Disclaimer: see chapter one

"I think you need to take a step back, Sara. I don't think this is the time or the place to have this conversation. We're on a Christmas tree farm surrounded by all sorts of people picking out their trees. Can't this wait until we're back at the cabin?" Chris said through clinched teeth as she looked around. "Wait a minute, where the hell are we?"

"We walked all the way through the Christmas tree farm. We're on the backside of it. Now, your little excuse about people picking out their trees won't fly. So, are you going to be honest or are we going to go back, grab your bag and put your ass on the next flight out of here and not even give you a chance to tell Linds goodbye?"

"Sara, you're not making sense. Are you sure you're okay?" Chris had started backing away from Sara, hoping to put some distance between herself and the woman who was challenging her.

"I'm making perfect sense. Need me to refresh your memory?"

"Yeah, 'cause I obviously don't understand what you're referring to?"

Sara turned to walk away from her and then turned back around. "You told Lindsey your parents were dead—killed in a car accident. You told me the same story. Right?" She watched as Chris nodded her head. "The funny thing is this—your parents are alive. They still live in Florida. But you knew that already, didn't you?" Chris just looked at her—her eyes full of hate and distrust. "You don't even have an older brother or sister."

"How'd you—," Chris was cut off by Sara.

"—find out? I used to be a CSI. I still have lots of friends in the police department and at the crime lab. But I didn't use anyone here in Las Vegas. I called a CSI friend down in Miami and she was more than willing to help me out. I called after our conversation last night and she knew everything about you available to the Miami-Dade Police Department within the hour. So you see, you drinking all of the coffee was just the icing on the proverbial cake for me. Now, she told me why you'd probably tell the world that your parents are dead, but I'd love to hear the story from you."

"I don't have to tell you anything. I think you just need to grab a tree and let's head back to the cabin," Chris said defiantly.

"You don't get it, do you? We're not going anywhere until you have the guts to be honest with me. I know you've been lying to Lindsey, and we'll straighten that out tonight. But right now, you're going to do the right thing and tell me the truth. We can start with why you go around saying that your parents are dead or we can start with who you were on the phone with earlier on the porch. I know it wasn't Lindsey—despite you saying that you left her a voice mail. You wouldn't have said that you were with her family if you had been leaving her a message. So, choice is yours. Who were you on the phone with or why you tell people that your parents are dead?"

Chris physically turned away from Sara and slumped onto the ground. "Are you sure you want to hear this story? 'Cause if you are, I'm happy to tell you." Sara just looked at her. "Okay then. We'll start with the phone call. I was talking to my daughter, Alex."

"You have a child? Does Lindsey know?"

"No, Lindsey does not know. I didn't know how to tell her. At first it was because I didn't know how she'd react. Then it was because of little comments she had made about kids. And now, I'm in so deep with her…I was just hoping she'd agree to marry me and then be okay with the whole thing."

"How old is your daughter?" Sara said as she sat on the ground beside her. "And if you've been dating Linds for two years, how has she managed not to meet your little girl."

"Alex lives with my parents. They actually have custody of her. They don't really approve of my lifestyle choice and were able to work the legal system to get custody of Alex not too long after she was born."

"How'd you get pregnant?"

"It was an accident actually. A party one night, junior year in college. I had been having no luck in the love department with the women I had been pursuing. There was a guy I was friends with and he was constantly asking me out despite my telling him repeatedly that I played for the other team. After a few too many drinks, I asked him to show me what I was missing out on. And nine months later, I had Alex. He wanted no part of her life, or mine for that matter. I still had a year to go in college, lots of ambition, and a desire to go to graduate school. After Alex was born, I started partying really hard—staying gone for a couple of days at a time—and leaving her with my parents. I can't really blame them for taking her. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to her—and to me. Over the last couple of years, my relationship with my parents has thawed. I manage to get down to Florida to see Alex every few months, but lately, that's just not enough. I'm really hoping that after I finish my PhD, I'll be able to get custody of my little girl again," Chris explained while fighting to hold back the tears. "I've been honest with my family about Lindsey and even Alex knows about her. Granted, no one has met Lindsey. But that's not because I'm ashamed of her. It's just—"

"—a difficult situation. I get it. So why tell people that your parents are dead?"

"If I tell people that they're dead, no one pushes to meet them or the rest of my family. It's stupid, but once you tell a few people they're dead, it just gets easier to keep telling people that story."

"You planning on coming clean with Lindsey?"

"Are you planning on letting me ask her to marry me?"