Bridge Over Troubled Water

Review by GG Collins          (Copyright November 2025)

Raised in the Colorado frontier of 1875 outside Golden City, Potter Evans doesn’t have a lot of choices. Of age, she is betrothed to a nearby rancher, Rad Scaithe. But when he visits, he mostly speaks with her father about the intricacies of ranching. Only a week before their wedding, Potter has yet to feel his love for her and is worried that he will never open up. After two years of courting, she’s having grave doubts this relationship can be successful.

And then there was the yellow ball gown. Rad picked it out for her and insisted she wear it to their engagement party. Potter hated yellow and refused to wear it. That was it, the engagement was off. She would not be told what to do even by her fiancé. Potter packs a bag and goes to the nearby Arapahoe village where she has friends.

This was the most interesting portion of the book for me as Huntley relates the ideals and beliefs of the tribe. Her descriptions of daily life inside the Arapahoe give depth and realism. You almost feel as if you could walk inside a teepee with Potter. Huntley did her research to give the reader a realistic view of life in a tribe.

Potter stays with the tribe and begins teaching English while studying Arapahoe. She also learns about the traditions of marriage in the tribe. It seems they are more knowledgeable than Potter and Rad. The tribe names her Running Doe, appropriate because she ran from Rad’s bluster. Things at the village get a little complicated when Potter finds that she has somehow been promised to Soaring Eagle. She disputes this and asserts she is going to university.

The Arapahoe chief tells Potter, “You are a joy. I understand a lot of things now that I’ve me you. I would like to call you ‘Running Doe.’”

There are other obstacles in their way. Tensions exist between some white settlers and the Arapahoe. Potter’s mother makes a horrible decision that has drastic results. A killer is massacring homesteaders and blaming the tribe. There doesn’t seem to be a way for the besotted couple to finally be married.

Be sure and read the chapter titles that Huntley uses to give the reader a preview of what is to come. Huntley is a multi-genre author writing romance, fantasy, mystery and paranormal. Enjoy this western romance and absorb a little history along with cowboy action and star-crossed lovers.

Book 2, Echoes of Betrayal is available now. Find her books at: https://tinyurl.com/jrecvcxs