Today Show interview with Mindy McCready's husband, he says McCready not a fit mother right now

ST. PETERSURG, Fla. - The father of country singer Mindy McCready's child says she's pushing her luck with the legal system by not following a judge's order to return the 5-year-old to Florida to the care of McCready's mother.

Billy McKnight told the NBC "Today" show Friday he spoke on the phone with McCready and their boy after the judge's deadline expired Thursday.

McKnight said the boy sounded fine and was not scared or crying.

McCready has had a long custody battle with her mother, who was awarded guardianship in 2007.

McCready took the boy during a recent visit to Florida and a judge signed an order Thursday for authorities to take the boy into custody and return him.

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It's not yet clear whether she could face criminal charges.

"I'm doing all this to protect Zander, not stay out of trouble," McCready wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday. "I don't think I should be in trouble for protecting my son in the first place."

McCready says she is in Tennessee and it is looking less likely that she will bring her son back to Florida. She says she cannot travel because she's nearly seven months pregnant with twins. There was no answer at a Nashville address for McCready.

The judge's order means law enforcement anywhere can pick up Zander and bring him back to Florida.