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She’d do anything for her baby. Anything. She gulped back more liquid courage and forged on.
    “I’m getting to that.”
    “Is it all about the money?”
    “No.”
    “Then what’s it about? Cuz I’ve got to tell you, darlin’, you look like a woman running from trouble. I think as your husband-to-be I should get a heads up, don’t you?”
    She went for another swallow only to find her glass empty. He offered her another refill, which she accepted. Admitting to Cal how completely stupid she’d been about everything and throwing herself at his mercy had to be one of the lowest moments of her life. A couple more sips and she might be able to get it all out. As long as she didn’t look at him. Just look at Poppy.
    She drained the glass once more, but this time instead of refilling it, he pried it from her hand and set it on the table.
    “My mother would watch Poppy for me while I went to work,” she began. “It wasn’t the best situation, but she was the only babysitter I could afford. It’s hard to turn down free, you know?” She glanced up at him to find him watching her with that Cal intensity that both thrilled and unnerved her.
    “What happened with your mother?”
    “I was late picking Poppy up. I had to make up the time at work that it took to go into Dallas.”
    The time it took her to come to his office and ask for her old job back, Cal realized. There was more going on here than losing a babysitter. He believed her that it wasn’t all about money. If it took all night, he’d get to the bottom of it.
    “When I got to her house,” she continued, “there was a car I didn’t recognize in the driveway. It was Kevin’s.”
    So this was about her son-of-a-bitch ex. Great.
    “He wasn’t supposed to be there. But Mother let him in to see Poppy. He doesn’t have visitation. To my mother, a family is a unit no matter what. She took his side against me. If I leave Poppy with her, she’s going to let Kevin see her.”
    “Why doesn’t he have visitation? Because of his arrest for bigamy?”
    “That’s partly why. Also he’s threatened to take Poppy back to Utah with him. I’m afraid he’ll make good on that threat, and if he does, I might never get to see my daughter again.”
    Something wasn’t jiving here. But her fear that her ex would take her baby was very real. She was terrified. It was that terror—way more than the need for money and the flexible-hours bullshit—that had driven her to accept his offer. The disappointment he felt over that revelation surprised him. He knew she hadn’t agreed because she loved him or even wanted him. He was literally her last and only resort. But son of a bitch . A part of him had hoped she might care for him at least a little.
    “That’s one of the reasons I asked about moving in early,” she admitted. “The gates and security. I promise we’ll stay out of your way. You’ll hardly know we’re here. Poppy’s a very good baby. We’ll clean up—”
    He put a hand up to stop her. “You’re not a guest here, Lucy. You’re going to be my wife. This is going to be your home as much as mine.”
    “Okay. I just don’t want you to think I’ll take advantage.”
    “Stop acting like I’ll kick you and Poppy to the curb for the slightest infraction. As long as you wear my ring, you have a place here.” He wanted to add that as long as she wore his ring she had a place in his life and his heart, but he didn’t think she could handle much more pressure than she was already under.
    His instinct told him there was more to the story, something to do with the ex. Maybe the feelers he put out earlier that day would pay off and he’d get a look at the whole picture and know exactly what he was up against.
    She shifted Poppy to the couch next to her and adjusted the blanket around her. She was a devoted mother to her daughter. It had occurred to him more than once that Poppy could be his. He and Lucy had certainly been careless more than a time or two.