebekah at his ranch against her will, she flees through the night with her young friend into the dangers and beauty of the Palo Duro Canyon. Of Omaha Indian and French descent, Rebekah relies on her wits and good sense to get her out of any situation. But does that include facing down men willing to die—and kill—for the canyon? About...

"He's dead." When Doctor Rebekah LaRoche makes the pronouncement in Senator Jeffrey Harris' office, her world is rocked by the death—and the note found beside the deceased. It's addressed to her personally: an ominous warning that those in her life always end up worse off because of her. While the Donavan Brothers Circus rolls into Centennial Ridge, Wyoming, a murderous stalker tracks Rebekah's every move and targets those she loves. Death and near-death follow her in a terrifying sequence. But when Just Jimmy finds himself in the stalker's crosshairs, Rebekah unravels, ready to give up her quest to return home to the Omaha Indian Reservation for fear of endangering her relatives there. Nowhere is truly safe for Rebekah as long as deadly secrets stalk her and tests of faith, regret, and forgiveness culminate in the Medicine Bow Mountains as a single terrifying fight for her own survival. "Doc Beck" has saved many lives—but can...

"Nothing to it but a stout heart." On a mission to bring justice to the outlaw gang that murdered his father and brother, Matthew Teller leaves the Choctaw Tribune newspaper for his sister to operate and plunges into an unfamiliar world of darkness and danger. Working inside the coal mines of the Choctaw Nation—one of the most dangerous places in the country—he searches for a man who may have the answers to this six-year-old mystery. But after Matthew uncovers an earth-shattering truth that rocks him to his core, he must decide what right is, and what price he is willing to pay for it. Ruth Ann Teller knows she can handle publishing the Choctaw Tribune—until she loses their biggest advertiser. Now, with Matthew miles away and the future of the newspaper resting squarely on her shoulders, Ruth Ann must make a bold move to keep the newspaper afloat in her brother's absence. She sets it on a course for new success or...

"Someone's going to be king in this territory. No reason it can't be me. It sure won't be you." Betrayed. Someone is tearing at the fabric of the Choctaw Nation while political turmoil, assassinations, and feuds threaten the sovereignty of the tribe, which stands under the U.S. government's scrutiny. When heated words turn to hot lead, Ruth Ann Teller—a young Choctaw woman—fears losing her brother, who won't settle for anything but the truth. Matthew is determined to use his newspaper, the Choctaw Tribune, to uncover the scheme behind Mayor Thaddeus Warren's claim to the townsite of Dickens. Matthew is willing to risk his newspaper—and his life—to uncover a traitor among their people. But when Ruth Ann tries to help, she causes more harm than good—especially after the mayor brings in Lance Fuller, a schoolteacher from New York, to provide a rare educational opportunity for...

From an award-winning author and Choctaw storyteller comes a riveting tale set in turn-of-the-century Indian Territory. Who would show up for their own execution? 1892, Indian Territory. A war brews in the Choctaw Nation as two political parties grapple between old tradition and evolving issues—with eighteen-year-old Choctaw Ruth Ann Teller caught in the middle. In a small but booming pre-statehood town, Ruth Ann's mixed blood family owns a controversial newspaper, the Choctaw Tribune, infamous for its dedication to unbiased truth. Ruth Ann wants to help spread the word about critical issues, but there is danger for a female reporter on all fronts—socially, politically, even physically. But is the truth worth dying for? When this quest leads Ruth Ann and her brother Matthew, the stubborn editor of the fledgling Choctaw Tribune, to the farm of a condemned murderer, it also brings them to head on...