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

The rain continued to pour down on them. Lightning flashed in the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Young James Nordhuff jumped and ran into Frank’s and Gregory’s arms.


Frank half chuckled. “I almost forgot you were there, son.”


“Where’s Nordhuff and Sarah?” Gregory asked, but all he needed to see were the expressions on their faces.


“I shouldn’t have left her,” James began to murmur.


James was now an orphan. The recognition dug into Gregory like a prairie hawk attaching its talons to its prey.


Gregory bent down to James’s level, “Listen here. There’s nothing any of us could have done to prevent this fire. This is not your fault, not my fault, not Frank’s fault.”


Instead of helping, this only made James bawl even more. Gregory scooped James up in his arms and carried the boy back to Daisy. He put the boy on the horse. Instead of sitting up in the saddle, he leaned over and hugged Daisy by the neck as they headed back to the homestead.


Chapter 53