I stiffened as the hated moniker drifted through the air from Tompkins lips to my ears. As many times as I had heard it over the years, I should have been used to it by now. I wasn't though. Each time was a new dig, another reminder that there were folks who saw me as less than human because of my Indian blood.

All they see is my Kiowa half. But I am not half a man, I am just a man. I have the same hopes and dreams as any other man. I want to find a good woman, settle down somewhere on a piece of land, train horses, and raise a couple of kids.

I wonder if there will ever come a day when I am accepted for the man I am beneath my copper skin. I don't know if it will ever come, but I have to hope that it will.

Until then, I will continue to ignore the prejudiced comments made by Tompkins and other men like him. At least I don't have to wait alone anymore. I have my blood brother Ike to stand beside me, as well as the other riders, Teaspoon, and Emma. I am not a half breed to them, I am simply me.