A Colton Family Christmas Read online

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  JOE COLTON’S JOURNAL

  A lot has happened since I last wrote. Turns out, my father, Teddy, had got himself hitched to another woman just before he married my mother. Pretty shocking to learn that your parents’ marriage wasn’t legitimate—and neither are you. On the bright side, I have a wonderful new family to add to our brood. The Coltons of Black Arrow, Oklahoma, are the descendants of my father’s legal wife, Gloria WhiteBear. They are a remarkable bunch of people and I’m delighted to meet all of them at my newfound nephew’s holiday wedding in Washington, D.C. Although trouble always seems to follow the Coltons no matter where we’re from, I just hope this wedding goes off without a hitch….

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  COMANCHE BLOOD

  JUDY CHRISTENBERRY

  has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. She’s a bestselling author for Silhouette and Harlequin Books. A former high school French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two adult daughters.

  LINDA TURNER

  began reading romances in high school and began writing them one night when she had nothing else to read. She’s been writing ever since. Single and living in Texas, she recently bought her first house, which was built in 1920, and plans to spend the rest of her life restoring it. She had the 2000-square-foot home moved forty miles from San Antonio to the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not at the computer typing her next book, she’s likely to have a hammer in her hands.

  CAROLYN ZANE

  lives with her husband, Matt, their daughter, Madeline, and their latest addition, daughter Olivia, in the rolling countryside near Portland, Oregon’s Willamette River. Like Chevy Chase’s character in the movie Funny Farm, Carolyn finally decided to trade in a decade of city dwelling and producing local television commercials for the quaint country life of a novelist.

  Judy Christenberry

  Linda Turner

  Carolyn Zane

  A Colton Family Christmas

  COMANCHE BLOOD

  Meet the Oklahoma Coltons—a proud, passionate clan who will risk everything for love and honor. As the two Colton dynasties reunite for a wedding, new romances are sparked from a near-tragic event. After all, passion and drama come with being a Colton….

  Billy Colton:

  The military man is disciplined in everything but women. But when he’s called on to save beautiful Eva Ritka from ruthless terrorists, can he save his own heart, too?

  Julianna Stevens:

  The criminal psychologist hasn’t seen her cop ex-husband in three years. But when they are forced to work together to resolve a hostage situation, she realizes that second chances only come once….

  Ian Rafferty:

  When he heard the gunshots ring out at the wedding, the quick-thinking entrepreneur pulled the woman next to him to safety into a closet…and into his life forever.

  Joe Colton:

  He’s overcome the shock that he’s not the legal Colton heir. But the happy reunion with the Coltons of Oklahoma is cut short when madmen threaten to rip the family apart once again.

  CONTENTS

  THE DIPLOMAT’S DAUGHTER: Judy Christenberry

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  TAKE NO PRISONERS: Linda Turner

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  JULIET OF THE NIGHT: Carolyn Zane

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  THE DIPLOMAT’S DAUGHTER

  Judy Christenberry

  Chapter 1

  Major William Colton sat up in the luxurious bed and stretched. He definitely wasn’t in St. Petersburg, Russia, anymore. He’d returned to Washington D.C. a couple of days ago. He was glad to be back in the States, especially because so much had changed. Although he secretly wished he was at his great-grandfather George WhiteBear’s ranch in his family’s hometown of Black Arrow, Oklahoma.

  Now that some of his siblings had flown the nest, it wasn’t often that they all assembled in one place. But today, Christmas Eve, they were celebrating the marriage of his brother, Jesse. And they were doing so in Georgetown, an historic, high-class section of Washington D.C., in a mansion that had recently come into their family. It had been rented for years by the Chekagovian government and used as their embassy and, later, a diplomatic residence.

  Strangely enough, it was left to them by a grandfather they never knew, along with a trust fund of ten million dollars. Jesse, who did very well for himself as one of the top operatives for the National Security Agency, had used his share of the money and some of his own to purchase the mansion for his bride, Samantha. After all, he was the only family member living in Washington, D.C., and he could entertain the country’s political elite in the house, in addition to raising a big family of his own.

  Right now, of course, the mansion was filled with family, but after everyone went home, Jesse and Samantha would have to produce a lot of babies to fill this big a place. Billy grinned at that thought. He’d like a lot of nieces and nephews, but not any children of his own. He wasn’t cut out for that.

  He pulled on warm-up pants and a T-shirt and headed down a flight of stairs to find the kitchen. He could smell the coffee already. When he reached the large kitchen, he found his brother Jesse sitting at a big round table alone. “If I join you, will you share your coffee?” he asked.

  “I think I’d better. You don’t look like you’re awake yet, Billy.”

  “Probably not. I think I’m still adjusting my inner clock to U.S. time. I need caffeine. Where is everyone?”

  “They’re all still asleep. It’s only six-thirty here. Which makes it five-thirty in Oklahoma,” Jesse said.

  Billy grinned. “I forgot. When we were kids growing up, I thought we always got up too early. But the Army cured me of those thoughts.”

