One Summer Evening

Cassie Wortham, the heroine of Baxter's (Slow Talkin' Texan) latest romantic suspense novel, spends her 18th birthday on her family's Louisiana estate, seducing her father's best friend, the tall, dark and twice-her-age Austin McGuire. Their brief tryst results in pregnancy, and Cassie marries her sinister high school sweetheart, Lester, to legitimize the baby. Nine years later, after a divorce--Lester is safely in jail on a weapons charge--she brings her son home to make peace with her family. Instead of a serene reunion, she finds her mother dying, the family business in trouble and Austin McGuire very much part of her life. When Lester is unexpectedly paroled and abducts her son, Austin comes to the rescue. Before the story ends, Cassie and her lover finally confront the secrets of their past and their undiminished passion. Despite dramatic encounters, neither Cassie nor Austin emerge as consistent characters. The action is fast paced, and the Louisiana settings seductively steamy, but implausible plotting and awkward prose (""their wet, devouring mouths turned to hot adhesive--sticking together"") diminish the story's spell. (Aug.)