Runaway Colton

This was a good entry into the series as we moved closer to discovering the truth about the missing Eldridge Colton. In the opening to this book, the youngest of the Colton family was accused of murdering her adoptive father. Out on bail provided by a few of her siblings, Piper was confronted by her two oldest siblings, Fowler and Marceline. They made it very clear that they were convinced of her guilt. Hurt by the realization that they believed that she was capable of such a thing, Piper decided to take matters into her own hands and try to find the truth herself. Knowing that she needed help, Piper contacted Cord Maxwell, a childhood friend and currently a bounty hunter and private investigator.

Cord had been struggling for the past couple of years. When his older sister died, Cord became the guardian of his teenage niece, Renee. About the same time, his business partner died, leaving Cord as the sole owner of the business. Between working long hours and having no clue how to handle a grieving and angry teen, it was no surprise that Cord felt overwhelmed. To make things worse, when Renee turned eighteen, she left. Worried sick, Cord has spent all his time trying to find her, and the business (and his finances) have suffered because of it. When Fowler Colton came to Cord, offering to pay triple the fee for Cord to find Piper, he could not turn it down. He did not expect Piper to come to him. Cord was caught between a rock and a hard place. He took Fowler’s money to find Piper and take her home. But he also believed her to be innocent of the charges against her. He worked out a deal with Piper. If she helped him find Renee, he would help her clear her name while at the same time returning her to her home before it was time for her court date.

I liked the development of the relationship between Piper and Cord. They had known each other for a long time, as Cord’s father had been a Colton ranch hand. Cord had a crush on her when they were kids, and was attracted to her as an adult. Piper was equally attracted to him. Cord had one basic rule and that was you don’t get involved with a client, and that rule became harder and harder to stick to. I liked how Cord and Piper connected with each other so well from the beginning. Their relationship grew quickly but naturally, thanks to the ability to be open and honest with each other. Cord does have some insecurities, mainly about the differences in their financial situations. Just as things looked promising between them, Fowler stirred up doubts in his mind. Cord had his boneheaded moment when he pushed her away and suffered because of it. I ached for Piper, who was blindsided by what he said. Help came from an unexpected source, and I loved seeing Cord come to his senses. He did a pretty good job of groveling before Piper put him out of his misery.

The suspense of the story was very mild. Eldridge is still missing, and there hasn’t been any progress made in finding him. Piper’s arrest was made on some pretty flimsy evidence, including a supposed eyewitness. Tracking down the identity of that witness wasn’t hard once Piper put her mind to it. Even the confrontation with said witness wasn’t as intense as it could have been. Meanwhile, Fowler seemed to be in a rush to have Eldridge declared dead, and the will read, moving him to the top of my suspect list. There was a bit of twist and turn near the end, involving a possible sighting of Eldridge, and a reason to move the family lawyer up the list of suspects as well.

I’m looking forward to the final book in the series and finding out what really happened to Eldridge.