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friends?”
    “Of course. I already consider us friends,” she agreed.
    “Good. Friends help each other out. I’m going to help you prove your mystery doctor sent those flowers, and I’m going to stay with you in the meantime to make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
    Her lips pressed together in a thin line, and Frankie knew she was thinking about saying something she figured he wouldn’t like. It was the same look she had when trying to push his rehab harder when he was already in a lot of pain.
    “Spit it out, Cassie.”
    She shrugged. “I just wonder what you’ll be able to do if he comes after me. I’m not trying to be rude, but—”
    “But I’m a cripple,” he interrupted.
    Sighing, she nodded. “Sorry. Not quite the way I would phrase it, but you are limited in what you could do.”
    He’d wallowed in self-pity for far too long. Frankie wasn’t going to let his limitations stop him anymore. He flashed another grin. “Well, you said the electric wheelchair will be here tomorrow, right?”
    “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “I’ll run the bastard down if he comes anywhere near you.”
    A smile finally broke across her face, revealing the beauty that Frankie had been falling for recently. “We could attach knives to the footrests. A perfect, nonfatal way to take care of him.”
    “You seem almost too gleeful, picturing me cutting him up,” Frankie said, chuckling. “I could also get my handgun from my dad’s house. I’d need to practice with it, considering I was right handed before and need to use my left now. I also want you to learn to shoot it.”
    “A gun?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure, Frankie. My job is to help people get well. A gun seems against everything I’ve built up over my life.”
    “Whether it was that doctor or someone else, you’ve been threatened. I’m not taking that lightly, even if I’m trying to make you smile. I’m staying at your place and we’re getting my gun. No arguments.”
    She stared at him for several long moments, all sorts of mysterious thoughts passing behind her beautiful blue eyes. “Okay,” she finally said, relenting. “I need to file paperwork with human resources, letting them know that our relationship is more personal in nature and we’ve become good friends. I’ll tell them I’m no longer your therapist. Even if I do still wish I could treat you, I can’t risk my job by keeping this change a secret. We’ll have to find someone else to help you with therapy.”
    That seemed fair. Especially considering he intended on becoming more than her friend before it was over. “Take me to the reception desk before you talk to HR. I want to find out what they know about who delivered those flowers. I’m hoping it’s that doctor jerk, so we can catch him quickly, but I want to cover all avenues. There’s a killer in town who has gone after two women so far, and we can’t rule anything out.”
    It made him feel guilty when the fear reappeared in her eyes, but Frankie had to make sure Cassie understood that this wasn’t a game. They needed to explore every option, especially if they were waiting to go to the police.
    She returned to the back of his wheelchair, unlocking it and continuing down the hallway. It was obvious he’d upset her again because she didn’t say another word until they reached the front desk.
    Sandy, the nurse who had delivered the flowers, looked up from her computer behind the reception desk and smiled. “Hey, Cassie. Who was your admirer? Flowers are so sweet!”
    Cassie stepped around the chair back into Frankie’s line of vision, and he was relieved to see the smile on her face as she looked at the other woman. She might be frightened, but Cassie was no shrinking violet either. She’d already composed herself and was ready to do what needed to be done.
    “We came to ask about that,” Cassie said. “There wasn’t a name on the card or a florist shop logo. Can you remember who delivered