A love between two very different men is put to the test. John Strobaw, a young mixed-blood, grows up in the relative security of a family farm after the Civil War. His mother raises her family as Americans, but his foster brother, Matthew Brandt feels his red blood more keenly and leaves to ride with Crazy Horse. John doesn’t understand the longing he feels for his absent companion until he has his first sexual experience with a man and he only thinks of Matthew. After the murder of Crazy Horse, Matthew makes his way back home. John fights hard against a growing lust for Matthew, but when he ultimately succumbs, he is lost to this handsome, dusky warrior. Just when the future looks bright, another suitor appears -- a handsome Cheyenne army scout, and trouble looms on the horizon.

Echoes of the Flute

I must have dozed, but at length, I emerged from the tiny hut of brush and canvas and sat in the bathing place Otter and the Brandt boys and I had used before Lucas and his mother were murdered. Right after their killing, Otter had brought Matthew to live with us at the Mead. I immersed myself in the cold water several times until my pores closed and I stopped perspiring. Invigorated, I climbed the bank, took the towel Otter had left for me, and dried off. Then I fastened the cloth around my waist and glanced around. Two men stood in plain view on the far side of the crick.


Quelling my rising blood, I turned and walked to the house. By the time I reached the porch, they were gone. But likely not far. Just into some hole in the ground like the snakes they were


I worked alongside James and Otter in the fields for a day. Then early the following morning, I mounted Arrow and headed home, leading the pinto, now packed with a dressed antelope carcass


Chapter 22