Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2)

by Chantel Rhondeau

  Although she was supposed to be getting ready for a party and being in an upbeat mood, Cassie’s heart swelled with sadness. Another person hadn’t made it, and his loved ones had no one to blame except the employees. How horrible must it be to come to this center, day after day, praying your husband would get well only to have him pass away?

  She patted the woman’s arm reassuringly. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Is there anything I can do?”

  “All you damn doctors and nurses have done enough,” the woman practically spat. “I hate you. Get away from me!”

  Knowing everyone grieved in their own manner, Cassie mumbled another apology for the woman’s loss and rushed the remaining distance to Frankie’s room. It didn’t matter if her patient wasn’t completely ready yet. She needed to get out of this hallway.

  Whoever was in charge of caring for the woman’s loved one must know he had passed on. They would help her. For now, Cassie had her hands full in trying to help Frankie. There was only so much she could do in a day.

  Unfortunately, death was an inevitable part of life, no matter how hard medical personnel worked to stave it off as long as possible.

  Chapter Two

  Cassie stood in the main room of the firehouse, rocking back and forth in her tennis shoes while watching Frankie interact with his old coworkers. She hoped she’d made the right decision.

  She understood Frankie being discouraged, considering there was a high likelihood he wouldn’t get more mobility back than what he had right now. That didn’t mean he could just check out of life. She’d done what she could for his body, now she needed to help him integrate back into life again with the abilities he did have.

  Sure, he’d never return to fighting fires, but that didn’t mean these men weren’t still his friends and brothers.

  “I’m glad you called me about planning this party.” Thayne leaned against the wall next to her, also watching Frankie. “I had no clue he was that bad off. Laura’s been busy making wedding plans, and I’ve been wrapped up in that with her. She’s trying to figure out where we can have it so Frankie’s wheelchair won’t be a problem. Originally, she wanted to have it on a tropical island down on the water, but that will be impossible.”

  Cassie sighed but nodded. “Unless the resort you go to would put out a special boardwalk for his chair. He’s not going to walk again, Thayne. The sooner we help him adjust to that, the better.”

  “But what about his hands?” Thayne took his eyes off Frankie, quirking an eyebrow when he looked at her. “Didn’t you say a new neurosurgeon was meeting with the orthopedist to talk about what they could do?”

  Cassie blinked rapidly, thinking about what she’d read in Frankie’s chart when she arrived at Sayle Regional Hospital this morning. “Let’s just say the birthday gift we worked so hard to get him will come in handy.”

  He blew out a puff of air. “Damn.”

  Just then, Thayne’s fiancée stepped out from behind the partition separating the small kitchen area from the rest of the main room, hands full of a large plate of food. A smile crossed her pretty face as she walked toward Frankie. Her slightly plump hips swayed as she walked. Next to Cassie, Thayne let out a soft sound of appreciation.

  Cassie smiled. “You guys have been together for nearly two years now. She still makes your heart pound harder when she walks into the room?”

  “Oh, yes. She takes my breath away.” The dreamy look on Thayne’s face proved how much the handsome fireman loved Laura more than his words could explain. “I can’t wait to make her my wife.”

  “If you’re still intent on Frankie being the best man, I’ll do everything I can to help him accept his new reality and get back to living.”

  If only she had a man who looked at her the way Thayne looked at Laura. Cassie had dated a lot over the years, and one by one, she watched her friends and family find the person they couldn’t live without. First, her best friend married a doctor at the hospital, opening a free clinic for the town of Sayle, Washington, and having a baby. She was deliriously happy but had very little time for her old friend.

  Last week, her stepbrother married the receptionist at the law office he worked for as an accountant. Cassie knew from experience that Blake and Lucy would have less time to hang out with her now that they were in the process of adopting a new baby. Cassie’s nephew was over the moon happy to get a little brother or sister. Once they received a baby, Lucy planned to take time off from work to help the bonding process. That meant they’d no longer need Cassie to babysit Aaron, at least until Lucy went back to work, and Cassie would end up spending less time with the family.

