Free Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) by Chantel Rhondeau Page B

shooting range, I imagine you’ll need a van with a wheelchair lift to make your life simple. Even if they happened to buy a foldable model, I don’t think Cassie could lift something like that by herself.”
    Cassie sucked in a long breath. She hadn’t considered that problem. True, the electric chair would help Frankie be more independent, but she hadn’t made a plan to get it from one place to another. “It’s isn’t collapsible,” she said. “Thayne wanted to get a heavy duty model, in the hopes it could handle rougher terrains and Frankie could go out with him more.”
    “Like to a beach,” Frankie muttered, his face falling with utter defeat written in the thin slash his mouth made.
    Unable to help herself, she patted his arm and then left her hand resting against his. “Their wedding plans aren’t your responsibility, Frankie. They want you there more than they want it on a beach.”
    “Maybe Thayne does,” Frankie agreed. “But I can’t imagine Laura even wants me to come. I nearly killed her fiancé and now she’s had to put everything on hold because of me.”
    And how long had that particular worry been eating away at Frankie? Cassie had no idea that was his concern.
    “I talk to Laura almost every day,” she said, pressing her hand into his cheek and forcing Frankie to look at her. “Laura is not angry with you. If anything, she’s relieved that Thayne can’t fight fires anymore and is back in the ambulance as a medic. She feels guilty for liking that, but it’s easier on her knowing Thayne will never again go into a burning building, leaving her all alone if he gets himself killed.”
    “But we could have died,” Frankie protested. “All because I thought I could be a hero and defied Thayne’s orders. The kids still died, Thayne was badly injured, and I’m...”
    He closed his eyes as the alternative to looking at her since Cassie still wouldn’t release his face, but she didn’t miss the shine of moisture in his eyes before he closed them.
    “You are a hero,” she whispered, hoping he could hear her sincerity. “No one holds you responsible and your friends all miss you. Not one of them is angry, least of all Laura.”
    Big Frank crossed the room, pulling out his chair and clapping a large hand against Frankie’s other shoulder. “Son, you did what any firefighter in your position would have. You saw the kids, and you tried to get them out. That’s the whole reason we become firemen, to save people. If Thayne had seen them first, he would have led the way to those kids. Don’t think for one second you did anything wrong.”
    After a few seconds of silence, Frankie heaved a loud sigh but nodded. “Thanks, guys. I’ll try to remember that when I start having bad thoughts. Sometimes, I think I deserve this for being such a punk. If Thayne had died along with the kids...” A shudder made his entire body tremble. “Things are bad enough as it is, but I could have never forgiven myself for that.”
    Cassie had seen Frankie angry, belligerent, uncooperative, and downright juvenile in the course of their association when he didn’t want to participate in his therapy. Never had she seen this side to him. His remorse and guilt were eating him alive. He seemed to honestly believe he deserved what happened to him because he made a mistake and didn’t follow orders.
    True, he was the type of man who propositioned exotic dancers and thought nothing of it before the accident, but that didn’t make him a bad person. She needed to speak with Laura. The sooner she could let her friend know about Frankie’s guilt, the sooner Laura could speak to him and help him see that she wasn’t angry and loved him like he was part of her family.
    After a few more moments of quiet, Big Frank leaned back in his chair, assuming a business-like posture. “Enough of this. The past is the past. Don’t you want to hear how I’m able to help your transportation issue?”
    Frankie cleared his throat