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

“A good load,” he said as we walked toward the crick for privacy. “Iron Head was wise in his choice of things to bring. If I remember right, you quoted him four American dollars a head for the cattle. This load will pay for all the cattle plus some.”


Bird nodded. “Do we make an even trade?”


I studied the brown earth beneath me a moment. “No, they need money on the reservation more than we do. We will give him a fair price.”


Bird’s face betrayed his pleasure at my decision. “Aye. I calculate if we give him the cattle and another twenty dollars, it’s a good trade. Offer him ten so he can bargain.”


Iron Head kept a stone face when we both stepped up to the porch. He had likely spoken to someone on the reservation with experience in trading, so he had an idea of the worth of the goods. Still, as Bird had anticipated, he needed to bargain.


“You sell us so cheap?” he complained. “I thought we were brothers.”


Chapter 28