A Short Story Collection

By James M. DeHaven

A Collection of fourteen of the author's short stories. They will steer you to a positive outlook.
They are composed of human and animal stories in the natural world. The author wrote them from observing out of his window and by witnessing human behaviors as well.
With open hearts and childlike wonder, may you enjoy each story, and may you always find the magic in living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781458378163

Book preview

A Short Story

Collection

by James M. DeHaven

A

Short Story

Collection

by

James M. DeHaven

JAMES M. DEHAVEN

© 2022 by JMDProductions

All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2022 by James M. DeHaven

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing by the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

JMDProductions tm

James M. DeHaven, Author

A Short Story Collection

Layout:    James M. DeHaven

Cover:    James M. DeHaven

Author: James M. DeHaven

ISBN:       9781458378163

First Edition: January 2022

Other books by James M. DeHaven

Ghost Coach

Soul Survivor

Sanctuary Island

A Love Lost in Time

Terragon Stardate 2050

The 7 Gifts of Paradise

A.I.D.E.N.N. The Android Robot

A Collection of Poems and Musings

How Does God Communicate to Us?

Peter and the Farmhouse Treasure

Jeremy and the Christmas Shoes

Danielle’s Christmas Wish

Walter and Flash

Snow Angel

Visit the Author’s Website for

Sample content, reviews, and purchase opportunities.

www.jmdprods.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my wife, who’s excellent

editing made this an even

better book.

To all my family and friends

who have encouraged my writing.

DEDICATION

To my loyal readers…

who enjoy the ‘good stuff.’

This book is a collection of short stories

I have written over the years. I truly hope

that you enjoy them all. And, my desire is

that you can now see the stories that nature,

animals, and human behavior can provide,

nor only with you eyes, but with your

hearts and souls as well.

SHORT STORIES

My Special Human

Yellow Mustard Love

The Sleep Whisperer

The Good Knight

The Cat and the Dog

Tammy and Felix

Joe and Charlie Brown

A Story of the First Christmas

The Sleigh Ride

The Christmas Tree

Oliver and Franklin

Walter and Flash

BOOM

The Old Man

MY SPECIAL HUMAN

by James M. DeHaven 2019

My human did not smell right today.

I nestled my head on her lap and let her run her hand gently through the fur on my head. She would play with my ear too. That always felt good to me. I hope she enjoyed it too. She was not saying anything, and that was a sign that something was weighing heavy on her heart and mind.

I lay there patiently, just letting her hand continue to rub my head. I think it gave her comfort too.

My master wasn’t always sad. When I was younger, we would play outside and I would retrieve anything she could find in the yard to throw. A ball, a stick, a toy. It didn’t matter to me. As long as I could see her smile and hear the happy tone in her voice, I knew all was well.  During those days she smelled good and healthy.

I was very young when I came to live here. My eyes were not open yet and I could still smell my mother and feel her warmth. One day, I was picked up and heard many new strange noises and so many new smells, that I was confused. But I felt warmth and comfort and the sounds were soothing. The milk and food they gave me were good too.

When I was finally able to see, I remember the box with a soft pillow in it that was near the hole in the floor where the warmth came from. It was a different warmth from what I felt when she held me. But oh, she smelled good. Not like my mother, but just as comforting.

During those early times, we would often play together. She had more time to spend with me then. No matter what toy I found, she would tug or toss it with me for hours at a time. I enjoyed being outside with her too.  When we wore each other out, we would sit on the big chair on the porch and I would snuggle in her lap while she read a book or talked to other humans.  It did not matter to me, as long as I could nestle in her lap and she ran her hand through my fur, I was at peace.  I loved the summer when it was warm outside and I could lay in the shade on the cool cement patio. She brought me cold freshwater and treats when we finished playing.  As long as I could see her and hear her voice, I was content to lay there and wait until she was ready to play with me again. Those were the best days.

She was getting taller and it took more effort to jump up into her lap or arms. But she could keep up better with me on our walks.

The walks got longer and longer and I enjoyed that a lot.  She would let me run free now. We trusted each other. I always returned no matter how far I ran. I kept an eye on her to make sure she was always in sight. She would hug me when I returned and from the tone of her voice, I knew she definitely loved me as much as I loved her.

Once she got hurt. She fell off something with wheels that could go as fast I could run. But one day she was watching me and not where she was going. She hit a big hole in the dirt and fell off the contraption. I wined as loud as I could and licked her face and arm as best I could between the wines. Finally, her mother came running and she was taken away from me for a short while. I laid by the door she always goes in and out of. I am not sure how long she was gone. It seemed like a very long time for me. When she finally came home, she had something hard on her arm and it smelled funny. I did not like it and I could tell that she did not either. I also smelled the salty liquid coming from her eyes too.

But what was nice that summer, was that she stayed home a lot and I would lay with her on the bed in her room and then out on that patio too where she would sit in a big chair and have those hard square things in her lap that she opened and kept flipping through. I couldn’t sit in her lap when she had the hard things in her lap. But when she laid down too, then I could lay next to her. And, occasionally she would reach over and say something and pat me on the head or rub my back. I really liked that summer. We spent a lot of time together. Not playing so much, but just being together. Her arm smelled funny, but eventually, things returned to normal.

I did not like it when she was gone for a long time. One summer she kept putting on a funny-looking outfit. The humans called it a uniform. When she put that on, she would leave with her other human and be gone for a long time. And one summer, she was gone so much; I thought she was never coming back.

The human that took care of her and me and the other humans spent as much time as she could with me. But she was not my human. She was good to me though. She would give me food and water and let me outside so I could run and sniff and do my business. I looked at her and wished I could talk and ask where my human was. But she did not seem upset and she did kind of smell like my human. So, I sensed that things would be ok. But I really, really, missed my human and it was hard to sleep and eat while she was gone.

I did not understand why she was not coming back to me.  I would walk around the house looking for her. But I could not find her. 

When we were younger sometimes, she would hide in the closet or outside behind a bush. But I could always smell her and would find her quickly. She would laugh, but this time, I could not sense her. Her smell was everywhere, especially in her room and that chair on the porch.  It was a long summer that year, but she finally did come home and I was so happy to jump up into her arms and get my pats and rubs. I was so excited. I hoped she never went away for that long again.

One of my favorite things is when my humans would take me for a ride in the box with wheels that moves fast. I love to stick my face out of that box when they open the window and feel the wind rush by. It is much faster than I can run and it feels so good. I love to sit on my human’s lap and stick my head out and tongue and feel the wind.

I don’t know why they don’t let me do it longer than they do. They put that window up so fast. But wherever we go it is fun when we get there.

I get to hop out of the box and run around new places and smell new smells. I know other dogs have been there. I can smell them. And other humans too. There are always strange new smells. I can’t always tell what they are, but it is fun to smell them all.

Sometimes though the ride in the box is not so pleasant for me. We go to a funny-smelling