  A lot of things had changed over the years. As children, they had all resembled each other, but now differences were more apparent. Billy looked more like his Irish mother, with his hazel eyes and easy manner. Jesse took after his father, who was half-Comanche Indian, with his dark brown eyes and stern features.

  “They’ve cured you of a lot of things, brother,” Jesse said with a laugh. “I can’t believe they’re going to let you in the Pentagon. How did you get such a cushy job?”

  “Cushy? I’ll have you know my assignment may bring about world peace! I certainly made headway in Russia with my training school.” He laughed, thinking about some of his early struggles to adjust to Russian culture.

  “Well, go to it, brother. I’m all in favor of world peace.”

  “Yeah. I’m actually going to design more training sessions based on what I did in Russia. It is a pretty cushy job,” he added with a grin. “At least compared to working in Russia. And it might be a little warmer here.”

  “As long as you keep’em fooled about your talents,” Jesse said with a laugh.

  Billy was used to the teasing. He’d gone from an unruly, headstrong boy to a spit-and-polish, well-disciplined soldier. He’d seen the world, able to use all the languages h
e spoke. And he’d made a good living for himself. He’d been raised in Black Arrow, Oklahoma, with his four brothers and sister by their parents Alice and Thomas. His father had served his country in the military for more than twenty years, and his wife and children followed him wherever he had to go. But Oklahoma was home.

  Billy took a sip of coffee, then said, “We had a good life as kids, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah,” Jesse agreed, a smile on his lips.

  “Stop thinking of Samantha,” Billy ordered.

  Jesse looked up in surprise. “How did you—”

  “You always get this silly grin when your mind’s on her. You’re worse than anyone I know.”

  Jesse chuckled. “One day you’ll understand.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “What do you mean? Aren’t you going to marry and have a family?” Jesse asked, concern on his face.

  “Easy, brother. You don’t have to worry about me. The army life doesn’t encourage having a little woman and 2.5 children, along with all their belongings. Hell, it would’ve taken me months to move us back to the States, instead of a couple of hours.”

  “But you’re going to be settled here for quite a while, aren’t you? Long enough to put down roots? Dad thought it might be permanent. He said once they got you in the Pentagon, they’d keep you.”

  “Mom and Dad are wishful thinkers.”

  “Yeah, ’cause they asked me to find you a nice lady.”

  Billy stared at his brother in horror. “They didn’t!”

  “They did. In fact, Samantha promised to help me— Hey! I forgot. We met the perfect lady for you a couple of weeks ago.”

  Billy held up his hands. “Don’t even think such a thing. You got anything to eat? My stomach is uneasy about your plans.”

  Jesse got up from the table and took down a plate from the cabinet. Then he opened a box on the counter and filled the plate with iced doughnuts.

  Bringing them to the table, he put them in front of his brother. “Don’t eat yet. Samantha has trained me.” He returned to the counter and opened other cabinets. He came back with two saucers and napkins. “Now you can eat, in a civilized manner.”

  “Man, it’s just the two of us. She’d never know. You are already trained. None of that for me.”

  “Oh, yeah? The day will come when I’ll remind you of your words, and you’ll have to eat them.”

  “What makes you so sure? Just because we’re brothers doesn’t mean we do everything alike,” Billy pointed out.

  “It’s a human condition, brother. Man is attracted to woman. Some more than others. And then one day, smack in the face, he falls in love. And it’s over. No more prowling around, no more chasing other women. I’ve found my special lady, and I want to make her happy. You’ll see.”

  “Well, she’s certainly made a good catch. This place is first class. Sure you can afford it?”

  “I’m sure. But it’s funny, isn’t it? Living where our grandfather Teddy Colton was raised?” Jesse reached over for a doughnut and munched on it for a few minutes. “I can afford it, and I like the fact that we’re connected to all this elegance. It’s a bit different from our home in Oklahoma.”

  “Yeah. I thought you all had gone crazy when I got the news. Grandma Gloria. Hard to believe some man made her rich. Ten million. That’s a lot of money. She knew about it, though, and never touched it. That’s what blows my mind.”

  “She was a disciplined woman. A strong woman. I don’t think we inherited much worthwhile from our unknown grandfather.”

  “You found out much about him?” Billy asked. He hadn’t been here for the initial discovery, and the meetings with their grandfather’s other children and grandchildren.

  “He didn’t tell his other wife about Gloria. But I guess he felt guilty enough about Gloria to provide for her and the twins.” Their father, Thomas, was one of those twins. The other, Trevor, had died in a plane crash with his wife Sally Sharpstone, who was also half Comanche. Their five children had been taken in by Gloria.

  “Dad said one of them is an ex-senator. Must’ve been a shock to him to find out he’s illegitimate,” Billy surmised.

  “Not really. Joe’s cool. It’s his brother, Graham, who’s on the shady side. Joe knows his brother makes mistakes, but he doesn’t believe his brother is as bad as he is. Rand and I agree on that.”

