As they hugged goodbye in the parking lot, Crystal knew they all felt that invisible bond that had formed in the nurses' break room the day of the accident. It had grown stronger with time.

Thirty minutes later, Crystal could still feel it, like an invisible hug. She sat on the edge of Shelby's bed, telling him every detail about the meal and everything Helena and Elliot said.

As usual, she had no way of knowing if Shelby was listening. Maybe he was already asleep, or maybe he was in too much pain to care about her day. It didn't matter. She talked to him anyway. "We'll get you out of here as soon as the doctor gives the okay. I talked to Nurse Landry and she said she'd contact a nursing service that will provide the best round-the-clock care. We'll convert a few of the spare bedrooms into nurses' quarters, so they will be with us all the time."

The house they'd built on the north edge of town always seemed so huge to Crystal. It had wide marble floors and gold doorknobs just like a palace. With the new plans it was shrinking by the minute. "Everything you'll need will be upstairs. I'll move your office staff to a few rooms downstairs so I can work with them and still be close to you. Helena says they shouldn't mind coming over if I have the cook prepare them lunch every day."

Crystal brushed her hand over his. "Oh, Shelby, you're going to be so proud of me. I've thought of everything even a lift for the stairs. I'm going to help you get well."

He didn't respond.

"I can do this, Shelby." Tears welled in her eyes. "I promise I can. You'll see. You'll be so proud of me."

"Mrs. Howard?" A nurse had slipped in silently. "Is it all right if I bring your bed in now? Visiting hours are over."

Crystal straightened. Things were changing, she could feel it as surely as she'd felt the north wind chill her bones when she'd walked in from the parking lot. She just wasn't sure if they were changing for the better or worse.

Shelby was still alive. She was still his wife. Yet fear choked her. Some days Shelby seemed to be barely hanging on to life, and if Trent had his way no one would see Crystal as part of the Howard family. At first Trent told everyone she'd run the first time she got a hold of any real money. She had already written checks for thousands of dollars and she was still here. She didn't blame him for hating her; she'd probably feel the same way he did if their positions were reversed.

Crystal smiled at the nurse. It didn't matter what Trent said or thought, people were starting to respect her.

"Bring the bed in." Crystal smoothed her new clothes as she moved off Shelby's bed. "I'll hold the door so it doesn't bump and wake Shelby."

The nurse nodded. As she worked, she whispered, "He's stable now. You should go home and get a good night's sleep yourself."

Crystal shook her head. "I'll go home when my husband does." Smiling, she swore she'd show all those people who wouldn't give her the time of day. She wasn't some tramp Shelby picked up. She was his wife, and she'd be a good one if it took her twenty-four hours a day.

She wasn't the nobody her stepfather had predicted she'd be. She was somebody and, for the first time since she married, she had friends to prove it. Helena had even said she was a jewel and Helena Whitworth wasn't the kind of woman to say something that wasn't true. Also, Anna cared about her for no other reason than they were friends. Even Meredith Allen, a schoolteacher everyone respected, came by to visit almost every other day.

When Shelby got better, he would see the change. Her clothes had class. She was learning and growing. He'd see it in the way she walked and talked and in the way she knew to let the waiter stack the plates.

Then he could take her back to the Randell House Restaurant, and they would sit right in the middle of the place. And maybe when she told him she loved him, he'd say it back to her…just once.

Thunderstorms have a habit of whirling across the prairie without warning, but snow rolls in like the tide bringing layers of winter. Before man settled the land, buffalo roamed by the millions. The buffalo is the only animal that faces the wind no matter how cold it blows. Some say the wildcatters were like that, always facing their problems head on.

November 6

Streets of Clifton Creek


The weather turned ugly a few hours before dawn, coating the streets with what the locals called "Satan's Ice." A sheet of ice so thin it was invisible on the highway, but if you hit it, you might slide right into hell.

Meredith crept toward school in her old Mustang with the bald tires. Almost there, she passed Sheriff Granger Farrington. He stood beside his car parked behind a van that had slid off the road and taken out the school crossing sign and ten feet of an old chain-link fence.

Waving at him, Meredith moved past. When she glanced in her rearview mirror she noticed him watching her.

