He looked at her in surprise.
For a moment Josh felt a touch of panic. He hadn’t been sure he wanted to agree with Michelle’s crazy plan, but it did buy him time to find a more permanent arrangement for Penny. If he agreed to the scheme, he’d have help with Penny— maybe until she was enrolled in school. By then, he could see about after-school day care. He’d figure it out. This marriage bought him some time. And enabled him to keep his daughter.
But to do that, he needed Michelle to follow through with her suggestion. Not fold when he laid down a condition.
He looked over at Penny. She was playing alone on one of the crawl toys the kiddie center provided. She had difficulty relating to the other children at the day care centers and the preschools he’d tried. She was wild and undisciplined. But she was so little and so adorable. And he loved her more than life itself.
He couldn’t let her grandmother raise her. He'd miss her too much. He wanted to be there for her, see her grow up, hear about the exciting things she learned in school, even mop up tears when some punk boy hurt her as a teenager.
But if he didn’t take advantage of Michelle’s offer, he was at his wits' end on what to do.
“For the duration of our mock marriage, she’ll be your daughter. I don’t abide spanking, but I’ll listen to your suggestions,” he said heavily.
Surprised by Michelle’s startled look, he wondered what she thought of him. Would she have even considered talking with him if she didn't need his skill to locate her father?
For the first time he really looked at Michelle. She was pretty in a quiet, unassuming way. Her deep auburn hair was pulled back, then curled around and beneath the bow she wore. Her bright blue eyes were guileless, always meeting his directly, hiding nothing. She was quiet and reserved in a manner as unlike his ex-wife Sylvia as anyone could be. Maybe it wouldn’t be all bad working together for a few months.
“I can't devote full-time investigation to your father,” he said suddenly, wanting to be up-front with her. “This arrangement will help me out, but I also need cases that will pay hard cash. I'll do the best I can to expedite the search.”
“I understand.”
“Of course I’m always juggling a dozen or more cases at a time, so what’s one more? And I have a couple of operatives who are skilled in different areas, I’ll also assign them to some of the background work.”
“Someone needs to talk with Edith Strong.”
“Who’s Edith Strong?”
“She knew my parents. She was a contemporary of my grandmother’s and may know some specific information about my father. She’s the one, besides grandmother, who finally told us the truth about my father’s leaving.”
‘‘Then interviewing her will be a high number on the list of things to do,” Josh said.
‘‘So, we’re on?” she asked.
"I’m in if you are. Penny turns five in July and starts kindergarten in the fall. If we stay together until then, I should be able to locate your father and find suitable after school care for her.”
She cleared her throat, toying with the napkin on the table. “Actually, it would have to be a bit longer— until my sister Caroline has her baby in November.”
He nodded. "Okay.”
“When do you want to get married?”
“Tomorrow,” he said dryly.
“What?”
Smiling at her astonishment, Josh felt a huge weight disappear. She was still hanging in there. For the first time he was glad he hadn’t found a boyfriend in the background who’d object to her bizarre suggestion.
Though he didn’t understand the other men in Louisiana. Michelle might be quiet, but she was pretty. Why hadn't she been married long before—to some guy who still believed in love and all that stuff?
“I want to get Penny into the day care as soon as possible. You set the date,” he said.
“You’re right. You need her taken care of. Get her established in a normal routine. I don’t mind getting married soon.”
She bit her lip, as a sudden thought hit.
“What?” he asked. Would he always be able to read this woman who would soon be his wife? Unlikely, he’d never been able to understand Sylvia. But Michelle seemed to express everything right up front.
“I’d say we could elope, but my sisters would never forgive me. Especially Caroline. She and her husband eloped a few years ago and then renewed their vows earlier this month with a full church ceremony. She puts a lot of stock in tradition.”
“Sorry, I draw the line there. I’ve been through that once. This is not going to turn into a multimedia circus event to keep your sisters from suspecting anything.”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t want to spend the money on something so frivolous unless this was a real marriage. But we have to do something or they’ll suspect something is up. And then Caroline would worry and try to protect me when she needs to concentrate on delivering a healthy baby.”
“We’ll do what your sister did—elope and tell them we plan a formal ceremony later.”
Michelle shook her head. “No. Caroline would fret and I can’t have that.”
“Are you expecting that our entire marriage will be dictated by your sister whom I’ve never even met?”
“You can meet her tomorrow. She’s invited us to her place for dinner.”
“When was this?”
“Last night, before you called. I didn’t know if you’d say yes or no to this crazy arrangement, but I thought I should set the stage—just in case.”
“Just how did you set this stage?” he asked suspiciously.
Michelle told him and by the time she’d finished, Penny appeared at her dad’s side.
“I want to go,” she said, eyeing Michelle cautiously.
“Michelle and I haven’t finished talking,” Josh said. He watched Penny closely in case she threw a