  “Who’s Rand?”

  “I’ll introduce you. He’s Joe’s oldest, a great guy. We’re all meeting here because of Rand. He’s an attorney here in D.C. He helped us work everything out with the house and the trust fund.”

  “Sounds like a good guy.”

  Billy got up to refill his cup and did the same for his brother. “Not that you needed your share of the money, but I’m glad Mom and Pop have the extra income. Maybe they’ll travel now.”

  Jesse chuckled. “Yeah. They’ll travel, all right. To wherever the grandkids are. They know what’s important.”

  “You mean if I don’t produce grandkids, they won’t come see me?”

  “Oh, you know they’ll come, though they’d rather not go as far as Russia. With you here in D.C., they’ll come see you. But they’d like it if there were grandchildren.”

  “You’ve got babies on your mind, brother. Are you and Samantha going to start a family pretty soon?”

  “We’ve talked about it. Among other things.” Jesse added, “Rand and his wife are expecting their first any time now.” His eyes were twinkling at Billy. Then he sobered. “I couldn’t have found a better partner than Samantha. I want to experience everything with her. We make each other better.”

  “It’s a good thing you’re getting married today. I don’t think you could wait much longer.” Billy slapped his brother on the shoulder. “You’ve been practicing celibacy too long!”

  “You think all I’m talking about is sex? It’s a lot more than that,” Jesse assured him. “Some day you’ll know, whether it sneaks up on you or smacks you in the face. There’s a woman out there who will suddenly change your life…for the better.” He looked off into space, a dreamy look in his eyes. “You’ll see. In fact, I’m going to suggest to Samantha we invite this woman we met over to meet you. After all, you’re new to town.”

  “Brother, I don’t have difficulty meeting women, wherever I am. In fact, sometimes I have trouble getting them to let me go. They may get that forever feeling, but I don’t.”

  Billy took another doughnut, eyeing Jesse. His brother was getting married tonight. It was normal that he’d feel that way. But it didn’t happen that way for everyone. Billy had stood by some friends who’d received “Dear John” letters. And he’d known others who cheated on their wives, still chasing skirts while some little woman waited faithfully at home.

  That was why he didn’t think marriage was for him. He was in the Army. It was his chosen career. The two didn’t mix well. His father had been able to pull it off, but he wasn’t his father. He wouldn’t set himself up for failure. But he was happy for Jesse.

  Chapter 2

  Several hours later, Billy emerged from his bedroom dressed in his khaki uniform. The creases in his pants were sharp and precise. He wore a tan nylon jacket with thick lining to protect him from the winter cold. His shoes were brilliantly polished.

  He again encountered Jesse.

  “Ah. There’s my brother the major,” Jesse said. “This morning I thought maybe you’d given up some of the pomp and circumstance.”

  “No way, brother. And I’m off to pick up my full dress uniform so I’ll be dressed for the wedding this afternoon in formal military tradition. Hey, I don’t want to embarrass you.”

  Jesse’s grin disappeared, and he reached out to take hold of Billy’s shoulder. “Never, my brother.”

  Billy almost felt tears. When he’d struggled to find his way as a young man, his brother had always been there for him, as he would be there for Jesse this evening. Whatever else his parents had taught them, they’d shown them the importance of family.


  “I know. You’ve always been there for me. It’s a family tradition I don’t intend to let go of.” He clapped Jesse on the shoulder in return.

  “Billy,” his father called, coming down the hall with their mother, Alice. “Jesse said you were up early. Are you going out?”

  “Yeah, Pop. I took my dress uniform to the cleaners yesterday morning. I need to get it before the wedding.”

  Alice frowned. “Are you sure it will be open? It’s Christmas Eve, you know.”

  “I know, Mom,” he said and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “But I checked the hours yesterday. They’re open until four today.”

  “All right, dear, go ahead. But when you get back, your father and I want to have a long talk with you. We think it’s time you settle down, like Jesse.”

  Billy rolled his eyes at Jesse. “Mom, I’m an army man. I have to be able to pick up and go. That’s not what happens when you’re married.”

  “We’ll talk when you get back,” she repeated.

  “Dad?”

  His father, a handsome man with stern features twinkling eyes, simply said, “Go on, boy. You’re going to need that uniform.”

  Billy left, muttering to himself that the entire world had gone marriage mad.

  Outside, Billy zipped his jacket against the cold. He slid his hands in his pockets and started walking to the corner where he could hail a taxi. Georgetown was well-populated. Lots of taxis came and went.

  But when he reached the corner, he kept walking. It was only a few blocks to the cleaners. The walk would be good for him. There was definitely no danger. Georgetown was upscale, a place for diplomats, high government officials and the wealthy who wanted to influence any of the above.

  He was glad he was in the military. He hated the games the politicians played. And just about every four years, a new horde of politicians moved into Georgetown and other neighborhoods around D.C., ready to change the direction of the government.