Her Colton P.i.
A P.I. tracks a mysterious widowed mother of twins in the next gripping installment of The Coltons of Texas series!Raised in foster care apart from his six siblings, private investigator Chris Colton knows what it’s like to be separated from family. So when a kindly older couple hires him to find their son’s gold-digging widow who ran off with her twin toddlers, Chris won’t rest until Holly McCay is held accountable. But he quickly discovers that his employers are out to get Holly. And they’ll eliminate anyone standing in their way….including the brave woman and sweet little boys the P.I-turned-bodyguard has come to think of as his own!
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Curious, she asked, âSo what was their story this time?â
Chris glanced down at the Stetson in his hand and ran his fingers along the brim. âYouâre the trustee for the boysâ inheritance from their dad,â he said when he raised his eyes to meet hers again. âYou wanted to use the money on yourself instead of for the boysâ benefit, and you took Ian and Jamie away from their loving grandparents so no one could call you to account. And you wonât let the McCays even know where you are ⦠where the boys are. Wonât let them be a part of your childrenâs lives.â
Holly closed her eyes for a second, laughed again without humor and shook her head. âAll of that is true, except for one thing,â she admitted. âI am the sole trustee. And I did run with Ian and Jamieâthree weeks before Christmas, did they mention that?â Chris nodded. âAnd I havenât told the McCays where we are ⦠for a perfectly good reason. Becauseââ
âBecause theyâre trying to kill you.â
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We hope you enjoy this preview of the heart-pounding series The Coltons of Texas: finding love and buried family secrets in the Lone Star State â¦
Award-winning author AMELIA AUTIN is an inveterate reader who canât bear to put a good book down ⦠or part with it. Sheâs a longtime member of Romance Writers of America and served three years as its treasurer. Amelia resides with her PhD engineer husband in quiet Vail, Arizona, where they can see the stars at night and have a âmillion-dollar viewâ of the Rincon Mountains from their backyard.
For my stepmother, Mary Dorothy Callen Autin, who makes the world a special place for everyone who knows her. For my stepsister, Patti Padgett Mouton Fagan, who made my father immensely proud of the woman she became. And for Vincent ⦠always.
Contents
Sheâs not going to get away with it. That was all Chris Colton could think as he listened to the tearful story Angus and Evalinda McCay unfolded before him. Holly McCay wasnât going to get away with keeping her in-laws from their beloved twin grandsons, all they had left of their son after he died.
Chris leaned back in his chair in his northwest Fort Worth, Texas, office and glanced at the pictures the McCays had handed him. One was of blond-haired, brown-eyed Holly McCay and her now-deceased husband, Grant. The other was of the McCay twins, Ian and Jamie.
âBut they donât look like that anymore,â Evalinda McCay said sadly. âOur grandsons werenât even a year old when that picture was taken, and that was more than six months ago. Holly wonât even let us see them. Sheâs been like that ever since Grant...â She dabbed a tissue at her eyes.
âDonât worry, Mrs. McCay,â Chris said, steel in his voice. âIâll take this job myselfâI wonât hand it off to an associate. Iâll find your grandsons for you. And your daughter-in-law, too.â
Angus McCay cleared his throat. âI donât like to speak ill of my son, Mr. Colton, because heâs gone and canât defend himself. But he was blind to what his wife was really like. She trapped him into marriageââ
âThey hadnât even been married seven months when Ian and Jamie were born,â Evalinda McCay clarified in a shocked tone.
âGrantâs will made her the trustee for their boys,â Angus McCay continued, as if he hadnât been interrupted. âAnd...well...â
âThe money is all she cares about,â his wife threw in. She put her hand on her husbandâs arm. âI know you donât like to put it so bluntly, Angus, but you know itâs true.â Her gaze moved to Chris. âHolly took the boys and left town three weeks before Christmas. Right before Christmas...â She choked up for a moment before continuing. âGrantâs fortune is tied up in a trust for Ian and Jamie, but Holly is the sole trustee. Which means she can spend the money any way she sees fit, without any real oversight.â
Angus McCay added, âAnd since she wonât tell us where she is...wonât even let us see them...â He sighed heavily. âWe donât even know if theyâre alive, much less healthy and happy.â
âWe tried to get custody of the boys through the courts right after Grant died,â Evalinda McCay said, her wrinkled face lined with worry. âBut grandparents donât seem to have any legal rights these days. Our lawyer said heâs not optimisticânot even to force Holly to let us have some kind of visitation with Ian and Jamie.â
âThe police wonât help us, because Holly hasnât done anything wrong,â Angus McCay said gruffly.
âExcept break our hearts, and Ianâs and Jamieâs, too, for that matterâbut thereâs no law against that,â Evalinda McCay put in.
âYou donât have to say any more.â Determination grew in Chris. If it was the last thing he did, heâd find Holly McCay and her eighteen-month-old sons for Mr. and Mrs. McCay. Not just because no one had the right to deprive good and decent grandparents like the McCays access to their grandchildren. But because the children deserved to know their grandparents. That was the real bottom line.
