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The Coltons of Texas #10
Colton Family Rescue
A brokenhearted cowboy finds his second chance with a single mom under siege in the newest Coltons of Texas romance!
Being rich and powerful didn't save T. C. Colton from painful betrayal. His beloved Jolie Peters walked out on him for cold, hard cash offered by his controlling mother…or so he believed at the time. Now, with a killer hunting down her young daughter—a witness to a murder—Jolie turns to T.C. to keep them safe.
But trusting her again isn't easy for T.C. at first…although their attraction is still hotter than a Texas summer and he's crazy about little Emma. For a short time in a remote cabin hideout, T.C., Jolie and Emma feel like family, until the killer closes in, threatening every dream they're building together…
Being rich and powerful didn't save T. C. Colton from painful betrayal. His beloved Jolie Peters walked out on him for cold, hard cash offered by his controlling mother…or so he believed at the time. Now, with a killer hunting down her young daughter—a witness to a murder—Jolie turns to T.C. to keep them safe.
But trusting her again isn't easy for T.C. at first…although their attraction is still hotter than a Texas summer and he's crazy about little Emma. For a short time in a remote cabin hideout, T.C., Jolie and Emma feel like family, until the killer closes in, threatening every dream they're building together…
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 4, 2016
45 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Justine Davis
252 books217 followersAuthor biographies are supposed to give you all those statistics, books written, awards won, etc. and I will, I promise...but first let me tell you about this ornery little tomboy (back then, the boys had all the fun...) who was always the one to make up the stories the neighborhood kids would "play". For those who came of age in the computer game era, this is something that was done usually in the backyard, by any number of summer-bored children, with props where appropriate. (Did you know a 55 gallon drum tied to a picnic bench makes a very cool horse?) It wasn't until much later that this tomboy realized two things: A) not everyone made up stories in their heads all the time, and B) in real life, the boys that had already had all the fun now seemed to always be winning.
But I digress. I was born on a farm down in Iowa....well, not quite, but close; Boone, Iowa is in the middle of farm country, but I arrived at a hospital. In a snow storm. Make that a blizzard. My sister tells me she knew my destiny when I was very young, because when I first saw the Disney classic Old Yeller, I was apparently so upset that I promptly went home and rewrote the story. In my version, the dog lived, of course. Should have been a clue.
Possibly in response to that blizzard I was born in, I've been a West Coaster since before I was a year old, and intend to stay that way. I have a history of staying. I started my first full time job right out of school (well, there was a very brief sojourn at a place where they made, among other things, burial vaults, but I prefer not to recall that one...) and stayed for twenty-one years. I've been married to the same wonderful guy for going on two decades now. We lived in our last house for seventeen years. (I won't even mention how many dumpsters we filled moving after that long....)
Readers seem as fascinated by my first career as they are with my writing. My time in law enforcement was many things, exciting, nerve wracking, and irritating, but most importantly never, ever boring. It was fascinating enough that I didn't think about writing seriously for several years. I kept a journal, and wrote long letters, collected quotes, mentally rewrote movies, and still made up those stories in my head, but never dreamed of actually writing for publication. I was having too much fun helping to catch bad guys, and being continually amazed at the situations people get themselves into. And eventually I walked away with a wealth of background and story ideas, and knowing some truly great people who work very hard to keep all of us safe. I'm proud to have been one of them, and I'm very aware that I have had the great good fortune of having had two jobs in my life that I love. Many people don't get even one.
But now that I'm in the delicious position of being able to make a living telling those stories in my head, I promise my readers two things: A) I'm staying--I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading, and B) in my stories, the girl--tomboy or not--always wins!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And now, the official stats:
Justine Dare Davis sold her first book in 1989, and followed that up with the sale of nineteen novels in less than two years. Her first four books were published in 1991, and she saw all reach the finals for either the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award or the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award. She has since won the RITA award four times, along with several Reviewer's Choice awards and three Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. At the 1998 national conference, Justine was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame, making her one of a very select group of just eight writers. She also had four titles on the Romantic Times "Top 200 of All Time" list. Her sales now total more than 45, and her books have appeared regularly on best seller lists, including the USA Today list. She has been featured in several local newspapers and nationwide by Associated Press, has appeared on CN
But I digress. I was born on a farm down in Iowa....well, not quite, but close; Boone, Iowa is in the middle of farm country, but I arrived at a hospital. In a snow storm. Make that a blizzard. My sister tells me she knew my destiny when I was very young, because when I first saw the Disney classic Old Yeller, I was apparently so upset that I promptly went home and rewrote the story. In my version, the dog lived, of course. Should have been a clue.
