Here Comes Trouble (18 page)

When she ran back into the room, he was
talking to Dylan, and Karen was standing by him tapping her toe
with her arms folded under her heaving breasts.

"Take Judge and the gang on the drive
tomorrow, ya'll start without us. We'll catch up, if things work
out," he told Dylan, his face looking gray and worried. "Don't
forget we have that FBI group coming in for training starting
Saturday, so ya'll be back early on Friday." Dylan nodded then
brushed by Karen giving her a heated look, on his way to the front
door.

"I'm sorry about Chase, sugar...I'm sure
things will work out," Karen purred then stepped up to put her hand
on his cheek. When he leaned his face into her palm, Terri wanted
to vomit.

The woman had the nerve to move even closer
and put her arms around him. The sick feeling in Terri's gut
intensified, when Joel's arms closed around her. She couldn't stand
there and watch the display anymore. He was hurt, he was sick with
worry, and that woman was taking advantage of it. But Karen
couldn't do that unless he allowed it, and evidently he
wanted
her comfort. Well he could have it.

Terri's main concern was for Jenny, and she
was going to the hospital. Let him stay there and cuddle with that
viper all he wanted. If she bit him again, then he could just go
straight to hell where he deserved to be.

Terri turned on her heel and ran to the front
door. When she got there, she flung it open and ran onto the porch,
then down the steps. She heard Joel shout behind her, but she
didn't stop, she clicked the button on her key fob, while she ran
for her truck. Before he made it out to the porch, she'd put the
truck in drive and peeled out of the yard with a cloud of dust in
her wake.

Let the drunk bastard get his ex-wife to drive
him to the hospital, if he gave a shit enough about Jenny and Chase
to want to be there.

When she got to the hospital, Terri skidded to
a stop halfway across two parking spots. Barely throwing the truck
into park, she slid down to the ground, slammed the door and was in
an all out sprint for the entrance to the Emergency Room when her
phone rang. Terri ignored it and hesitated at the automatic doors
waiting for them to open, before she walked inside and went to the
information desk.

Huffing and puffing she asked the desk clerk
in between pants, "Jenny Rhodes...maternity...where is
she?"

The woman clicked buttons on her keyboard,
then looked up. "She's in labor and delivery on the third
floor."

Terri was sprinting for the elevator before
she finished the sentence. After she punched the button to call the
elevator, Terri waited impatiently for the doors to open, praying
that Jenny and the baby were okay.

This last week, Terri had been so busy at the
ranch, she hadn't had time to spend with her best friend like she
said she was going to. Joel had distracted her, more than that,
worrying about him and the ranch had been her sole
focus.

She felt awful for deserting Jenny.

Everything she'd done lately was to please
Joel...to make things easier for him.

That was over, he was on his own. She'd work
for him, treat his guests if they needed her, and do her job. From
now on though, Terri was going to worry about herself, and spend
her time taking care of the people in her life who cared about her.
Joel Rhodes was not one of them.

Next weekend, if Jenny and the baby were doing
okay, she'd make a trip home to see her parents and her siblings,
she missed her family. She was sure they missed her too, and she
had promised them she would visit often when she left. Although
she'd only been in Amarillo two weeks, she needed to see
them.

The elevator opened, and Terri rushed inside
then pushed the button for the third floor. It seemed like it took
hours to reach the third floor, since the car stopped on the second
floor to load passengers, before continuing on. When she finally
got there, the first thing she saw was the backside of Curly
Rhodes, Chase and Joel's mom reaming out a frazzled nurse at the
nurse's station.

She was far from her usual elegant and
perfectly coifed self, her blond hair was stuffed under a baseball
cap, and she was wearing cowboy boots and jeans with dirt caked at
the hem. The young nurse looked like she would bolt at any second.
Taking pity on the woman, Terri walked up to Curly and put her hand
on her arm. "How's Jenny?"

Curly spun to face her and the nurse scurried
around the desk and down the hall.

"Oh, god...I'm glad you're here. Jenny has
been asking for you!" Curly exclaimed dramatically then took her
arm and pulled her down the hall.

"The baby is big and turned sideways, not all
the way breech, but not in the right position either. They're going
to try and turn him around. The doctor says if they can't make it
work soon, they'll have to do a C-Section and Jenny is beside
herself."

Terri didn't say it but she thought Jenny
wasn't the only one. "How's Chase?" she asked and tried to make her
feet keep up with the taller woman.

"He's a wreck!" she wailed. "I think they
might have to put him in a room too, he's hyperventilating and
looks like he might pass out. Damn boy needs to get his head out of
his--"

"Shhh...they'll hear you," Terri finally
interrupted Curly's tirade. No wonder everyone was upset. Curly was
worked up into a frenzy and probably had everyone else that way
too. No wonder Chase was having a panic attack.

"It's nothing I haven't told them!" Curly said
and huffed a breath, before she stopped at a room near the end of
the hallway.

Maybe she could help Chase and Jenny after
all. She put her hand on Curly's arm. "You seem stressed out
too...why don't you go get a cup of coffee. Keep your cell phone on
and I'll call if something happens. You know these things take a
while. How far dilated is she?"

"Only two centimeters," Curly told
her.

"She has a long row to hoe then, so you should
take a deep breath and go relax for a few minutes," Terri
encouraged with a pat to her hand, hoping the woman would bite. She
knew Jenny and Chase would probably thank her later.

"I'll get some coffee and go wait for Shauna
to get here. She's flying in from Dallas and taking a cab over
here."

"That's a great idea...I'll talk to you
later," Terri said and physically turned her toward the elevator.
"I'll let Chase and Jenny know where you are."

