It wasn't so much that he was a bad liar. Actually, he wasn't half bad at it. A little better than he should be, even. But between the two of them, the truth of the situation was that he just didn't have it in him to expend the effort of being misleading. It wasn't like she seemed the type that deserved to be lied to, either.

He let out a small breathy laugh, shaking his head.

"It's not me that I'm worried about. It's --" He paused for just a moment, but couldn't stop the rest of the words from tumbling out. "It's my little girl, Grace. I left her alone. I don't know what to do."

He laughed again, in a dry, humorless way. Sometimes laughing was all he could do to cope.

"Jefferson." He had let his sob story slip easily enough, might as well tell her his name too.