Frank Greerson and Gregory Young have been discharged from the Army and are headed to their childhood homes. They both defied their parents in 1861 when they joined the Army. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union of the United States of America, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Once they find their claim, they encounter common obstacles to life on the Kansas Prairie in 1866: Native Americans, tornadoes, wild animals, and weather.<br><br>When a prairie fire destroys their crops and takes their neighbor’s lives, Frank and Gregory are instructed to find their young son’s aunt. Faced with leaving a destroyed claim, the railroad coming through their land, and dwindling funds, Frank and Gregory must decide whether to leave the place they have worked hard to make their own or fulfill their friends' dying wishes.

A Place to Call Their Own

“I was fine until I was about sixteen. Being a stubborn adolescent didn’t mix well with Pa’s powerful will. It almost destroyed my love for the land. When I was younger, I stood it because I had no choice. I didn’t know any better.”


The sound of their march to Gregory’s home filled both their ears until Frank spoke up. “You going to be all right?”


“Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s all behind me now. You know that you can’t choose your parents or how you were brought up. You have to take what you’re given and make your life your own. Some people choose to sit and wallow in self-pity, but I decided when I left for the Army that I was going to be different. I wouldn’t continue his cycle. Now he’s gone and he’ll never have a chance to realize the harm he did to us. It’s his loss, not mine.”


“So it’s just you and your mother?” Frank asked, trying to change the subject.


“Yeah, she had a baby a long time ago that didn’t live. So it’s just us.”


“What’s she going to say about us going out west?”


Chapter 5