C & R Publications 2018 Copyright

© Webster Russell & Dee Coffeen

The rights of Webster Russell and Dee Coffeen

have been asserted

Other books;

The Second Time Around -

A Guide Through The Maze of Internet Dating

A Second Time Around -

A Love Story

Books by Webster Russell

The Time Between The Numbers

Healthcare’s Next Tsunami

ISBN (Print): 978-1-54395-447-0
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-54395-448-7

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents are either the product
of the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons either living or dead, events,
or locals is entirely coincidental.

Dedication

We dedicate this book to all those that have a sense of magic in their souls. To those in Vashti, Texas where many of Dee’s memories were made. We also want to thank Rose Marie Gloor for her efforts in editing this book.

A special thank you to Kolton Russell who in many ways inspired us as we wrote this book.

Prologue

Summer evenings in north Texas are something special. The setting sun in hues ablaze of gold, red and yellow. The sound of the cattle in the far pasture, the wail of an occasional coyote calling the pack, and the crickets chirping in the field all make a musical symphony. There was also the creaking of grandpa and grandma’s rocking chairs, the snoring of the old dog dozing in grandma’s lap, the buzzing of the various bugs around the yellowed porch light and the smell of fresh cut grass reminding all of them why this place was so special.

Dinner was over, dishes washed and put away and all the chores were done. Billy, the seven year old, sighed. He was sitting on the top step of the porch with his knees pulled up around his chest. He absolutely loved this place. He and Sally, his six year old sister, had been coming to the ranch every summer for almost their whole lives. For both of them it was always the best two months of every year. Being with grandpa and grandma filled their lives with fun and adventure.

Tonight was special and full of excitement. Grandpa had promised to finally tell them the story of the stock tank dragon.

“Grandpa, can we start the story now?” Billy asked.

“Please Grandpa?” Sally chimed in. “We’ve waited so long to hear it.”

“You promised dear” Grandma said in her soft voice.

Grandpa settled back in his rocking chair. “Okay y’all win.” He paused and looked at his two grandchildren. A smile crept over his face. “Now, this story begins very near where you kids live.”

“In Fort Worth, Grandpa?” Sally asked.

“Yup, in Fort Worth. The boy in this story was named Harry.” Grandpa replied.

“That’s your name, Grandpa!” Sally said.

“Now children, let Grandpa tell the story.” chided Grandma.

Billy and Sally moved closer to the rocking chairs as Grandpa took in a deep breath and started weaving the story of Harry and the Stock Tank Dragon.

Chapter 1

In The Beginning

“But Dad, I don’t want to leave. All my friends are here and you know how long it took me to make friends. Don’t forget my science project, and the chess club. I know! I could stay with Aunt Sophie and visit you and Mom on school holidays.” Harry hoped his dad would agree with him.

William, Harry’s dad, understood way too well Harry’s concerns, as he too was jerked out of his favorite place in the world when he was about Harry’s age.

Harry had just turned twelve when he got the awful news of his family’s move. His grandpa had been sick and had just passed away. As close as Harry and his grandpa were, he never really felt at home out in the wilds of northwest Texas where Grandpa’s ranch was. He was a Fort Worth boy, at least that is how he felt. Unfortunately, Harry just didn’t look the part of a Texas kid. I mean Texas kids wear jeans, cowboy boots, they are pretty big for their age, and mostly they looked like a young John Wayne. Harry was barely five feet tall, skinny as a rail, with a shock of bright red hair, and glasses that seemed to go from his forehead to the bottom of his nose. He never wore jeans and cowboy boots hurt his feet.

It wasn’t that Harry was wimpy, far from it. It was his wit and a fast mind that set him apart from his classmates. It seemed that he was always one step ahead of those around him. On top of that he also had insatiable curiosity and a love of things magical.

School was alright. He had friends but there was no real best friend. No one that he knew shared his passions and curiosity. Just as things were getting more normal and the kids quit picking on him, he had to start all over again by moving to a cattle ranch outside of Vashti, Texas. Whoopee!

There were no schools in Vashti so he was going to have to ride the bus to Bellevue. Add to that there were more people on his block in Fort Worth than in Vashti and Bellevue combined. Harry was sure that the people in Vashti only thought about cattle, their horses, trucks and dogs; none of which he knew anything about. New school or not, he was going to stick out as the odd city boy.

Being creative, he added this argument to his guilt trip strategy. As clever as he was Harry’s guilt trip about leaving friends and the problems he foresaw with a new school didn’t play well with his dad or his mom either.

After using his best arguments filled with fake tears and lot of moaning, the fight was over because his parents didn’t budge. They were leaving for Vashti within the week.

Dejected, Harry moped up to his room, shut his door and sat on his bed with his best friend Gandolf . Gandolf was a stuffed dog who had seen some pretty tough years. His once brown coat was tan and spotted food stains peppered his body. His right ear had been shortened by a mistaken experiment and one eye drooped. Even with all these imperfections, Harry loved that old stuffed dog and talked to him on a regular basis.

Harry always felt that Gandolf was special and did amazing things. Once he swore he left Gandolf under the bed when he went off to school. When he came home, there Gandolf was sitting on his pillow with what looked like a smile on his face. When he asked his mom if she had put Gandalf on the bed, she said no. Harry talked to Gandolf a lot. As impossible as it seemed to Harry Gandolf’s eyes and face seemed to change like he understood every word Harry said. It was just another of the strange things that happened in Harry’s life.

Harry knew that moving was inevitable. He had tried everything to convince his family to stay in Forth Worth but it just didn’t work. He sat on his bed, not knowing what more he could say.

“I really tried Gandolf, I really did but we have to leave here. I know you are as unhappy as I am but Dad and Mom say life is full of changes and that’s what makes us stronger.”

Gandolf seemed to tip his head like he was listening, but Harry never noticed it because he had looked out the window and Gandolf always listened.

“What are we going to do? I don’t know anyone there, not a neighbor for miles. I have to go to a new school and the ranch doesn’t have internet.” Harry whined.

“Then there is that cantankerous old cougar that grandpa said is out there, so we can’t even go exploring.” Again, Gandolf just sat there appearing to listen.

After a while, Harry laid down on his bed, gave his pillow a couple of smacks, closed his eyes and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.