Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

not?”
    “I’ll tell you.” Leo let go of her hand. “Because it could get worse, honey, and you need to keep your head on straight.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Let’s not talk about it now.” Leo shook it off. “Like I said outside, this isn’t the time or the place.”
    Rose didn’t like his expression. The shine had left his eyes. “No, what do you mean?”
    “We could get sued, babe. Eileen could come after us. Best case scenario, Amanda is fine, but she’ll have monster medical bills. Eileen’s a single mom. How will she pay?”
    “She wouldn’t win if she sued, would she?”
    “She could. When you volunteer at school, you’re exposed to liability.”
    “You are? I am?”
    “Look, I’m a humble general practitioner, but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be. You took on the responsibility for her kid, and she got hurt, end of story.” Leo jerked a thumb to the hospital window. “And those women out front, the moms, will be the first witnesses testifying against you.”
    Rose felt her chest tighten. She sensed he was right, but it felt wrong to worry about being sued when Eileen was worrying about her child dying.
    “Eileen could sue the school, too, for letting her run back into the building, and don’t even think about what happens when they find out whatever blew up. Plus the family of the cafeteria workers could sue, and so could the teacher’s.” Leo spoke in his professional voice, albeit softly. “This could be a holy mess for the next few years, while the litigation goes on and on. Win or lose, we’d get hit for the legal fees, because I couldn’t represent us. It could cost us everything we have. We could lose the house.”
    Rose’s mouth went dry. The thought of losing the house shook her. Leo made a good living, but she had stopped working. They didn’t have much in savings apart from the kids’ college funds, and they had loan payments on two cars and a hefty new mortgage.
    There was rustling from the bed, and they both looked over. Melly shifted under the covers, moving her head back and forth, and they lapsed into silence, waiting for the moment to pass.
    “Uh-oh,” Leo said, nudging Rose. “Look at the TV, babe.”
    She turned around to the TV, then did a double-take. The screen showed her own face, then a shot of the firetrucks and burning elementary school. “Oh my God,” she said, appalled.
    “I know.”
    Rose felt her heart sink. The TV screen changed to Tanya, talking into a microphone. The closed captioning read, A LOCAL MOM IS A HERO TODAY, then the film was of Rose again, at the hospital after they’d gotten the news that Melly was fine. The captioning said, I DID WHAT ANY MOTHER WOULD DO.
    “Mom?” said a voice from the bed, and Rose turned.
    “Melly!”
    Leo got up and hit the POWER button on the TV, willing the screen into blackness.

Chapter Twelve
    Rose lay in darkness, cuddling with Melly in her hospital bed, by now accustomed to the smoky smell in her hair. Leo had left at the end of visiting hours, gotten John from the sitter, and taken him home. Melly had been quiet during the evening, drowsy as a result of the drugs.
    “You sleepy, honey?” Rose asked, and Melly looked over, resting her head on Rose’s left arm.
    “A little. Are you going to sleep here?”
    “I sure am. Want more water, or Jell-O?”
    “No.”
    “How’s your head?”
    “Okay.
    “Mom?” Melly’s voice sounded raspy, from the irritation. “When I was in the bathroom, the floor felt like an earthquake.”
    Rose thought back. “Yes, it did.”
    “Why?”
    “Because of the explosion in the kitchen.” Rose and Leo had explained to Melly generally what had happened, but she wasn’t ready to hear about the deaths yet, or Amanda.
    “Was it a bomb? It sounded like a bomb.”
    “They don’t know for sure. Whatever it was, the fire is already out, and they’ll make it safe to go back.”
    “Is it from a terrorist?”
    “I doubt that very much.” Rose cursed modern