Coltons (Book 100)
An unexpected family
A once-in-a-lifetime reunion in danger…
After a bitter breakup, FBI agent Everett Colton never
expected to see his ex-girlfriend, Alyssa Bartholomew, again. Suddenly, tragedy
reunites them -- and makes them guardians of an orphaned baby girl. Everett
suspects that her parents' deaths were anything but innocent. When his instinct
for danger proves correct, it's his job to protect the child he's grown to
love…and the woman he never forgot.
A good mix of suspense and second chance romance. Four
years after breaking up, Everett and Alyssa were brought together when they
became co-guardians of a baby girl. Everett believes that her parents' deaths were
suspicious, and threats against baby Kennedy soon prove him right.
I enjoyed the rekindling of the relationship between Everett
and Alyssa. As it turned out, neither got over their breakup, with subsequent
attempts at relationships never measuring up to the memories of what they had. Neither
was blameless in the breakup, with events from the past affecting their relationship.
Alyssa lost her father when he was stabbed to death. Her fear of Everett
getting hurt in his job as an FBI agent exacerbated her fear of losing someone
she loved. At the same time, Everett is wracked with guilt over something that
happened in his previous job, and he keeps tight control over his emotions
because of it. Thrown together to raise baby Kennedy, I loved seeing them
adjust to being instant parents while at the same time trying to figure out
their own relationship.
I liked both Everett and Alyssa. Alyssa won my heart when
she immediately accepted the responsibility of raising Kennedy. She's understandably
nervous about being with Everett but will do whatever necessary for the baby. Everett
also got points when he stepped up in spite of his doubts. I loved seeing how
their care for Kennedy brought them together. An added four years of experience
and maturity helped move their relationship along. I especially liked seeing
Alyssa's attitude toward Everett's job change as she experienced his
protectiveness toward her and Kennedy. Everett was a slightly harder nut to
crack, but it wasn't long before his control over his emotions began to slip. I
ached for him when he finally opened up to Alyssa about what had caused his
withdrawal and loved her support of him. I liked the sparks that flew between
them, the feeling of family that both felt immediately, and how they combined
to show them that they belonged together.
The suspense of the story was terrific. We first met Sean
and Delilah Dodd, and his sister Claudia, in Caught in the Crossfire, where
they were caught and arrested for cattle rustling and murder. This book begins
with the deaths of Sean and Delilah and Everett's suspicions about it. While Sean
and Delilah earned their arrest in the previous book, this book showed that
there were at least a few redeeming qualities about them. These traits added to
Everett's questions and motivated his investigation. Things became more
complicated when he and Alyssa began receiving threats against Kennedy's life
and attempts on theirs. There was a steady increase in the tension with each
threat or attack and Everett's determination to put an end to them. Suspicion
as to who was behind them came quickly, but the problem was finding the
evidence. The final confrontation was intense. Everett and Alyssa's cool heads
kept me on the edge of my seat as I waited to see how they were going to handle
it. I loved Everett's quick thinking and how it all turned out.
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