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

Each step, each swing of the hoe was torture, but by mid-morning, the activity had done me good. Some of the tightness left my tortured muscles, although none of the soreness had seen fit to depart.


We were near to halting for a quick repast when Ides’ sharp, blue eyes spotted a pigeon approaching. As soon as it entered the cote in the loft of the outhouse, he scooted off to check for a message. A moment later, he returned.


“It’s from Dad. He wrote you a note.”


I scowled as I read Gideon’s terse missive: Lucy Landreth killed herself. Sheriff’s gone crazy. Be on guard. On my way


I called everyone to the stone cabin and gave them the news. My first thought was to send Rachel Ann, Ides, and the baby out of harm’s way, but my sister put her foot down.


“I’m not going anywhere until my husband gets here,” she said.


“And you might need us,” Ides added.


Chapter 93