I have a soft spot for cowboys, horses and the ranches they live on. If you've ever seen a big tough guy with a kitten or baby you know why and pretty well have Mr. Mitchell pegged. Gina, who has been widowed for about a year, is having behavioral problems with her oldest son and the younger boy is desperate for an older male figure in his life. A kitchen fire during Stone's dance lesson brings him to the rescue and makes him a fixture in the boys' lives. Gina is reluctant to give in to the feelings she is developing for Stone, and he does have a way of backing her into corners until her only option is to lash out before he overwhelms her totally.

I liked these characters. They breathed on the page. Gina is about 35 with 2 sons in their mid-teens. The boys were important to the story and were not just paper doll cutouts to fill the space. Based on that, the last scene didn't ring true from my perspective, it's just not logical. But neither character was particularly logical; I thought Gina's pride got in her way more than real concerns and Stone was just a dope sometimes and pushed in the wrong directions. How human can you get?

I enjoyed reading Rough Edges. It was light and entertaining and gave me characters that I can fondly recall within a paradigm I enjoy. Giddy-up!