Father to Be

Pappano's newest contemporary romance (after Some Enchanted Season) is a story of redemption and love found in the small town of Bethlehem, N.Y. On impulse, lonely psychiatrist J.D. Grayson takes on the Herculean task of fostering four abandoned preteen children. Social worker Kelsey Malone, new to Bethlehem, is assigned the case to decide whether the arrangement will work. The new father soon realizes that he's in over his head, juggling work responsibilities with raising kids who won't speak to him; he also finds himself taking a most unprofessional interest in the enigmatic and very professional Kelsey. While many romances use children to decorate the story or interfere with the budding love story, Pappano succeeds in creating fully realized characters. An otherwise strong work of fiction, however, suffers from a resolution that feels rushed and is therefore less than credible. (Sept.)