She felt sorry for him having to work in the cold. It usually took a few hard freezes before the college kids wised up and slowed down.

As the day progressed, Meredith thought of Granger when the snow moved in on top of the ice. She doubted he would have time to go home for a set of dry clothes or even have time to eat. The thought of him out in the weather made her shiver even in her warm classroom, for she knew he was spending the day pushing people out of ditches, jumping cars with their lights left on, and directing traffic.

At four, with most of the school empty, Meredith borrowed the office phone and finally called the sheriff.

"Sheriff Farrington's office. This is Inez. How can I help you?" Inez sounded official and bored.

Meredith smiled into the phone. Inez usually only worked mornings. Whenever Meredith was at the courthouse on holidays Inez always found the time to stop in for a visit. Slit, seemed to think her breaks lasted until someone from the sheriffs office yelled her name down the hall.

"May I please speak to the sheriff?" Meredith kept her voice formal not wanting to have to explain why she way calling.

"Sure, Meredith. I'll put you right through. No problem at school, I hope?"

Meredith closed her eyes. Of course, Inez would have caller I.D. and from there it would be no mystery to figure out who was calling. "No problem at school. I just have a question about the weather."

"It's ringing," Inez said, a moment before Meredith heard a click.

"Yes!" Granger almost shouted. "What's the next problem?"

Meredith almost hung up the phone. He sounded busy.

"Go ahead," he snapped.

Meredith glanced around the tiny office to make sure no one was listening. "Sheriff Farrington, this is Meredith Allen."

There was a silence on the line and she wondered if she had lost the connection.

His voice finally came, slower this time. "Are you all right, Meredith?"

The concern seemed more than just professional, but she could not be sure. "I'm fine," she answered, knowing his question was not just a way of passing time. "And you?"

Granger laughed. "I'm standing knee-deep in snow and mud trying to dig a car out right now. I'm cold, wet and hungry, but other then that I'm just fine, Mrs. Allen. Maybe we could talk…"

"I understand this is not a good time to visit." Meredith knew she had to hurry. "I called to ask if you would like to come to dinner tonight. I want to pay you back for buying me dinner and I thought tonight you might like getting off work and having a meal ready."

The silence lingered so long she was sure he was thinking of how to turn her down, but then he answered, "What time?"

"I'll have it ready at seven but I can leave it on warm if you're late."

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises."

"I understand." She could almost hear him trying to think of an excuse to get out of coming.

The connection ended. He obviously was not a man who wasted time with goodbyes.

Meredith gathered her bags and headed home. She had a great deal to do before seven. She hadn't cooked a meal in a month. During lunch she had made a list of what she needed from the store, but there was still the house to clean.

Rushing like a madwoman, Meredith had everything ready by seven and then she relaxed. She was glad as the minutes ticked away giving her time to rest. But by nine o'clock she knew he wasn't coming and the disappointment surprised her.

As she stood to put the food away, a tap sounded at the door.

The sheriff had already backed away to the steps when she answered. "I'm sorry I'm so late." He looked tired. "If you'd like to try it another night, I'd understand."

"No." She motioned him in. "I put supper in the oven. It won't take me but a minute to set it on the table."

He removed his hat and coat before following her into the kitchen. "We could make it another time." He tried again. "I know you've got to teach tomorrow."

He looked tired. She almost changed her mind. But she had cooked the food. They might as well eat. Plus, she had been looking forward to seeing him all day. Now, she was not sure why. "Please, Sheriff, sit down."

He watched her, studying her. But he did not make her nervous like most people did.

After a few minutes she had to ask, "What is it?"

He grinned. "I guess I've never seen you wearing anything but boxy sweaters that are usually wallpapered in nursery rhymes. It seems strange to see you wearing jeans and a T-shirt."

"Do I need to change to make you feel comfortable?"

"No. Of course not. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. You look great just the way you are. I'll just have to get over missing the nursery rhymes."

He leaned against the bar and continued watching her. They both seemed to have run out of anything to say, and she was still setting the table. The sheriff was no good at small talk, and all she usually talked about was school. The greeting they paid one another in the hallway of the courthouse was about their limit.