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

“No need. Crow Johnson told me Raven will not be returning. He sounded certain of his words.”


I climbed the ladder to the loft in a daze. Would that rebound to the favor or the detriment of the Strobaw family and Matthew Brandt?   27


The next day was Saturday, so by the time we arrived in Yanube City, the town was crawling with farm families from as far away as sixty miles in all directions. We ran into the Killpennys at Brown’s Emporium where Ma and Pa stopped to thank Caleb for trying to help with Major Irons. Our neighbors were shocked to learn of Matthew’s plight. Min’s eyes centered on me. Was she mentally writing Matthew off as a lost cause? She must have remembered the brief intimacies I’d failed to follow up because she asked after Alexander.


Chapter 84