Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

over the side next to his. As much as she and Thayne agreed they had to get Frankie to face his new reality, she wasn’t looking forward to having this conversation. “You’ll always need therapy, Frank, to keep what muscle tone you do have.”
    “But there won’t be any improvement. No true mobility as far as walking.”
    He said it with a finality that told her he knew the truth, and perhaps was even coming to terms with it.
    “I’m really sorry,” she said. “I thought there was a good chance, but the nerve damage was extensive and the scar tissue on top of that makes everything harder. It’s so painful for you to even try that I don’t see how you can ever get to the point of walking again. You haven’t tried to stand for weeks because of the pain, and that doesn’t seem to be improving.”
    He nodded. “And so even though I got pissed off about the chair, you really did me a great favor by getting it. It’s going to be my only means of transportation since I won’t be able to wheel myself around. Hell, I can’t handle it now, but it’d be doubly hard to do once they chop my hand off.”
    “I didn’t know about your hand when I started working on the chair. But, yes, it’s twice as important now. This rehab center isn’t all you’re meant for. The chair will help you get mobile again so you can start living your life.”
    He flexed his left hand in a half fist, as far as it would clench before causing him pain. “Living? What am I supposed to do? What kind of job can I possibly work with no legs and one hand?”
    She’d worried about the same thing. “I don’t know.”
    “I go nuts here,” he admitted. “The only time I’m truly happy is when I’m with the kids who live in the burn unit. I have to be strong for them, pretend I’m okay so they won’t be afraid.”
    “Maybe that’s something you could do,” Cassie said, warming to the idea. After all, if Frankie could get back into some sort of service role, even if it wasn’t being a firefighter, maybe he could get his confidence back.
    To her dismay, he shook his head.
    “Not only is that not a paying job, some days I just can’t do it.”
    Although they’d spent many hours together over the last year, this was the first time Frankie had spoken to her with such candid openness.
    She patted his leg softly. “Why not?”
    “I see those three kids sometimes in my mind.” A shudder went through his body. “Some days, I can’t imagine being near children, can’t imagine why anyone would trust me near them. I couldn’t save those kids, and it kills me a little bit more each time I think about it.”
    “No one blames you for those kids’ deaths. It was the arsonist who killed them.”
    “That’s easy to say, but I’m the one who didn’t find them in time to get them out of the house.”
    “You tried. You tried at the expense of yourself. No one can ask more than that.” Although she knew contact should be kept strictly professional with Frankie, she reached up to stroke his cheek, cupping her hand against his face. “You paid a high price trying to save them. You aren’t a failure, Frankie. You’re a hero.”
    A tap sounded on the door to the physical therapy room, and Cassie jumped. Quickly pulling her hand away from Frankie’s face, she was glad Frankie always insisted on keeping the blinds drawn so others couldn’t watch him struggle through his harder days at therapy. That meant whoever was outside hadn’t seen the way she touched him.
    While it was okay to have limited physical contact with her clients as needed for their rehabilitation, she definitely shouldn’t be caressing the face of the man she continued having wet dreams about.
    “I’d better see who’s at the door.” She hopped off the table and crossed the room, praying her cheeks weren’t as pink as she suspected they were. When she opened the door, one of the nurses at the facility stood with a large vase of red roses in her hands.
    “Sorry to