Father to Be Read Online Free

didn’t. He knew too well that abusers came in both genders.
    The sinking feeling in his stomach warned him that he was about to betray himself. He was about to open his mouth and make a decision he couldn’t back away from. No matter how much he wanted
not
to make that decision, he couldn’t stop it. It was beyond his control.
    He turned to look at her. “All right,” he agreed stiffly. “I’ll take them. But only for a few weeks. No more than a month.”
    A brilliant smile lit her face. “Thank you, Dr. Grayson. You won’t regret this. Well, from time to time you probably will, but not in the long run.” She gathered the photographs and returned them to her attaché. “Judge McKechnie has agreed to give us a few minutes of his afternoon to get the formalities out of the way, then we’ll pick up the children and get them settled in at your place. Shall we go?”
    She started walking before she stopped talking. J.D. watched her with a scowl. “You were awfully sure of yourself, weren’t you?” he muttered, too low, he thought, for her to hear.
    She turned at the end of the sidewalk and smiled again. “No, Dr. Grayson. I was sure of
you
—sure you would do the right thing. And I was right, wasn’t I?”
    That, he admitted grimly as he joined her, remained to be seen.

    H er eyes gritty from too many miles, Kelsey Malone gave a sigh of relief when she passed the road sign proclaiming that her destination was only five miles ahead. It had been a long journey from New York City to Bethlehem, one she’d anticipated ever since the Department of Family Assistance, formerly the Department of Social Services, had announced that it was reopening an office there. After much consideration—taking stock of her life, which was less than she’d hoped it would be—she’d put in for the job and gotten it.
    There hadn’t even been any competition. Not many people wanted to live in small, remote towns that needed their services only a few days a week. But a town where people treated their children like the gifts they were—a town a good six hours from the city—fitted Kelsey’s current definition of perfect. Now she was almost there, just minutes from her new home, new office, and new life.
    As the road wound down into the valley, the highway became Main Street and cut straight through the heart of town. The quaint shops, the grassy square, the kids skipping out of an ice cream shop with their parents close behind, all combined to stir deep within her a yearning for a place she’d never known, a life she’d never lived. The town was small-town America at its best.
    There was no motel in Bethlehem, just a gracious old inn that exceeded her budget, so she’d rented an apartment sight unseen. She’d shipped her belongings from the city and arranged to meet the manager at three o’clock to trade the key for her deposit and first month’s rent. Unfortunately, it was only a few minutes after two. She’d grabbed a burger at the last gas-up, so she settled on a tour of the town to pass the time.
    Her friends had acted as if she were moving to the wilds, had wondered how she would survive without all the big-city conveniences. She’d reminded them that there
was
life outside the city—electricity, telephones, even computers—and a leisurely drive through the streets that made up Bethlehem’s downtown proved her right. There was a movie theater, restaurants, a grocery store, a computer-cum-electronics store, and a bookstore—everything she needed to survive. She passed several clothing stores, doctors’, dentists’, and lawyers’ offices, craft shops, hair salons, and gift shops—the icing on the cake.
    Big-city conveniences combined with the ease of smalltown living. On top of that, Bethlehem was definitely one of the prettiest places she’d seen in a long time. Oh, yes, she could live here and love it. Life could be perfect here.
    She pulled into a parking space in front of the first pay phone she noticed,