  Now, Laura and Thayne would marry. Not too long after that, Cassie suspected they’d have a kid too. She’d become close to Laura in the first months of Thayne’s recovery and the two of them hung out quite a bit now when Thayne was on duty, but soon Laura wouldn’t have time for that.

  Cassie would once again be on her own as her friend moved on without her. She couldn’t begrudge any of them their happiness, but she wished she could find the same thing they had. Why was it so hard to find a nice, respectable guy who could love her the way Thayne loved Laura? Then again, most marriages didn’t last, so Cassie wasn’t sure she really missed out on anything except heartache.

  Laura approached Frankie, handing him the plate of food. “Here’s the first batch of enchiladas for the birthday boy.”

  While Frankie had been a bit surly to the guys in the firehouse, he favored Laura with a smile. “Thayne said you made these special because you know I like them.”

  “Yep.”

  “Thanks, Laura. It means a lot.”

  She grinned, bending down to kiss his cheek. “Happy birthday.”

  Beneath his dusky skin, Frankie’s cheeks turned pink, embarrassed by Laura’s attention, it seemed. The bashfulness, as opposed to his normal anger and bluster, made him endearing. It was moments like this that kept Cassie working hard, wanting to help the former firefighter.

  “Hey, Cassie?” Laura called, waving her over. “Why don’t you dish up before I turn the guys loose on the kitchen? You can sit on the end of the couch here, right next to Frankie’s chair.”

  Following orders, she crossed the room to accompany Laura to the kitchen. She didn’t miss the way all the men watched her as she walked, including Frankie. Maybe Laura had the right idea going out with one of the guys from the station. They were strong, loyal, and made Cassie feel good just with their open appreciation of her body.

  “Can you do me a favor?” Laura asked softly when they stepped into the relative seclusion of the kitchen.

  Cassie hesitated, not sure she liked Laura’s hesitant tone. “What’s that?”

  “I know the single guys out there are eyeing you like a prime piece of booty and it feels good.”

  Cassie smiled. “There are a lot of handsome men in this station.”

  Laura chewed on her lower lip and then shrugged. “Not as sexy as my man, but yeah, handsome. That’s where the favor comes in. Could you only have eyes for Frankie tonight?”

  “That’s your favor?” Cassie tucked short blond hair behind her ears on either side, confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “A big problem Thayne had before you got him walking again and able to do things for himself was feeling like less of a man. He admitted that after getting out of the hospital. Since he’s been dealing with it for a year and a half now, I can only imagine how much worse that is for Frankie.”

  Cassie nodded to show she understood. “He’s a great guy, and he deserves the undivided attention of a woman. But he’s my patient...”

  “Not tonight,” Laura argued. “Tonight, we’re just a bunch of friends celebrating his birthday.”

  A fluttering in her stomach warned that this wasn’t a good idea. Cassie already had some occasional hot and heavy dreams featuring the former fireman. She could only imagine what might happen if she let herself spend an evening flirting with him and making him feel more like the man he
used to be.

  Sure, it would make Frankie feel good and that had to help her plan of getting him back to some semblance of a normal life. However, if she let herself think of him as anything other than a patient Cassie wondered if she’d ever be able to put him back in the patient category again.

  It was getting frustrating to have dreams of the sort she was having. Her trusty vibrator might help her get through it, but it wasn’t as good as having a man would be.

  “Laura, I’m not sure I should do that. I’ll sit with him and I won’t flirt with any of the guys here, but I can’t flirt with him either. It’s just not right.”

  Laura sighed. “Maybe I should have hired a stripper.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened, shock coursing through her. “I had no idea you knew anything about strippers.”

  The other woman laughed. “I’ve learned a lot of things, being with Thayne. I even took some classes on erotic dancing so I can please my man.”

