Flint

From the back of the book -- Rough Around The Edges -- A hard-eyed man, Flint Mahone came back from the War Between the States with only one tender feeling left -- for the missing children of his dead brother. So when the three little ones showed up on his doorstep with a fierce Wyoming winter in the offing, he knew he would do whatever it took to make them a home. Soft At Heart! Lauren Hart had been raised among outlaws, taught to gamble to make her way in the world, but she wanted nothing more than to lead a decent life, to meet other girls her age, to own a pretty dress. -------- One glance told her Flint Mahone was trouble [she didn't listen], A ladies' man who knew all the right moves and none of the right emotions. [another womanizer] --- Love was as foreign to him as marriage, but Lauren couldn't resist his plea for help. And when she saw the gentle way he held his niece, she knew there was hope yet of reaching the warm, caring man beneath the wild, carousing cowboy. ---------- JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING -- Lauren finds out from Dud, her surrogate uncle, that she has inherited a ranch, the Hayes spread, from her outlaw father. Kate, Flint and Jake's surrogate mother, is a great character and well worth knowing -- then there is Asher Davis, Flint's best friend and carousing buddy -- He needs his story --- The strange twist of Lauren's relatives ads another dimension and I really liked Colly's outcome -- Well, Jonas??? Ugh! --- I really like a woman who will take in a man's children as her own and make a great family ----- try it you might like it. --- my library rating is V.V. good --M.

Once again, Nora Hess has penned a novel that touches the heart of the reader. Hess' hero in the novel may be rough around the edges but he has an endearing way with his niece and nephews that warms the heart of the reader and allows the reader to see past his womanizing ways. Hess' multifaceted heroine exhibits not only strength but vunerability which allows the reader to identify with her and experience the emotions that the heroine is going through. Throughout the novel, the tension between the hero and heroine is intense and keeps the reader deeply involved in the novel. With the interlacing of several colorful characters into the plot,Hess keeps the story entertaining as well as emotionally gripping. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys western historical romances and have enjoyed Nora Hess' previous novels.