Star Gazer — Therese A. Kraemer

This story depicts the life of a modern girl changing the life of a headstrong Indian living in the 1800's.
Essie Sherwood, living in the present, grows up loving hot-air ballooning and takes off on her first solo adventure.
Caught in a whirlwind, she crash-lands on a cliff unhurt, but with a deflated balloon.
Star Gazer, believing the balloon is a giant bird that will endanger his village has shot it down, but is confused to find a beautiful woman in the basket.
Each believing the other an enemy, their first encounter is far from civil. After Star Gazer takes her to his village, his brother, the chief, orders him to take her to the nearest fort. Reluctantly, Star Gazer agrees knowing he has lost his heart to the white woman.
At the fort, Essie meets a scientist with a time traveling machine and the man agrees to take Essie back to her century.
But, Star Gazer finds them and jumps onto the machine finding himself in the future.
Soon they discover that the distant future has been changed and they have to return to the past, where their lives become more complicated