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

I paused to press my head against his chest to listen. His lungs seemed squishy with liquid. Even as I stifled a gasp of fear, his hand pressed my head to him. He spoke haltingly.


“I remember that touch. Do…do you ever think of our time together?”


“Often. And fondly. And I wonder why we never did it again.”


“Matthew. He claimed you. You were his. Never tried to intrude on that. Wouldn’t be right. He was good for you.”


His breath caught in his throat. Another of those sharp, penetrating pains, I guessed. Then the rattle returned to frighten me anew.” I struggled to rise, but he held me tightly. “Andre, I need to send for help.”


“No. No help for me. Not now. It’s you and that young buck now, isn’t it?”


“Seems like it. Always thought…you and Winter Bird.”


“Waited too long. Took too long to get over Matthew. Drove him away.”


Chapter 66