Father to Be by Marilyn Pappano Page A

would be a mistake. But what would be the alternative? Fortunately, he didn’t have to look for one. After a moment, with all the hostility he could manage, Caleb gave in. “Fine. Let’s go.”
    There were only a few clothing stores in Bethlehem, all of them located on two adjoining blocks. What were the chances, J.D. wondered sourly, that Caleb wouldn’t find anything he liked?
    J.D. herded the kids into the nearest shop, where Mandy Lewis, daughter of one of his fellow doctors, was working for the summer. Somehow hearing the bell over the door in spite of the discordant racket coming from the radio under the counter, she lowered the volume, spit out the gum she’d been popping, and greeted them with a bright smile. “Hi, Dr. J.D. What can I do for you?”
    “We need new wardrobes—shorts, T-shirts, underwear, whatever they need for the summer. And something for church.”
    “I never been to church,” Noah murmured.
    “Well, it’s never too late to start,” Mandy replied. “Atleast, that’s what my grandfather the minister says. Why don’t you two”—she held out her hands to Gracie and Noah—“come with me, and I’ll help you get started while Dr. J.D. takes care of your brothers.”
    Noah looked to Caleb for permission. Gracie, her attention caught by a rack of pretty dresses, felt no such need. She immediately placed her hand in Mandy’s and headed for the dresses. Only then did Noah grab the girl’s other hand and follow.
    J.D. considered coming up with an excuse for leaving all four kids in Mandy’s care. The courthouse was nearby. He could check in with the sheriff’s department and see if there’d been any progress in the last hour or so in the search for Ezra Brown. He could cross the hall to the police department and shoot the breeze with his friends there. Or he could go to the third floor and unnerve Kelsey Malone a bit more.
    His grin faded. No use considering could-dos. What he
would
do was admit—at least to himself—that he was once again out of his element and try his best in spite of it.
    As he looked around, his gaze settled on a display of denim shorts. Since that was his own summer uniform when he wasn’t working, he headed that way. “Jacob, what size do you wear?”
    With a bewildered expression the boy looked at Caleb, then shrugged. He probably wore hand-me-downs from his brother, whose own clothes appeared to be hand-me-downs from their father.
    J.D. picked out a variety of sizes, then handed them to Jacob. “The dressing room’s over there. Try those on until you find a pair that fits.” After taking a breath for patience, he turned to Caleb. “What about you?”
    “I got clothes.”
    “You need more.”
    “Don’t want any.”
    “You need some for church.”
    “I’m not goin’ to church.”
    “Yes, you are. Sunday morning. We don’t go to the same church as Mandy, but you’ll know some people there. Mr. Montero, the principal at your school. Miss Smith—she was your teacher last year, wasn’t she? Oh, and Alanna Dalton. Her family goes there too.”
    Caleb’s face turned red at the mention of Alanna’s name. “I’m not goin’ to church, and I’m not buyin’ new clothes, and I’m not takin’
anything
from
you
.”
    Out of sight behind the stacks of shorts, J.D.’s fingers curled into a fist. For one brief moment he considered letting Caleb have his way, letting him continue to live in ragged old clothes that fitted badly and gave other kids reason to tease or feel sorry for him. But that would be the easy way out, the coward’s way out. It would mean giving in to a twelve-year-old, and he wasn’t quite ready to do that.
    “You’re getting new clothes for church,” he said in an even voice. “You will show respect by dressing appropriately when you’re there. The rest of the time, I don’t care if you wear rags out of the trash.” But others would, and because they would, eventually so would Caleb. “So you can pick out stuff you like,