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

“We need the living room to face south so that it will be warmer in the winter.” Gregory continued. “Pa built the house facing north, so the living room was always cold in the winter and the kitchen was always so hot in the summer. There were plenty of times I remember Ma cooking over an open fire pit outside during the summer because it was so hot.”


“Maybe we can build a summer kitchen. We are going to be farther south,” Frank suggested.


“Do you remember the sleeping porches we saw when we were in Arkansas? Maybe we can add one of those. You know how hot I get at night.”


“Yeah, I imagine the weather’s going to be like it was when we were in Arkansas. I just hope it snows a bit around Christmas. Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas without snow.”


Chapter 13