Possibly in response to that blizzard I was born in, I've been a West Coaster since before I was a year old, and intend to stay that way. I have a history of staying. I started my first full time job right out of school (well, there was a very brief sojourn at a place where they made, among other things, burial vaults, but I prefer not to recall that one...) and stayed for twenty-one years. I've been married to the same wonderful guy for going on two decades now. We lived in our last house for seventeen years. (I won't even mention how many dumpsters we filled moving after that long....)
Readers seem as fascinated by my first career as they are with my writing. My time in law enforcement was many things, exciting, nerve wracking, and irritating, but most importantly never, ever boring. It was fascinating enough that I didn't think about writing seriously for several years. I kept a journal, and wrote long letters, collected quotes, mentally rewrote movies, and still made up those stories in my head, but never dreamed of actually writing for publication. I was having too much fun helping to catch bad guys, and being continually amazed at the situations people get themselves into. And eventually I walked away with a wealth of background and story ideas, and knowing some truly great people who work very hard to keep all of us safe. I'm proud to have been one of them, and I'm very aware that I have had the great good fortune of having had two jobs in my life that I love. Many people don't get even one.
But now that I'm in the delicious position of being able to make a living telling those stories in my head, I promise my readers two things: A) I'm staying--I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading, and B) in my stories, the girl--tomboy or not--always wins!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And now, the official stats:
Justine Dare Davis sold her first book in 1989, and followed that up with the sale of nineteen novels in less than two years. Her first four books were published in 1991, and she saw all reach the finals for either the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award or the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award. She has since won the RITA award four times, along with several Reviewer's Choice awards and three Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. At the 1998 national conference, Justine was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame, making her one of a very select group of just eight writers. She also had four titles on the Romantic Times "Top 200 of All Time" list. Her sales now total more than 45, and her books have appeared regularly on best seller lists, including the USA Today list. She has been featured in several local newspapers and nationwide by Associated Press, has appeared on CN
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 15, 2019
This is a second chance story featuring Jolie Peters, who skipped out on T.C. Colton four years earlier, with her baby Emma in tow (T.C. was not the biological father), after horrible threats from T.C.'s mother, and also a hefty cheque amount. Of course, T.C. believes she was nothing but yet another gold-digger, happily accepting a payout to leave him. They are reunited when Emma, now four years old, is the witness to a murder of a woman who happens to look just like Jolie. Jolie thinks T.C. is the only one equipped (not the police), to help her. T.C. will do it for Emma, but trusting Jolie again is not on his agenda, despite still thinking she's hot.
This is the sort of story that requires you to accept that a desperate mother, wanting to get off the grid, instead of going underground, shacks up with T.C. Colton, who is described as being very high profile and important enough to be followed around by paparazzi and reported on. It will also ask you to accept that when on the run from a killer, the best place to go with your famous ex is an isolated shack on his ranch without any mobile phone service. A place that, because you're with a famous local, will be a piece of cake for anybody to locate.
Yeah, right.
So, how about the romance? I thoroughly disliked T.C. He acted like a child at all times. Yes, Jolie did a shitty thing, but she has calmly and rationally explained why she acted in that way. His mother threatened to make her child's life a misery. Yes, Jolie could have gone to T.C. one last time before taking off to talk it over with him (she didn't, as she, reasonably enough, didn't want to come between him and his family.) But what about T.C.'s role in all this? He couldn't track Jolie down himself (easy enough for him to do, considering he can access information about what she did with the cheque she took), and get an explanation out of her?
No. Instead, T.C. likes to remind Jolie at every opportunity that he thinks she's an untrustworthy, opportunistic gold-digger. (But a good mother.) He just harps on and on about this past the point of rationality. You have your explanation of why Jolie did what she did, T.C. A real man would take the information on board, perhaps investigate it, come to a conclusion and either forgive and forget, or not. T.C will do neither. He just resolutely holds on to the idea that Jolie is a liar and their relationship meant nothing and berates her for it for about 75% for the book before an abrupt turnaround.
