9 Hell on Wheels by Sue Ann Jaffarian Page A

lowered her swollen body into the chair Jill had just vacated and blew out a breath of relief that fluttered her copper bangs.
    She started to speak, then laid a hand on her belly. Her pale face blanched to an even brighter white, making her freckles look like an advanced case of measles. “Wow,” she said once she caught her breath, “that was a good kick.”
    My forehead bunched, worried that Jolene was going to drop the kid in my office. Like Prissy in Gone with the Wind , I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout birthin’ babies. My right hand instinctively went to my cell phone, ready to hit the preprogrammed 9-1-1 should the need present itself.
    Jolene took a deep breath. “I have a lot of stuff for you to take to Steele when you go over there today. He isn’t due until next week, but I don’t think Bubba is going to last that long.”
    Bubba was the nickname Jolene and her husband had given the fetus as soon as they’d learned it was a boy. They were keeping mum on the real name they had chosen for the baby. I tightened my grip on my phone. Jolene noticed.
    “Relax, Odelia,” she said with a short laugh. “Bubba may come soon, but I don’t think it will be today, and certainly not this minute.”
    “Looks to me like Bubba’s not going to last until lunch.”
    Jolene shifted in the chair, her discomfort obvious. “The sooner the better at this point.”
    I smiled at her. I really enjoyed working with Jolene and watching her grow from a raw, fresh-faced law school graduate into the brilliant attorney she was today. She and Steele didn’t always get along, but she’d learned to hold her own with him, and he respected her for it and found her work and support nearly flawless. Whenever he was out for any extended time, like vacation or now, Jolene was in charge of the office. When she’d announced her pregnancy, Steele had smiled and given her hearty public congratulations. Alone with me behind closed doors, he’d nearly started banging his head against the wall, worried in advance about the effect her maternity leave would have on the firm and, more importantly, on him. If Bubba came now, with Steele laid up, Steele just might overdose on pain pills.
    “I hadn’t planned on seeing Steele today,” I told Jolene. “I was there last night.”
    “Oh.” She adjusted her bulk in the chair again, trying to find some degree of comfort. She was losing the battle. “I spoke to him about thirty minutes ago and he said you were dropping by tonight with a pouch of office stuff.”
    “Not that I know of,” I told her, “but I was about to call him myself.” I hesitated, studying Jolene. Her belly looked like it was rippling and expanding before my very eyes. I half expected Bubba to pop out doing a Fred Astaire impersonation, including top hat and tails. Or maybe he’d enter the world like The Rock, with bulging muscles and a fierce attitude. Either way, he was an active little sucker. “Um, does Steele know that you might not make it until your due date?”
    “I didn’t tell him,” Jolene admitted. “He has enough to worry about without this. Besides, he’ll be back next week, won’t he?”
    “I believe that’s the plan.”
    “Even if Bubba comes today, it will only be a few days without one of us here. I’m sure any of the other attorneys would be able to take the reins for that short time.” She grabbed the arms of the chair and slowly hoisted herself to her feet.
    “Are you sure you should be here?” I asked.
    “Except for feeling like a hippo with swollen ankles, I’m fine.” She shot me a smile that morphed into a grimace as her belly took another kick. “But I promise, if things change, I’ll head for Hoag.”
    The mention of the local hospital brought me back to my morning visit with Rocky, changing my own smile.
    “You okay, Odelia? Your face just dropped.”
    “I’m fine,” I assured her. “It’s just that Greg and I were at Hoag this morning, visiting a friend who is in a