Colton Countdown - Tara Taylor Quinn (HRS #2187 - July 2022)

Series: Coltons of Colorado (Book 6)
 
To see her kids again
She must trust one man
 
Widow Theresa Fitzgerald is frantic when her young twins are abducted by their doomsayer grandparents. Hardened army sergeant Ezra Colton vows to find the girls he'd unexpectedly bonded with while home on leave. Ezra's emotional investment and stealth skills give Theresa hope. But the closer they get -- to each other and the grandparents' trail -- the more dangerous the desperate search for her daughters becomes.
 
Terrific book that kept me hooked from start to finish. Ezra is home on thirty days' leave from the army and stops at the senior care center where his Aunt Alice lives. She is the one he went to as a kid/teen when his family life was too much for him to handle. Even though she no longer knows him, he still visits whenever possible. As the book opens, he remembers the good times with her and is saddened by her unresponsiveness. Then a dog bursts into the room and makes a beeline for her, followed by two little girls. Ezra, who has no experience with children, is enchanted by the two girls. He is also amazed to see his aunt respond to the dog. I loved watching the girls interact with Ezra. They are followed closely by their mother, Theresa.
 
Theresa lost her husband a year earlier and is coping with being a single parent. Her daughters, Neve and Claire, are the center of her life. She is dealing with a lot of stress because her in-laws, doomsayer conspiracy nuts, have filled the girls' heads with their fears. She's stopped allowing them to take the girls on outings, only allowing visits she supervises. However, she's become aware of them hanging around and fears they may try to kidnap the girls.
 
The early part of the book was filled with interactions between Ezra, Neve, Claire, and Theresa. I loved watching the two girls wrap Ezra around their little fingers and how he enjoyed every minute of it. For a man who believes that he is not a family man, Ezra has a fantastic rapport with them. At the same time, he is puzzled by his reaction to Theresa. The attraction he understands, but the closeness and feelings of protectiveness confuse him. He does his best to bury them because he will leave in a month, and he thinks she still grieves the loss of her husband. Theresa feels the same attraction but refuses to consider giving her heart to a man with a dangerous job. She's lost one husband and refuses to put herself and her daughters through that pain again.
 
The action soon picks up when Theresa's in-law's stalking picks up. Ezra sees her fear and uses the excuse of painting her house to keep an eye on things. But when the unthinkable happens, and the girls are taken, Ezra jumps into action. First, I loved that he immediately used his contacts with family and friends to get help in the search. Brother Dominic, the FBI agent, plays a crucial role in the search, both in feeding information to Ezra and trying to keep Ezra from going too far. Theresa refuses to be left behind and is by Ezra's side every step of the way. I loved the trust that she placed in him and her willingness to do whatever it took to save Neve and Claire. The intensity ramped up the closer they came, and I could feel their frustration at every dead end. The final confrontation was a nail-biter that had my heart pounding until it was over.
 
All that was left was for Theresa and Ezra to figure out they belonged together. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of communication that has each thinking the other doesn't care. Theresa must also decide if Ezra's job is the deal-breaker she's considered it for the entire book. At the same time, Ezra has slowly realized that what drove him to stay away from his family for so long no longer drives him. The emotional conversation between Ezra and Theresa at the end was heartwarming and promising. I look forward to seeing them in later books.
 
I can't finish this review without mentioning the adorable Neve and Claire. They are twins but have distinct personalities. Both fell hard for Ezra, and I had a lot of fun watching them vie for his attention. They are sweet girls with big hearts, and I loved how they visited the people at the senior center. I ached for them and the fears that their grandparents instilled in them. They are also smart for their age, as evidenced in their actions during their kidnapping. Ezra will have his hands full when they get older!