Ruff Around the Edges by Roxanne St. Claire

U.S Army Night Stalker Major Aidan Kilcannon leaves Afghanistan after his best friend, Charlie, is killed in action. Aidan’s only consolation is the knowledge that he’s now solely responsible for Charlie’s dog, Ruff, a rambunctious boxer they’d found in a bombed-out hospital in Kabul. With the help of Aidan’s father, the Dogfather himself, they transport Ruff back to the States. He arrives shortly after Aidan, and both dog and man are suffering from loss, trauma, and sudden change. Aidan is certain his only hope is the comfort and love he gets from Ruff, and that this dog will help him adjust to the staggeringly difficult transition from battlefield to Bitter Bark.

But the day Ruff arrives, Daniel Kilcannon informs his son that Rebecca Spencer, Charlie’s younger sister, has a hard and fast claim on Ruff and she intends to honor her brother’s wishes. Aidan has to relinquish the dog to her, no matter how impossible that is.

Beck Spencer is in Bitter Bark temporarily to help the only living relatives she has left. After losing her parents as a child, and her brother six months ago, she, too, hopes that Ruff will offer the solace and companionship she needs. But when Ruff finally shows up at her door, the man holding the leash is obviously determined to talk her out of keeping the dog. In fact, Aidan uses every persuasive power he has to convince Beck to give up Ruff…and he’s as wild and unpredictable as the dog they both want.

Everything gets complicated by Ruff, who has his own idea of who should be his master, making it impossible for Beck to win him over. But she’ll do anything to succeed, even work closely with maddeningly sexy and relentlessly determined Aidan Kilcannon, who has some skills she desperately needs to save her uncle’s local pizza business.

With an uneasy truce, a restless dog, and an attraction that bubbles like one of Slice of Heaven’s award-winning pizzas, Aidan and Beck soon realize they can help each other heal. But as they fall deeply in love and discover the true meaning of family and home, they’ll have to face the pains of their past if they have any chance of a future.