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

“Do you ever think about that preacher you killed?”


“How about the highwayman you shot?”


“Not so much. That was less personal.”


He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. “I think about the men I’ve killed. There was a Crow scout for Custer at Greasy Grass. He was probably not a bad man. And then there was one of the white soldiers who chased us after we left Fort Robinson. He may not have died, but he was hurt.”


“But they were trying to kill you.”


He rose straight from the ground effortlessly. “Does it matter?”


I stood beside him. “Yes, I think it does. I don’t regret killing either of those men. They were evil.” My words were rushed and perhaps not deeply felt, but I sought to ease his mind.


“Evil. Does that make it all right?” He didn’t wait for my answer. “And Raven, is he evil because he wants someone I find more desirable than anyone else on earth?”


Chapter 79