Sister Wife

Hill's Canyon

Beth is sitting outside the restaurant we agreed on when I pull up. She smiles when I wave at her from the car and gets up.

"I really didn't think you would show up," she gives me a hug. "Wow, Charlotte, you look amazing," she shakes her head. "Like, really good."

"Thanks," I shrug.

"Gosh," Beth reaches for my purse. "When you said Los Angeles I didn't picture this," she runs her finger over the designer label. "I guess I can see why you'd want to keep me away."

"It's not like that," I try to pull my bag away from her without seeming rude. It's weirder having nice stuff around Beth than it was around Sarah because Sarah didn't know much about fashion but Beth seems to recognize how much all my stuff costs. What does this look like to her?

"So what does your husband do?" Beth is looking at everything I'm wearing now.

"Something in the music business, I'm not really sure what," I shrug. This is the lie Justin and I agreed on when we talked about how I could handle Beth's questions.

"Bullshit," Beth rolls her eyes. "Just don't lie to me, okay? I know you're not allowed to tell me everything and I respect that but there's no reason to lie."

"Alright," I sigh. "Should we get food?"

"Yeah," Beth nods. "You can pay," she laughs.

"I was going to," I shake my head. I follow her inside and we order. I'm excited we're eating here because it was so popular in high school and we, of course, never had the money to go. We take our food back outside and sit down.

"So you really weren't kidding that he takes good care of you," Beth says. "You're not as scrawny as you used to be."

"He's a good man," I nod. "We never have to stretch our food," I add. I know I've gained a little weight over the past months but my jeans still fit so it's not like I'm getting big.

"Clearly," Beth looks at my purse again. "Did you see Lehi?"

"Unfortunately," I sigh. She's waiting for the explanation. "My sister wife used to have a thing with him," I won't tell her everything, but that seems to be enough.

"I didn't think you'd be happy when he showed up," Beth makes a face. "He's working at a gas station and drinks every night."

"How do you know this?" I ask.

"I work with a rescue group," Beth says. "We try to help kids who run away from the compounds before they run into trouble or do something stupid cause they're desperate."

"Do you pick people up?" I ask, wondering if she knows anything about Rachel.

"I don't, but people I work with do," Beth nods. "I do all the paperwork, but I'm studying to be a counselor so I can help with therapy."