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

As I had hoped, Winter Bird and Dancing Fox met us in Junction City, this time horseback rather than in a wagon. They held the reins of two spare ponies for us. We kept our greetings at a minimum as we collected my parcels from the freight car and broke them down so the weight of the contents could be shared among four horses. As soon as the town was behind us, we exchanged happy, more expressive greetings and shared news of mutual acquaintances.


Things had been hard on the reservations, although the past winter was not so harsh as the prior year. Our gifts of food would be welcome even though Bird believed that Iron Head’s cattle had made things a mite easier on them. Bird was saddened to learn of Andre’s death but rejoiced at the news of Curtis Appleton’s birth.


Chapter 77