Read Online Dorothy Garlock - [Dolan Brothers] by With Heart - Free Book Online

town. When you came, it gave some legitimacy to her story that I’m not capable of running the paper.”
    “Good heavens! And I called her when you fell out of the chair.”
    “I didn’t fall out of the chair, Kathleen. I was pushed, lost my balance, and fell.”
    Kathleen looked at her, her eyes full of questions. Finally, she voiced one of them.
    “By the Indian woman who came out of the office as I drove up?”
    “Yes. Her name is Hannah. She is a pitiful creature, drunk most of the time. I’m afraid that she’s used by anyone who will buy her a bottle of rotgut whiskey. She’s been pregnant twice during the past few years. Any man who takes advantage of her is not a man but a rutting animal, in my estimation.”
    “Who takes care of her children?”
    “I never see them. They’re probably being cared for. The Cherokee are very protective of their children, even the half-breed children of a woman who has been cast out.”
    “Why did she push you?”
    “She wanted money. I’ve bought a few things for her at the grocery now and then. That day I asked her where her baby was because I could see that her breasts were leaking milk. She didn’t say anything, so I asked again where it was. When she didn’t answer, I asked her if she had
lost
it. She got mad and shoved me.”
    “You didn’t want Louise to know Hannah had pushed you.”
    “Hannah is a drunk. A pitiful drunk.” Adelaide rubbed the back of her neck.
    “There’s a social service woman in Oklahoma City. I think her name is Mable Bassett. She would know what to do about her.”
    “I’ve thought about calling her,” Adelaide said, and reached for the telephone when it rang. “
Gazette.
Oh, hello, Johnny. Yes, she’s here. Just a moment. For you, Kathleen.”
    Kathleen moved her chair back so she could reach the phone. “Hello.”
    “Miss Dolan, Johnny Henry. I took the table for your typewriter down to Mrs. Ramsey’s.”
    “Thank you. I want to pay you—”
    “Forget it. I wasn’t using it.”
    “At least let me buy you a hamburger at Claude’s.”
    “Yes, well, sometime. See you around. ’Bye.”
    “Good-bye.”
    Kathleen hung up the phone and turned back to face the window, feeling that she had been given the brush-off. She had been thinking that Johnny Henry was a man she would like to know. Evidently he didn’t feel the same about her. She had thought about him often since the day she came to Rawlings and now was embarrassed to recall those thoughts. She had even thought about asking him to drive with her over to Red Rock to see her uncle, Tom Dolan, and Henry Ann Dolan. Lordy, she was glad the opportunity hadn’t come up. She would have made a fool of herself.
    “Got a date with Johnny?” Adelaide asked.
    “Heavens, no! He called to say he had delivered a table he said he’d lend me.”
    “Oh, shoot! I was hoping you two could get together. Paul and I like Johnny Henry.”
    “Does he have a steady girl?” Kathleen hated herself for asking. She had given Adelaide a play-by-play description of what happened when she was hijacked.
    “Not that I know of. He stays pretty much to himself. He goes away every so often for several weeks. When he does, he has someone look after his ranch. No one seems to know where he goes.”
    Kathleen knew where he went. Her uncle, Hod, had told her that Johnny Henry worked occasionally for the federal government. He and Hod had tracked the movements of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, and the information they passed on to Marshal Frank Hamer had resulted in their demise. Johnny evidently kept that part of his life from the people in this town. Kathleen was reluctant to reveal it even to Adelaide.
    “We got acquainted with him a few years ago after the rodeo. Paul was having a little trouble with some toughs. He can be pushed just so far before he starts swinging. It was four against one. Johnny stepped in. Since that time he and Paul have been friends. Johnny is about the only friend Paul has,