Colton Christmas Protector

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.