Page 39 of Shelter for Morgan

"Uh, okay. Then I guess we better get started." She moved toward the door, but he didn't step back to let her by until she was just about to walk into him.

He fell into step with her quickly as they walked toward the exit that would lead into the open green area of the campus. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" She realized how forward that might sound and followed it up quickly. "Sorry, I've got a way of blurting things out and not thinking of how it might sound."

She heard a chuckle from him, but it didn't sound like a laugh.

"Sounds like you're pretty... straight forward then."

Morgan shrugged. "I guess you could look at it like that. My brother says that as a person, I cut through the bullsh-" She winced. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"I think I understand what your brother's saying. And I respect it. So I'd like to cut through the bullshit with you, too."

Stunned that he'd curse openly at school, she cast a look around them to see if there were any students within earshot. When she saw that there weren't, she nodded at him. "Sounds good."

"I've been working at Shilling now for almost ten years and I want you to know that I don't intend to let anything like the shooting happen again."

"Shooting?" Morgan felt her breath catch in her throat. "There was a shooting here at the school?"

Officer Munder grabbed her arm and brought her to an abrupt stop beside him.

Morgan looked down at his hand on her arm before she looked into his face. "What?"

"You had no idea?"

She felt a little stupid saying it, but she nodded. "I just heard that there was a teaching job open here and it's in my subject focus. I jumped at it. I didn't ask why the teacher had to leave."

He took a half-step closer, his eyes narrowing at her. "I would think that the sister of a law enforcement officer would have a good head on her shoulders, but I guess I'm going to have to see if you're smart enough to follow the rules we've set down to keep another accident from happening."

She found herself staring at him, frustrated at his implication. "Wait, how do you know that my brother is a police officer?"

He straightened a little, his chest puffing up. "I do my homework, Miss Rafferty. And the principal asks me to vet anyone who's coming to work here. I see that your brother has an excellent record with the CCPD. I hope that you've inherited his ability to follow the rules."

She wanted to say a few choice words to the officer, not because he'd looked into her background, but she got the feeling that the man didn't have much respect for her on any level.

Part of that feeling was the painful grip he had on her arm.

"I'm sure I'll be able to follow the rules, Officer Munder. I am a teacher. If you don't mind, I need to get to my class."

He tensed up, his chin tucking in closer to his throat.

She tried to put on a more relaxed expression. "After all, the principal wants us to have our classrooms open ten minutes before eight and it's just a few minutes from now."

He let go of her arm and when he did, she started walking again, a little faster this time than before.

He was managing to keep up with her and not breathe heavily.

"I appreciate that you came to explain things to me, Officer Munder. I want to be a good teacher. I want to help these students better their lives through education, but I don't think you should worry about me. I'll be fine."

The turned the corner around the Social Studies and History building and Morgan smiled when she saw that she had a group of students waiting outside of her classroom. It made it easier to put some distance between her and the officer that way.

"Morning, all!"

A few of the students answered back. "Morning!" "Morning Miss R." "Hey, teach!"

She pushed her key into the look and almost sighed in relief as the lock opened quickly. "Okay, everyone. Let's get inside and-"

"Hey, Benji."

Morgan turned and saw the arm that the officer put out across the student's path. The boy was struggling to look at the officer, one arm held across his chest in a sling.

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