There's also internal musings from T.C. that he should make Jolie pay for his help with sex, whether it would be reasonable to demand that from her. Indeed, Jolie internally wonders if she would be willing to have sex with TC as payment and thanks for his assistance. Just, yuck! WTF was Justine Davis thinking with this nonsense?
The final nail in the coffin for me believing in this relationship was when, after the umpteenth time of T.C. whining at Jolie for being a liar who only wanted his money, was when he then went on to deny that he was ever calling her a liar and thinking their relationship was all based on a lie! What the actual f***? They then have some sort of spat over that bizarre sex-for-payment thing, and at that point they both just totally lost me. I did not believe for one second that, after the book is over, T.C. would not trot out the whole you-left-me-for-a-cheque scenario whenever he needed to score points in an argument. It should be noted, for those who consider it important, T.C. was not celibate in the four year separation. Jolie was. I'm not strictly a stickler for that, but it admittedly gave me another reason to dislike T.C. (I dubbed him Total Cockhead.)
Justine Davis kept telling me he was a kind, decent, reasonable man. His thoughts and actions told me a different story. It was very wearying.
The plot is a snore. After some initial excitement, it settles into a standard shacked-up-at-the-ranch-while-waiting-for-something-to-happen story. We get told again and again that Jolie is a fierce mother who will do anything for her daughter. (Which I believed). We get told again and again that T.C. is only doing this for Emma and that he is a kind, decent, reasonable man. (Cough, cough). Both T.C. and Jolie will come across belongings of the other and wonder why he/she kept it all this time and zzzzzzz.
The plot of the murder Emma witnessed is secondary to that of what is clearly an ongoing plot involving the disappearance of T.C.'s father, Eldridge. As can be expected, the plot of the murdered woman who looked just like Jolie is wrapped up with a completely arbitrary explanation, and the mystery surrounding Eldridge is to be resolved in some other book, some other day.
I need a dashing Colton (not T.C., obviously) to rescue me from drivel like this.
This is the sort of story that requires you to accept that a desperate mother, wanting to get off the grid, instead of going underground, shacks up with T.C. Colton, who is described as being very high profile and important enough to be followed around by paparazzi and reported on. It will also ask you to accept that when on the run from a killer, the best place to go with your famous ex is an isolated shack on his ranch without any mobile phone service. A place that, because you're with a famous local, will be a piece of cake for anybody to locate.
Yeah, right.
So, how about the romance? I thoroughly disliked T.C. He acted like a child at all times. Yes, Jolie did a shitty thing, but she has calmly and rationally explained why she acted in that way. His mother threatened to make her child's life a misery. Yes, Jolie could have gone to T.C. one last time before taking off to talk it over with him (she didn't, as she, reasonably enough, didn't want to come between him and his family.) But what about T.C.'s role in all this? He couldn't track Jolie down himself (easy enough for him to do, considering he can access information about what she did with the cheque she took), and get an explanation out of her?
No. Instead, T.C. likes to remind Jolie at every opportunity that he thinks she's an untrustworthy, opportunistic gold-digger. (But a good mother.) He just harps on and on about this past the point of rationality. You have your explanation of why Jolie did what she did, T.C. A real man would take the information on board, perhaps investigate it, come to a conclusion and either forgive and forget, or not. T.C will do neither. He just resolutely holds on to the idea that Jolie is a liar and their relationship meant nothing and berates her for it for about 75% for the book before an abrupt turnaround.
There's also internal musings from T.C. that he should make Jolie pay for his help with sex, whether it would be reasonable to demand that from her. Indeed, Jolie internally wonders if she would be willing to have sex with TC as payment and thanks for his assistance. Just, yuck! WTF was Justine Davis thinking with this nonsense?
The final nail in the coffin for me believing in this relationship was when, after the umpteenth time of T.C. whining at Jolie for being a liar who only wanted his money, was when he then went on to deny that he was ever calling her a liar and thinking their relationship was all based on a lie! What the actual f***? They then have some sort of spat over that bizarre sex-for-payment thing, and at that point they both just totally lost me. I did not believe for one second that, after the book is over, T.C. would not trot out the whole you-left-me-for-a-cheque scenario whenever he needed to score points in an argument. It should be noted, for those who consider it important, T.C. was not celibate in the four year separation. Jolie was. I'm not strictly a stickler for that, but it admittedly gave me another reason to dislike T.C. (I dubbed him Total Cockhead.)
