Hannah's Handkerchief

With her blonde hair and blue eyes, Hannah Atwell, a Kansas farmer’s daughter, knows she is pretty—and she enjoys pretty things. She spent her life striving to be the perfect, obedient daughter. She feels she is destined for something more than being a farmer’s wife living in a soddie.

While at a party held at Fort Riley, Kansas, to celebrate the end of the Civil War, Hannah begins to question if always doing what she is told is to her advantage. The special event, complete with dancing with handsome young officers and a chaste kissing fundraiser for the Sanitary Commission, opens Hannah’s eyes to possibilities for her life as surely as Lieutenant Jake Burdock captures her heart. She impulsively offers him her handkerchief as a token of her regard. Missed connections, parents who constantly warn against the intentions of some Army officers, and dealing with those close to her who have suffered combat injuries conspire to drive her away from Jake. Only the letters they exchange seem to keep them connected.

Not long after the dance, Jake, who works under Captain Prescott, the quartermaster at Fort Riley, is assigned to duty at the frontier forts in western Kansas. There, many of the living quarters are more primitive than a Kansas soddie. Supplying the uniforms, supplies, horses and mules the soldiers need is challenging at best. In spite of the hardships involved, the Army is Jake’s chosen career. His life constantly at risk, must he sacrifice his chance to share his life with the young woman who had won his heart?