"Oh, thank you, sugar...you're a godsend,"
Curly replied and patted her hand then pulled away to walk to the
elevator.

Terri walked through the door and was very
glad she'd bought her friend and husband some relief. They both
looked like they were scared shitless. Chase really did look like
he was on the verge of passing out.

"Hey, guys..." she said brightly then walked
over to the bed and took Jenny's hand.

Chase shot up from the chair and shouted,
"Where's Joel?!?" then walked to the door and looked up and down
the hall.

"I have no idea, I came alone. He'll probably
be here soon though," she assured him and squeezed Jenny's
hand.

"He needs to get his ass here, I need him," he
told her and his eyes were wild and scared. "They might have to do
surgery," Chase told her in a tortured voice.

"He won't be much good to you, since you'll be
in the operating room with Jenny," Terri told him with a snort,
then regretted the words when she saw his face turn paper
white.

She quickly let go of Jenny's hand and ran
over to him. "Sit down, sugar..." she told him and helped him to a
chair. "We three are going to have a conversation, right now," she
said resolutely after he sat down.

When Terri was sure she had both of them
paying attention, she took a step back from Chase and put her hands
on her hips. "Babies are born every day, women give birth to babies
every day, women who have big babies have to have C-sections
sometimes. This isn't unusual. Jenny, you are a fricking
doctor--you know that! What the hell is going on with all the
dramatics?"

"But it's
our
baby," Chase whined.
"This isn't supposed to happen...what if something goes wrong?" he
said and his face turned greener.

Terri snorted. "You think Rhodes babies are
exempt from complications? What's going on with Jenny is a problem
yes, but it's not life-threatening. She's at a hospital with all
the equipment and staff needed to make sure she and the baby are
okay. So ya'll just take a chill...you're making things worse,"
Terri told them with frustration in her tone.

"But mama said--" Chase started and pushed up
out of the chair, but Terri shoved his shoulder and he fell
backwards.

She pointed her finger at him. "Chase, stop
listening to your mama...she's upset and that's upsetting ya'll.
There's no reason for it. This baby doesn't need to be born to
stressed out parents."

From behind her, she heard Jenny's sigh of
relief. "Thank you, Terri."

"You're welcome, Jen...now let's all take a
step back and breeeeathe," Terri took a step back herself and told
them with a grin. "You know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

"No, we didn't want to know, but I think it's
a boy since it's so big. My doctor thinks he'll be over nine
pounds," Jenny told her and ran her tongue over her obviously dry
lips.

"Chase make yourself useful and go get your
wife some ice chips for her dry mouth," Terri ordered. He shot from
the chair like he had a bottle rocket under him, grabbed the
pitcher from the night stand then almost ran down the hall. Terri
chuckled behind him.

"So, where's Curly?" Jenny asked her and her
smile faded. "She really is making things pretty tense around
here...I know she doesn't mean to, she's just worried."

"I sent her downstairs to get coffee and wait
on Shauna to get here."

"Thank, God..." Jenny said then added, "The
doctor is coming back in a minute to try and turn the baby, or tell
me what the game plan is, and I didn't want her in here, but didn't
want to hurt her feelings."

"How far is he turned?" Jenny asked her trying
to hide her concern.

"Not too far, his head is about right here,"
she told Terri and put her hand on her distended
stomach.

"Good, doesn't sound too bad then," Terri told
her and breathed deeply. "So, how far apart are your
contractions?"

"They aren't even regular yet. As soon as I
told Chase I had a back spasm, he stuffed me into the car and drove
like a madman to get here," Jenny said.

"That's pretty damned funny...now you get to
spend two days here, until they get regular and you're dilated
enough?"

"I sure as hell hope it doesn't take that
long. Chase will be a basket case if that happens." Jenny said with
a snort.

"He's already a basket case," Terri
hooted.

Jenny smiled then flinched and grabbed her
belly. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. "We're cooking
with Crisco now, I think...that one was stronger."

Emotion clogged Terri's throat and her eyes
filled. "Just think, in just a little while, you're gonna get to
meet your son or daughter. Who'd have thought this is where you'd
be right now, at this time last year."

"I know," Jenny agreed softly. "Chase has
changed my whole life...I love him so much, and he's going to be a
great daddy."

"You're going to be a great mama too,
Jen...I'm happy for ya'll."

Terri was happy for her friend, and she was
going to be an honorary aunt. But she couldn't help but wonder if
she hadn't wound up divorced five years ago, if she'd be a mother
herself now. That thought brought on a cold chill though when she
realized if she would have had a baby then, Craig would have been
the father. A bad situation all around.

At thirty-one now, her biological clock was
reaching a deafening pitch inside her head, but she wasn't going to
rush things, she still had time. And Terri still had faith she
would find the right man. If she quit messing with the wrong ones.
Like Joel Rhodes.

Chase came back into the room with the water
pitcher filled with ice. He walked over to the bed and leaned down
to kiss Jenny's forehead, then tilted the pitcher so she could
pinch out a few chips. After sliding them across her lips she put
some in her mouth and moaned in relief.

"Thanks, baby...you're my hero," Jenny told
her husband with a smile.

His answering smile was so wide, it almost lit
up the room as he sat down on the side of the bed and held the
pitcher for her. Chase rolled his shoulders and his body relaxed a
little. "God, this waiting is gonna kill me," he told her with a
huffed breath.

"It'll be worth the wait," Jenny assured him
with a pat on the back of his hand.

Terri took a deep breath, glad the tension was
finally leaving the room. She figured it would get even better if
she gave them some time to just breathe and be together for a
minute.

"I'm going downstairs and keep your mama
occupied, so you two can have some time together. Chase call me if
something happens, okay?"