  “You never told me that!” Cassie shook her head in disbelief. “I wish you had invited me along. If I ever find a man, I’d sure like to be able to dance for him.”

  A knock sounded on the partition and Thayne popped his head around the side. “Hey, ladies? Are you letting us eat anytime soon? The guys are getting restless, and you never know when a call could come in and break this party up.”

  “Oh, of course!” Laura leaned toward the wall, giving Thayne a quick kiss. “Cassie is dishing up now and then everyone can come in.”

  “Should we eat and then give him his gift?” Thayne asked. “Or do you want to wait until after the cake?”

  Cassie put a small helping of chili into a disposable bowl and shook her head. “I didn’t think about you all getting called away. We’d better eat and then do it. I just hope he likes it and doesn’t feel like we’re pushing him.”

  “He needs to be pushed,” Laura said.

  “Besides,” Thayne chimed in. “He can handle it. Frankie might be an ass sometimes, but he’s tough and determined. We need to focus that on something new.”

  ***

  Frankie tried to be civil and act as though he were happy to be at the firehouse. Really, it just reminded him of how disabled he was. His strong, able-bodied former coworkers did things with such ease. Like eating. It took all Frankie’s concentration to hold a fork and stab the pieces of already-cut enchilada Laura had brought him. He was grateful she cut it before bringing it out without making any comment on it. At least he was saved from that embarrassment. Around him, the guys had no trouble holding their plates, cutting their food, and getting it to their mouths without accident.

  On top of that, there was the fact that Cassie had sat next to his parked wheelchair and stuck to him like glue. Having fantasies about his hot physical therapist was one thing, but he wasn’t so sure he enjoyed socializing with her. Out of everyone here, Cassie truly knew his limitations. Even though he was sure she didn’t mean for it to happen, every once in a while pity filled her gaze when she thought he wasn’t watching her.

  “Que pasa, mi amigo?” Carlos Santos, a man who had come in as a fellow probie to the fire station at the same time Frankie had, sat on the couch next to Cassie, leaning over her to look at Frankie. “I’ve missed you, bro. Any chance you’ll get off your ass this year and do the community outreach program with us? We can always use an extra set of hands.”

  Forcing a smile, Frankie held up his dysfunctional limbs. “I don’t think I’ll qualify as extra hands.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t say anything.

  For Carlos’s part, he didn’t seem overtly bothered by the evidence of Frankie’s disability. “Who cares? That’s a figure of speech. We’d really like you there. It’s the end of next month and you could run the information booth. Tell kids what they should do if there’s a fire in their house, ya know?”

  Frankie shook his head. “I’m hardly qualified to warn about fire safety.”

  “Fuck that.” Carlos glared at him before softening his gaze and glancing at Cassie. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I have to call him on his bullshit. I’m sick and tired of him being such a freakin’ pansy and using his burns as a reason not to do anything with his friends anymore.”

  Cassie put her hand against Carlos’s shoulder, seemingly in an effort to calm him. “Frankie’s working on it. I personally think he’s ready to leave the rehab center and get on with his life.”

  Nice of her to announce that to a room full of men who already figured Frankie was a pussy and not handling his recovery well. Couldn’t she have talked to him about it privately first?

  “That’s interesting.” Frankie leaned forward in his wheelchair, not attempting to conceal his frustration. “This is the first I’m hearing about your thoughts.”

  She nodded. “I know it is. I wanted to see how you did tonight before making recommendations to your doctors.”

  “Yeah? Well, my doctors had some recommendations of their own today. I don’t think I’ll be getting out of the hospital anytime soon.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Frankie. I really am.”

  Carlos leaned forward again, eyes narrowed. “What are you guys talking about?”

  Frankie didn’t want to tell anyone, not even Carlos who he’d once considered a best friend. If he didn’t say it out loud, didn’t admit that it was happening, maybe this would be another nightmare and he could wake up screaming but get different news from his doctors.

  Luckily, before he had to answer Carlos, Laura walked up, taking his plate from him. “It’s present time. Did you get enough to eat?”

