Coltons (Book 61)
Ex-cop Reid Colton is working double-time to help
beautiful widow Penelope Barrington Clark. While investigating her dad, his
family lawyer, the two are also trying to uncover who murdered Pen's
husband…all while keeping their relationship professional! But when a bullet
and their forbidden attraction change everything, it's Reid to the rescue,
determined to guard Pen and her son with his life.
The last thing Penelope wants is to fall for a sexy
Colton who's not looking for forever. Yet as Christmas approaches and their
investigation heats up, the three start to feel like a family. And the best
present of all? Solving the Colton clan's biggest mystery!
Excellent conclusion to the Coltons of Texas series, with
all the questions finally answered. Besides finally learning what happened to
Eldridge, Reid, the last of the Colton siblings finally found his soulmate. The
story opened at the funeral of Penelope's husband, who was also Reid's partner.
Reid and Andrew had also been good friends, which made it all the more painful
when Reid was accused of Andrew's murder. His presence at the funeral did not
go over well with Penelope, who was still dealing with her devastating grief.
Meanwhile, Reid was disgusted with his treatment by his fellow officers and
quit the force. Eighteen months later, Pen discovered some hidden information
that Andrew had been investigating; information about her father, who was also
the Colton's lawyer. The only person Pen felt she could turn to was Reid, but
she wasn't sure if she could put aside her feelings of anger and betrayal. I
ached for Reid, who has felt somewhat lost since walking away from his work as
a cop.
Reid and Pen have a long history, having known each other
since they were children. Reid was even the one who introduced his partner to
Pen at a charity event. He enjoyed being a part of their lives, and frequently
found himself envying their happiness. He ruthlessly squashed what he saw as
his inappropriate feelings for his friend's wife. To work together, they would
have to find a way past the hurt, anger, and guilt. After an attempt to kill
them both, Reid took Pen and her son Nicholas to hide out at his lake house.
Over the several weeks that they worked together to finish the investigation
that Andrew started, Reid and Pen grew closer. The attraction between them grew
steadily. I loved watching the changes that they both went through. Reid
realized that the playboy womanizer was no longer the life he wanted. I loved
his protectiveness with Pen, and his gentleness and understanding as she worked
through all the things that came to light. Pen needed to decide to move on with
her life. Andrew's death and her father's betrayal had flattened her, and she
wasn't sure she was ready to risk her heart again. But she couldn't deny the
effect he had on her or his heart-melting care of her son. She is also well
aware of Reid's reputation and the differences in their ways of life (there
were some great scenes where she called him on those differences), and she
found it hard to believe that he would want her. I liked how they both let go
of their fears at the end and embraced their future together. I loved Reid's
pride and happiness as he announced their news to the rest of the family.
The suspense of the story was terrific and wrapped
everything up quite well. There were several things going on. First was the
overarching series mystery of what happened to Eldridge Colton. I wasn't too
surprised by that resolution, though I thought the reasons behind it were mean
and manipulative. The real intensity of the story had to do with the
investigation that Reid and Pen were working on. There was a hint of what was
going on in the previous book, Runaway Colton. The attack on Reid and Pen upped
the intensity and their realization that this trouble went deeper than they had
expected. I was surprised by one of the people Reid recruited to help, but he
did better than I expected. I was glued to the pages when Pen and Nicholas were
taken and loved how she had such a big part in her rescue. Her strength and
calmness in the crisis were great. Reid's final confrontation with the bad guy had
me on the edge of my seat until it was over.
I loved the epilogue and seeing all of the previous
couples all gathered together. There was even a small nod to the previous
Colton series. I enjoyed Reid's overt happiness and the bombshell of his
announcement. There was a nice surprise for the whole family at the end of it.
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