Fifteen years ago, Kate Summers was ready to leave Boston
after her husband and baby girl died in an accident. On her
last day of work, her attorney boss asks her to adopt a
newborn baby boy. Knowing that the private adoption could
be illegal, Kate listened to the story then agreed to adopt
him.
Kate and her son, Jon, now live in Hopewell, Oregon, out in
the country away from prying eyes. Kate has always worried
that Jon's biological family would hunt her down and take
back their son. Jon isn't like other boys. He sees visions
and dreams about someone trying to kill him. His
premonitions about other people always come true. This gift
is a curse for Jon; it makes school difficult for him; no
one seems to like him.
Daegan O'Rourke has had a hard life. The illegitimate child
of a wealthy Bostonian, he grew up hating his father, a man
who beat his mother using her only for sex, while his
legitimate children had all the comforts of the elite. When
Daegan's cousins learn about him, they bring him to a party
so they can all meet; mainly to let him know he will never
be part of the family. The Sullivan children are spoiled
and warped.
One night after being humiliated, Bibi, Daegan's cousin,
came to his apartment in need of comfort. Already drunk,
she asked Daegan to join her and soon they were so drunk
that they slept together. After Bibi's brother found out,
he and Daegan had a fight that ended with Daegan almost
beating him to death. Disgusted with himself, Daegan left
Boston never knowing that Bibi gave birth to a boy and her
father arranged through his lawyer to have someone adopt
the infant. Now, much to the other Sullivan men's disdain,
Bibi's father is trying to find his grandson, the heir to
the Sullivan fortune. Bibi does not want her son found and
never wants anyone to know she had her cousin's child. So
she tells Daegan he is a father and where he can find his
son. He has only to promise to take the boy away where no
one can ever find him and she will give him money to do so.
Daegan arrives in Hopewell and moves right next to Kate and
Jon. He wants to see if Jon is his child. He meets Kate and
can't help but like her. When Daegan and Jon meet and shake
hands, Jon "sees" that Daegan has killed someone. Jon
worries that Daegan might be the man who has come to kill
him, but as he gets to know him, Jon decides that he likes
him. Once Daegan realizes that Jon is his child, he feels
badly that he is going to take Jon away from Kate. Although
the longer he stays, the more he realizes Jon belongs with
Kate. He also knows lying to Kate is going to push her
away, just as telling her the truth will. But Kate already
suspects Daegan is Jon's father. As they fall in love with
each other, danger arrives and Jon is kidnapped. Daegan and
Kate go back to Boston to find Jon. Daegan must reconcile
his past and stand up to the Sullivan family if he is to
have a future with his son and with the woman he loves.
RUNNING SCARED is full of the angst in a powerful, truly
dysfunctional family and the people caught up in the web of
deceit, pain and suffering who can only hope to escape to a
new life. Lisa Jackson has created a story with
characters who grab you and hang on until the last page.
You'll share their pain and joy in this well-crafted, page-
turning story.
Fifteen years ago in Boston, Kate Summers made a bargain:
she became the mother of a perfect, beautiful newborn baby,
and she promised she would never breathe a word about the
adoption to anyone. Now Kate has built a good life for
herself and her son, Jon, in a small town in Oregon. She
has almost forgotten her fear that he will somehow be taken
away. Then Daegan O'Rourke arrives in town and strikes up a
friendship with her and Jon. Daegan has his own past to hide
-- one with shocking ties to hers. Someone is searching for
Kate and her son and is willing to go to any lengths to
claim him. And the one man Kate is tempted to trust has
dangerous secrets that could change her world forever. Soon,
the past Kate thought she could outrun will explode,
unearthing a legacy of lies and treachery and a fury
powerful enough to kill.