Crystal broke into tears. She didn't care that makeup streamed down her face and paddled onto her good clothes_ She hadn't been imagining that Shelby was somewhere be neath all the pain. Sometimes, late at night, she thought maybe she was just wanting him to know she was there, to need her when he really was too close to death to care. But now she knew. Everyone knew.
Elliot chuckled. 'Well, wildcatter, you sure had everyone worried. Appears it takes more than a little explosion to slow down Shelby Howard.'
Everyone except Trent laughed as Elliot continued. 'Since I'm here, do you want to turn over the power of attorney to your fine son? That way, you can recover without worrying about the company.'
Crystal read the lie in the honest man's face as easily as she used to spot an undercover cop at the bars.
When Shelby shook his head slightly, she saw Elliot's grin. The old man tested Shelby, and her husband just proved his sanity.
'This is insane.' Trent finally recovered enough to attack. 'He can't run a business from this bed. I'll bring lawyers from Dallas if I have to. The man is too far gone to do anything. In a few weeks, he'll be looking at months of surgeries. For his sake, I have to take charge.' He moved to the end of the bed, a gambler covering his bet. 'I'm doing this for your sake, Dad. When you do get better, I'll step down from the helm.'
It was obvious that no one in the room believed him.
'I'm sure the company ran just fine when Shelby took a few days off.' Elliot's voice was calm, almost as if he were going over facts to himself. 'I remember he and Crystal went to Vegas for a month last year. The payroll still got made. The bills got paid.'
'That's because of my cousin, Jimmy Howard. Some say Jimmy knew more about Howard Drilling than my father did. He ran it most of the time even when Dad was in town,' Trent offered. 'He's the only one who could write checks on the business account besides Dad. He was killed in the accident.'
'Can't you sign?' Elliot looked directly at the son.
'No. Dad never got around to authorizing anything but an annual salary for me. I'm rarely at the office. I have a great many other responsibilities.'
Elliot's forehead worried into a hundred tiny lines. 'Someone must be able to sign on the account. It doesn't make sense that a man would have so many holdings and not trust more than one person.'
Crystal didn't miss the slight emphasis on trust.
'I can sign checks,' she whispered.
'We're not talking about the household account,' Trent grumbled.
His reaction came fast, like an invisible slap. She braced herself, expecting to hear him tell her to keep her mouth shut.
Elliot ignored Trent. 'Is that true…Mrs. Howard? You can sign checks on Howard Drilling?'
She smiled at the way he called her Mrs. Howard. No one ever called her that, though everyone in town knew she was rightfully married to Shelby. Mrs. Howard was Shelby's first wife, the mother of his children. She was just Crystal, the tramp he'd married one weekend in Dallas.
'After we got married, Shelby would always bring his work home. To finish his work faster he had me write the checks out.' She saw no need to tell them that Shelby's eyes were weakening, and he'd been too vain to wear glasses. 'He said he'd learned a long time ago never to let a bookkeeper sign checks. `A man handles his own money,' he'd say, then he'd tell me what to write and I would.'
Elliot nodded toward one of the younger men. The silent soldier pulled out a cellular phone and stepped to the door.
'Dad never mentioned such a practice to me.' Trent glanced at her as if she were bothering them by talking. 'You would've cleaned out the liquid assets and been long gone if you could sign on the corporate accounts.'
Crystal shook her head. 'I didn't need any money. He gave me plenty for spending. All I ever wanted was to have a home with Shelby. I don't care about the business or how much he's got.'
Trent huffed in disbelief. Silence grew in the room like bindweed.
The young man stepped back inside. A nurse's warning about using cell phones drifted through the open doorway, but the man answered directly to Elliot. 'It appears, Mr. Morris, there are two names on the signature card for Howard Drilling other than Shelby Howard. James Howard and Crystal Howard. The bookkeeper told me most of the business checks that come through each month were signed by one Crystal Howard.'
Trent paled.
'Well.' Elliot grinned. 'It seems we have no problem after all. While your husband is recovering, you'll be able to keep the cash flowing.'
He looked directly at Trent. 'I assume you'll be taking over the running of the company while your father's ill.'
'I guess I'll have to.'
'Good.' Elliot motioned for the others to leave. 'I'd like to offer my assistance, Mrs. Howard. I'll be happy to look over the accounts each month, answer any questions you have about expenses.' He handed her his card. 'Call me any time.'
'Thank you, but I don't know if I can-'
'Of course you can. Howard Drilling has a bookkeeper and a few secretaries that I'm sure will be made available to you.' No uncertainty echoed in Elliot's voice. 'Shelby really needs your help now. I know you won't let him down.'
Crystal wiped mascara from her cheek. 'I'll do my best.'
Trent left after Elliot Morris without saying a word. Crystal lowered her face to Shelby's hand. 'I'll try real hard, Shelby. I'll do the very best I can. I won't let you down. Mr. Morris will look over everything I do, just to make sure. He can explain things to me, and as you get better, I'll be able to talk with you.'
Nurse Landry came in to close the curtains and tell Crystal she could use the whirlpool tub at the end of the hall if she wanted. Visiting hours were over. Since that day Helena had first visited the hospital, a folding bed with clean sheets had been delivered every night at nine for Crystal.
During her bath, Crystal thought about how she was a real wife now, not just some bracelet on a rich man's arm. She'd be helping, working with Shelby, not just signing checks. She could feel a good wind blowing in her direction. A wind that would give her a chance to prove she could be somebody important. Somebody worth loving.
By the time she dressed for bed, she decided she would call Anna and Helena. Maybe one of them could go shopping with her for proper clothes. She'd have to go to the bank now, and Mr. Morris's office. She had responsibilities.
Sitting gingerly on the side of Shelby's bed, she whispered, 'I'll do the right thing, darling. You can count on me.'
Shelby's bandaged arms had been taken from the splints. He lifted his hand to her face.
'I'll go to your office and find out all I need to do. I can type. I took a semester before I dropped out. Maybe I could get someone to teach me how to use your computer to check on stocks, like you always do.'
Bandaged fingers lowered to the V of her nightgown.
'Oh, no.' She giggled and gently pushed him away, still lost in her thoughts of becoming a businesswoman. 'I could find a book at the library on the stock market so I could talk to you about it, too. You always said it was the biggest poker game around, but I never understood what you meant.'
He reached again, hooking the material with curled fingers.
'Shelby?' Crystal tried to pull his hand away. 'I don't want to do that. Not here. Not now.'
He tugged again.
'But Shelby, I want to think about all I got to do. Surely you don't want me to-'
'Yes!'
His voice was so low and hoarse she didn't recognize it. Any joy over his first word vanished as she realized what he wanted.
Slowly, Crystal unbuttoned her gown and bared her breasts. Big, beautiful, perfectly formed breasts he'd bought for her the second month they'd been married.
Tears floated in her eyes, but she knew he wouldn't notice. She'd played this game for years. When he was drunk, he'd say, 'I got my own peep show.' He wanted her to sit still as he touched her. Since the day she came back from Dallas and the surgery, he'd bragged about her breasts to any man who would listen. Demanding his feel