Justine Davis kept telling me he was a kind, decent, reasonable man. His thoughts and actions told me a different story. It was very wearying.
The plot is a snore. After some initial excitement, it settles into a standard shacked-up-at-the-ranch-while-waiting-for-something-to-happen story. We get told again and again that Jolie is a fierce mother who will do anything for her daughter. (Which I believed). We get told again and again that T.C. is only doing this for Emma and that he is a kind, decent, reasonable man. (Cough, cough). Both T.C. and Jolie will come across belongings of the other and wonder why he/she kept it all this time and zzzzzzz.
The plot of the murder Emma witnessed is secondary to that of what is clearly an ongoing plot involving the disappearance of T.C.'s father, Eldridge. As can be expected, the plot of the murdered woman who looked just like Jolie is wrapped up with a completely arbitrary explanation, and the mystery surrounding Eldridge is to be resolved in some other book, some other day.
I need a dashing Colton (not T.C., obviously) to rescue me from drivel like this.
May 1, 2018
Good second chance story with some action and suspense thrown in. Jolie and TC had been very close four years earlier until she took the money his parents offered and ran. He still has not forgotten or forgiven Jolie for that betrayal, nor has he seen Jolie since then. Until she and her daughter walk into his office asking for help.
Jolie had loved TC with all her heart, but she couldn't stand up to the threats made against herself and her daughter. After leaving the Colton ranch, she has made a new life for herself and Emma. Then Emma witnesses a murder and the killer comes after her, leaving Jolie nowhere to turn for help except TC.
The initial meeting between TC and Jolie is pretty rough. He's still bitter over her departure and not inclined to be very helpful. His walls against being hurt again are built pretty high. Jolie is still hurt that he let them go so easily and never even came after her for an explanation. I liked Jolie's fierce mama bear persona as she let him know exactly what drove her away. Her explanation set him back a bit because it differed quite a bit from his mother's version. He's still wary though, and ready to refuse his help, when he comes face to face with little Emma. He had loved the little girl, and much of his pain was wrapped up in how much he missed her too. He can't bring himself to refuse anything that will keep her safe. TC whisks them away to his "refuge," a cabin on a distant part of the ranch where he's sure they will be safe.
It was interesting to see the rekindling of TC and Jolie's relationship. Both of them are wary at first, with too many memories and too much hurt between them to be easy with each other. Both are determined to make the best of things for Emma. There are some really sweet scenes between TC and Emma as she wiggles her way back into his heart, and opening the door for his feelings for Jolie. The chemistry between them is still as strong as it had been before, and when they are together that way, everything else fades into the background. However, the memories of what happened before are never far from their minds, making both of them a little oversensitive and prone to take remarks the wrong way. With TC realizing that his feelings for Jolie never went away, it's pretty clear that a confrontation with his mother isn't far off. I loved that face-off when it happened, especially seeing TC and Jolie stand up to her together. It will be interesting to see if those results hold. The confrontation also made TC and Jolie realize that they belonged together. The icing on the cake was their return to the main ranch house, where they were met by the rest of the family. I loved the support they received from the "good" Coltons - Reid, Zane, Piper, and Alanna. The best part was seeing Fowler and Jolie go head to head and Fowler being the one to back down.
The suspense of the story had two parts. The main one being the murder that Emma witnessed and keeping her safe. Most of that occurred at the beginning and end of the book, with the first attack and then laying low while they tried to find the murderer. Things got very intense at the end when Emma was grabbed again. My heart was in my throat as TC and his horse Flash went up against a murderer in a car. There was a surprising twist to the resolution that I hadn't seen coming at all.
The second part was the continuing question of what had happened to Eldridge Colton. Once again, Fowler has a theory and doesn't hesitate to take it to the police. His victim of choice this time is Jolie, whom he accuses of killing Eldridge because she wants more money. I liked TC's belief in her innocence on that point and his help in clearing her name. It was amusing to see his reaction to where she was and who she was with the night in question. It was satisfying for them both to be able to thwart Fowler's intent. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop him from setting his sights on someone else, which is the lead into the next book.