  He felt as though his smile couldn’t hold out much longer. How long until Cassie and Thayne would relent and take him back to the rehab center? “It was delicious, Laura. Thank you.”

  She grinned. “If you ever accepted any of Thayne’s invitations to come to our house for dinner, you’d get this treatment more often.”

  “I promise I’ll come over sometime soon.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear you’re going to get out more.” Laura’s smile grew wider. “By the way, we need to get you fitted for your tux soon. The wedding is happening before the end of the summer, no matter what I have to do to make it work.”

  Frankie wanted to protest that he couldn’t be in their wedding, especially not within the next month. While he’d originally wanted to be the best man, he had expected to stand next to Thayne, watching happily as his partner married the love of his life. Instead, he was still in this damn chair. He knew Laura wanted a wedding on a beach against the water. How was Frankie supposed to attend something like that? He didn’t want her giving up her dream wedding just so the place was wheelchair accessible.

  “Laura, about me being your best man—”

  “Attention, everyone,” Thayne called from the doorway toward the ambulance and fire truck bay, cutting off Frankie’s words. “The present we bought is too big to wrap, so gather around here.”

  Cassie stood, quickly flipping the locking mechanism off Frankie’s chair and pushing him across the thin brown carpet. “I hope you like it,” she whispered when they came to a stop.

  “Now,” Thayne continued once everyone stood around him in a half-circle, “we’ve all missed Hernandez being here with us and have wished him a speedy recovery, but Cassie Flick has done the real work.”

  The others gave a polite cheer.

  “Frankie.” Thayne turned his attention to him. “We were partners for such a short time, but I feel like you’re the little brother I always wanted.”

  Carlos laughed. “The annoying brother, for sure, eh, Thayne?”

  Thayne chuckled and the other guys clapped Frankie’s arms and shoulders in good-natured teasing.

  “Sometimes,” Thayne agreed. “What I’m trying to say is, Frankie, you’re not only an important part of the firehouse and the men here but of my own family. We’ve worked around the clock getting donations for your gift, and Cassie spent hours and hours making phone calls and figh
ting the insurance company. I think this is going to make your life so much easier.” He turned toward the doors and yelled, “Bring it in.”

  Sterling Jefferson came in through the doors, riding an electric wheelchair. The smile on his wrinkled dark face made him look like a kid at Christmas.

  Around Frankie, all the men hooted and congratulated him, happy commotion taking over the room.

  A large red bow partially obscured the controlling mechanism on the right-hand side of the chair, and Frankie kept staring at it, dumbfounded. They bought him a mechanical wheelchair? Even if the insurance covered part of the cost, Frankie couldn’t begin to imagine what that must have set them all back.

  It also meant Cassie didn’t expect his legs to get any better than they were now.

  His hand muscles screamed in protest, and Frankie realized he tried to grip the arms on his wheelchair. Making a conscious effort to relax and attempt another smile, he watched as Thayne’s triumphant grin shifted, fading as a frown took over.

  “What’s wrong, Frank?”

  “You have to send it back.” Frankie was proud that his voice barely shook. He could handle this.

  “Send it back?” Thayne looked over Frankie’s head, staring at Cassie as though asking her to do something.

  “I can’t use it,” Frankie clarified, deciding it would be better to get this over with now. They might as well know and the mass pity that he knew they’d give him could start. “I met with a surgeon today. There are no further options for my right hand. With the amount of pain it gives me, they’ve recommended amputation in an effort to improve my comfort and quality of life.”

  Startled gasps met his words. Everyone seemed in a state of shock, and Thayne’s gaze filled with sorrow, just as Frankie knew it would.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Frankie said in an attempt to stop them from feeling sorry for him. “I agreed to the surgery. Less pain will be great.” He tried to sound confident and upbeat, to not let them see how terrified he was at the prospect of losing his hand, but it didn’t work. His voice shook and cracked on the last few words.