Thirty-two-year-old mixed blood John Strobaw, known to the Sioux as Medicine Hair, returns to his Turtle Crick Farm after a six-year exile on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Grief-stricken at the loss of his mate and lover Matthew Brand, known as Shambling Bear, at the Battle of Wounded Knee, he struggles to become a farmer again while fighting an internal battle to let go of the past and face his future. Will that future be with his best friend Winter Bird or with Pretty Face, an outrageous flirt who hasn’t yet decided who he is?<br><br>But before he can come to grips with this, John faces several battles. Will his former friends and neighbors accept him now the Indian War has come to an end? Can John forgive those same friends and neighbors after the murderous ambush of the Sioux by the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee? Or survive the hostility of an Indian-hating sheriff named Charles Landreth and protect himself against the mindless fear and loathing for Two Spirits, men who love men?

Wastelakapi…Beloved

Timo appeared in the doorway and broke into a broad smile when he saw who rode up. He limped outside with the aid of a cane.


“John! Good to see you. Glad you’re back, but…” Confusion clouded his haggard features. “But I’m sure sorry about Matthew. He was a good man.”


My heart dropped, but I held my face straight. “That he was.”


“You ain’t looking no worse for wear,” he hurried on.


“Nor do you,” I lied. He still held his magnificent build, but age was gnawing away at it. His voice was thinner, as well.


He and Andre exchanged greetings before my neighbor let him know we were in town to buy cattle.


“The Hagstones got a glut of animals,” Timo volunteered. “Valley farmers not buying. Gonna have to ship ‘em back east. Leastways, that’s what I hear.”


“Good to know. That means they won’t get as good a price,” I said.


Chapter 9