15-year-old Thad Collins, lost his parents in cabin fire one winter back. Now the orphan is barely able to survive, even after finding a collection of odd jobs in town. Cleaning up the jail and the saloon will only get him so far and there is little opportunity for meaningful work in his town. Thad could never imagine that an almost overlooked hand bill would change his whole life.The newly established Pony Express needed riders. They wanted to move mail all the way across the vast west and they needed to do it fast. They needed a handful of young men and boys who could ride all day, even in extreme weather. They need people they could count on, those brave enough to risk all the dangers of the job, wild animals, challenging trails and the ever present possibility of Indian attacks. As a seasoned rider Thad was eager to join up. The opportunity sounded exciting and liberating. He was sick of a solitary life, and the drudgery of menial work. Thad knew this job gave him a chance to become an important and valued worker, someone his parents would have been proud of.Making friends among the other riders, Thad soon learned the job is not quite what he imagined. The pay is good, but the days were grueling, even for an experienced rider like Thad. After Thad meets April, the beautiful daughter of a local rancher, he starts to yearn for a family of his own. Over time the two teens create their plans for the future and their new life together…but only if Thad's job doesn't kill him first.A new Teen/Young Adult western from renowned writer W.R. Benton, whose frontier life novels are crackling with non-stop action, danger, and cowboy reality.
