Cassie's family's ranch is struggling financially and the ranch will go under if the cows and calves aren't brought down safely from high summer pastures before the weather turns cold. The stakes are high: if the cattle are lost, so is the ranch and their way of life. Cassie and Jasper head for the mountains to bring the cattle home. Trail riding, camping, and herding cows is nothing new for the seasoned ranch kids, but an early snowstorm, rustlers, and other dangers turn the weekend into a fight for survival for kids and cattle alike. It will take all of their courage, cowboy skills, and some horse-shoe-charm good luck to get them and the cattle home.

Bryn Fleming was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University with a degree in English. She taught creative writing classes at Portland Community College, and has been published in Highlights, Cricket, and numerous poetry journals. Bryn volunteered at a wildlife care center as a teenager, worked in seven different National Parks, traveled and worked in Australia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean where she crewed on sailing yachts and worked at the Oregon Zoo for ten years. She now lives in Central Oregon with rescue dogs Bandit and Pippin, shelter cats Amber and Angel, horse Sky, and an adopted wild burro Biscuit and mini-mule, Mercy. She is currently employed as a fish biology field technician helping to restore endangered wild steelhead to Oregon rivers. www.brynfleming.com