Jolie had loved TC with all her heart, but she couldn't stand up to the threats made against herself and her daughter. After leaving the Colton ranch, she has made a new life for herself and Emma. Then Emma witnesses a murder and the killer comes after her, leaving Jolie nowhere to turn for help except TC.
The initial meeting between TC and Jolie is pretty rough. He's still bitter over her departure and not inclined to be very helpful. His walls against being hurt again are built pretty high. Jolie is still hurt that he let them go so easily and never even came after her for an explanation. I liked Jolie's fierce mama bear persona as she let him know exactly what drove her away. Her explanation set him back a bit because it differed quite a bit from his mother's version. He's still wary though, and ready to refuse his help, when he comes face to face with little Emma. He had loved the little girl, and much of his pain was wrapped up in how much he missed her too. He can't bring himself to refuse anything that will keep her safe. TC whisks them away to his "refuge," a cabin on a distant part of the ranch where he's sure they will be safe.
It was interesting to see the rekindling of TC and Jolie's relationship. Both of them are wary at first, with too many memories and too much hurt between them to be easy with each other. Both are determined to make the best of things for Emma. There are some really sweet scenes between TC and Emma as she wiggles her way back into his heart, and opening the door for his feelings for Jolie. The chemistry between them is still as strong as it had been before, and when they are together that way, everything else fades into the background. However, the memories of what happened before are never far from their minds, making both of them a little oversensitive and prone to take remarks the wrong way. With TC realizing that his feelings for Jolie never went away, it's pretty clear that a confrontation with his mother isn't far off. I loved that face-off when it happened, especially seeing TC and Jolie stand up to her together. It will be interesting to see if those results hold. The confrontation also made TC and Jolie realize that they belonged together. The icing on the cake was their return to the main ranch house, where they were met by the rest of the family. I loved the support they received from the "good" Coltons - Reid, Zane, Piper, and Alanna. The best part was seeing Fowler and Jolie go head to head and Fowler being the one to back down.
The suspense of the story had two parts. The main one being the murder that Emma witnessed and keeping her safe. Most of that occurred at the beginning and end of the book, with the first attack and then laying low while they tried to find the murderer. Things got very intense at the end when Emma was grabbed again. My heart was in my throat as TC and his horse Flash went up against a murderer in a car. There was a surprising twist to the resolution that I hadn't seen coming at all.
The second part was the continuing question of what had happened to Eldridge Colton. Once again, Fowler has a theory and doesn't hesitate to take it to the police. His victim of choice this time is Jolie, whom he accuses of killing Eldridge because she wants more money. I liked TC's belief in her innocence on that point and his help in clearing her name. It was amusing to see his reaction to where she was and who she was with the night in question. It was satisfying for them both to be able to thwart Fowler's intent. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop him from setting his sights on someone else, which is the lead into the next book.
February 3, 2017
I have really enjoyed this series, and look forward to reading more of the books in this series.
In this book little Emma captured my heart. She is 4 years old,
and she loves horses. It was so sweet to see how little Emma touched
T.C's heart. You could tell how much he loved her, and I loved
how protective he was of Emma, and her mom!
In this book little Emma captured my heart. She is 4 years old,
and she loves horses. It was so sweet to see how little Emma touched
T.C's heart. You could tell how much he loved her, and I loved
how protective he was of Emma, and her mom!
October 20, 2019
A romantic suspense that emphasizes the suspense plot, especially since the romance is a second chance. And there's the common (and annoying) "let's hide out in this remote spot with no escape and no cell service" peril. (I did not like the Bond film Skyfall, partly for its reliance on that for the climax.) Still, a good read, and good twists in the suspense plot. This is part of a multi-author series, and given the series arc (and the ending), probably best read with others in the series.
February 9, 2025
This book is... Okay. I would say this book is 80% romance with 20% suspense. Good for those who like that, but not for me.
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October 1, 2016Miniseries: The Coltons of Texas
October 7, 2016
Great
Justine Davis has delivered an amazing story.Fast paced full of action ,thrills and mystery.You never know. From one moment to the next what's going to happen.
Justine Davis has delivered an amazing story.Fast paced full of action ,thrills and mystery.You never know. From one moment to the next what's going to happen.
November 14, 2016
Quick read. Cowboy romance. Bit of a mystery, but nothing too shocking.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews