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

door. The heat beaming up from the sidewalk hit her face. She hurried down the street to the store and failed to see the dilapidated old truck parked at the corner.

 
Chapter Five
    S tanding beside the grocery counter, Johnny saw Kathleen as she passed the window and again when she entered the store. He had caught a glimpse of her bright red hair earlier when he passed the shoe-repair shop and was relieved to see her there. She would not be at the Ramseys’ when he delivered the table.
    Hazel had opened the door for him and watched as he set the table against the wall and lifted Kathleen’s typewriter from the floor. The room was neat as a pin; books and papers were stacked, the bed made without a single wrinkle in the cover. He was beset by a loneliness deeper than he’d ever felt before as he stood amid the little home spot she had made for herself. Embarrassed by his own feelings, he made a hasty retreat, even refusing the offer of a piece of sweet potato pie.
    Later he had called Kathleen from the telephone office, where he had gone to pay for a call he had placed the week before.
    Since their first meeting on the highway, he’d had plenty of time to think about her as he rounded up his horses down on Keith McCabe’s range. He had bred his mares to Keith’s stallion last April and would keep them closer to home during the winter months in case of a severe norther that could trap them for days without food. During that time he had convinced himself that any further contact with Miss Kathleen Dolan would be dangerous to his peace of mind. Therefore, the only thing to do would be to avoid her whenever possible.
    Now, it appeared to be impossible. There was no escape.
    He had just given a lengthy list of his needs to Mrs. Wilson when Kathleen came into the store, saw him, and smiled. He touched his fingers to his hat brim and set his dark eyes on her, letting nothing at all show beneath their impenetrable surface.
    “Howdy, ma’am.”
    “Hello.” Kathleen walked toward him as Mrs. Wilson moved away with his list in her hand. “Thank you for the table.”
    “You’re more than welcome.”
    He turned away, scooped up coffee beans, poured them into the grinder, and began to turn the large wheel. He knew that she stood there, hesitant, before she walked past him. His thoughts had scattered when she came in the door, but now they were back in his possession. He was more convinced than ever that the two of them had absolutely nothing in common.
    She was refined and educated.
    He had barely finished the fifth grade.
    She was smart enough to write for a newspaper.
    It was a chore for him to write a grocery list.
    She came from respectable people.
    His mother had been Mud Creek trash.
    The differences between them went on and on. It was better, he thought now, to have her think that he was uninterested in her as a woman than to have her know that the man who was on the verge of falling in love with her was the bastard son of a whore and a drunken Indian. It was a fact she would find out soon enough.
    Johnny was not conceited enough to think that the welcome smile she had given him when she came into the store, was for him . . . personally. It was for the help he had given her the day she arrived and for the table he had just delivered.
    Mrs. Wilson returned and bagged the coffee she took from the grinder.
    “Our special next week will be soda crackers. You can have them for sale price if you want.”
    “I’ll take a box. I was in a hurry when I scratched off the list. I’m surprised you could read it.”
    “I made out most of it. You’d better look it over in case I missed something. You’ve got quite an order.”
    “I sold one of my mares and decided to lay in a stock of grub.”
    “We appreciate your business, Johnny.”
    He could hear the click of heels on the wooden floor and knew that Kathleen was coming back to the front of the store. He busied himself checking over the list but was terribly aware when