Laura Sutton has been on the run for two years, thinking she killed the eldest brother of her true love and baby daddy, Chase Sutton. Laura had gone to the stables 2 years ago to tell Chase about her pregnancy and parents' approval of their relationship but was intercepted by his drunk brother Brent who was threatening to brand a colt against orders of the colt's owner and threatened to do her next. Laura tried to defend herself against rape with a pitchfork only Brent stumbled and got stabbed in the chest and Laura fled, thinking she was a murderer who wouldn't be able to get a fair trial because of the Senator Sutton's influence... Now 2 years later Chase has tracked her down to the city she is living under an alias with his baby, Keith. Laura is still afraid to face justice but Chase convinces her that her son deserves a stable life, not on the run.
So Laura goes to turn herself in and makes a full confession --- only Brent wasn't killed by stab wounds to the chest so the real killer is still out there. After someone tries to frame Laura for the [attempted] murder of the second oldest Sutton it becomes apparent that someone is trying to kill Laura as well... or is it Chase they are after?
I've got to say that I didn't really enjoy this book. I'm not normally a fan of secret baby books but on the other hand I don't think that has anything to do with it: the secret baby part was actually handled in just about the smoothest way possible - Chase found the positive pregnancy test in Laura's trash after she disappeared and only briefly considered that maybe it was someone else's (and definitely not after he met the baby). On the down side was Laura herself and the rest of the action. I mean, Laura's decision to run and keep running when she knew it was an accident, etc., was kind of stupid and since that's the basis for the whole book... And she thinks things like she couldn't let Brent rape her because that would harm Chase's baby! (would it have been ok otherwise?) The story is a bit overdramatic, particulary Laura's thoughts, such as "She loved watching his white teeth tear great big bites out of the chicken, then neatly chew and swallow the prize." And then there's this scene where Chase and Laura are driving into town and get shot at, so Chase drives their truck over the embankment into a swollen river, etc., etc. and when they get out finally they make love under a pine tree - after Laura performs a strip tease. Really? I've read books where the h/h make love in jungles, on the run from killers, etc., but none of that seemed as out of place as this did - maybe because Chase and Laura were supposed to be ordinary people and I found that kind of reaction un-ordinary.
