Zebra Romance discussion

Someone on another message board is looking for the following book that might be a Zebra romance.

I'm looking for a book I read in the 90's. I'm guessing it was either an Avon Historical or a Zebra since those were the main books I read then. It could have been written in the 80's. The hero and heroine live in a small town in the American west. The hero is kind of the town outcast because his father was hanged by the town unjustly. The heroine lives with her alcoholic father and siblings on a dirt poor farm. She has been attracted to the hero, Ben, since they were young. The town has a church social where the women and girls make a picnic lunch and the town men bid on the baskets. The hero buys her basket and they have dinner. At some point late at night she loses her virginity to him, but runs back home. The hero is accused of setting fire to the barn of the town's wealthiest resident and thrown in jail. The heroine sneaks out of her home at night to tell the sheriff he couldn't have done it because he was with her then. She requests the sheriff keep her secret. The heroine passes out while working on the farm and her younger sister thinks she might be pregnant. The sister tells the hero and he comes to get her and marries her that day. When the heroine has a miscarriage she fears the hero doesn't want her because he only married her for the baby.

I hope you can help.

Thank you.


Jenny

JennyG,

did you remember this book? I'm intrigued.

Sorry, no. I keep looking for it.

This sounds so familiar. I'll have to think about it.

Beloved Outcast by Victoria Thompson?