Page 82 of Just This Once

I tucked myself into a corner of the bustling bakery and infused my voice with the practiced calm of a cheery professional. “Thank you for calling, sir. As I mentioned in my letter of interest, I was hoping to discuss my qualifications for the open teaching position.”

“Uh, yes.” He cleared his throat. “That’s why I’m calling.”

Yes!I bit back a happy dance and pressed my lips together so he could continue.

“This is a courtesy call to inform you that the position has been filled.”

The slow-motion whoosh between my ears drowned out the titter of voices in the bakery. The room spun as I struggled to comprehend the words he’d spoken.

“I’m sorry?” I had to have heard him wrong.

“Mrs. Kirk’s position has been filled. I wanted to be the person to tell you and to thank you for your time at OJH.”

“Oh, I . . .” I blinked.

“If you need a reference, feel free to use my contact information, and I would be happy to provide a strong recommendation.” His uncomfortable pause made my skin itch. “All in all, your work was more than satisfactory.”

“More than satisfactory?” Simply repeating his words still didn’t make them sink in.

Principal Cartwright sighed. “I know this isn’t what you wanted, Miss Ward.”

My jaw set. “Was it something to do with my performance? I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

He paused, and the deafening silence spoke volumes. “No. It was...” He exhaled an irritated sigh, and my stomach dropped. “We received a phone call that shed some light on the fundraising efforts of the educational foundation that the school board simply couldn’t look past.”

I stilled, my hackles up. I may have been confused, but I sure as hell wasn’t going down without a fight. “The foundation? We raised more money in those three events than the foundation had inyears. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Everyone appreciates your efforts, we do, but?—”

“But it wasn’t enough?” My professionalism was slipping—I knew that—but rejection burned inside my gut. Hot tears poked beneath my eyelids as I felt my future slipping between my fingers like sand.

On the line, my former principal sighed. “Did you or did you not go around my direct orders to leave Robbie Lambert and his need for shoes alone?”

My mind whirled. Sure, I had been reprimanded about giving him the shoes, but it was Whip who’d organized the firefighters to provideallthe students with something so that Robbie wouldn’t be singled out.

“I mean... I—” Hot anger bubbled inside me. “Why is his father so upset about someone caring for his son?”

“Miss Ward, it was not Mr. Lambert who filed the complaint. In fact, the issue of caring for his son is exactly what got us into this mess. Did you also know that a report of suspected child abuse was filed against the family?”

I stilled. Unable to get the image of Robbie and his bruised face out of my mind, I had made a call after the carnival to report my growing suspicions. I had gotten so wrapped up in my secret with Whip being outed that I hadn’t taken the opportunity to inform the school of my report quite yet. “Um...”

Fuck.

Nerves rippled down my spine as my mind whirled.

Principal Cartwright huffed on the other end of the line. “Exactly as I suspected. Miss Ward, while I appreciate all teachers caring for their students, accusations of this nature are very serious.”

“I completely agree, which is why I?—”

“Miss Ward, instead of following protocol—trusting your team—you tried to solve this on your own. Robbie Lambert is enrolled in tae kwon do. Were you aware of that?”

I frowned, confused. “No, I wasn’t.”

“He also recently participated in a sparring competition in which he, very publicly, was the unfortunate recipient of a pretty nasty black eye. Were you aware ofthat?”

Dread pooled in my stomach. “No.”

“He won the competition, by the way, but because of your call to Child Protective Services, instead of celebrating that victory, he and his family are actively being questioned regarding your accusation. I’ve been tasked with putting together names of Robbie’s teachers who can provide their insights as well.”

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