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    Nothing But Trouble
    Nothing But Trouble
    Nothing But Trouble
    Ebook91 pages1 hour

    Nothing But Trouble

    By Betty Ren Wright and Jacqueline Rogers

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    About this ebook

    While staying at her aunt’s farm, a girl searches for her missing dog—and a mysterious vandal.

    Vannie Kirkland is spending the summer on her Aunt Bert’s farm while her parents are looking for work in California. At first, she feels uncomfortable: Aunt Bert is cranky and plainspoken, and she constantly reminds Vannie of how much she dislikes Vannie’s yappy little dog, Muffy. Then, just when Vannie is beginning to appreciate Aunt Bert and her way of life, trouble starts brewing. Someone has been lurking around the farm, vandalizing the property. To top it all off, Muffy gets lost!
     
    Vannie helps Aunt Bert figure out who’s trying to scare them, captures the culprit, and learns a thing or two about what it means to compromise.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHoliday House
    Release dateJul 21, 2015
    ISBN9781504013369
    Nothing But Trouble

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      Book preview

      Nothing But Trouble - Betty Ren Wright

      Chapter 1

      A Place to Stay

      This isn’t going to work, said Vannie Kirkland’s mom for the umpteenth time. You can’t just drop a child at an old lady’s door and expect her to say fine-and-dandy. Kids are a lot of trouble.

      Vannie’s dad whistled California, Here I Come through his teeth. He’d been whistling it ever since they left Cleveland.

      If you aren’t the world’s worst worrier, he said after a while. Wait and see. Aunt Bert’s got to be lonely as all get out, living by herself in the country. She’s going to love having Vannie stay with her for a while.

      Every time this argument started up again, Vannie scrunched down a little farther in the backseat of the car. Maybe, she thought hopefully, she could make herself shrink away to nothing. Her dad would say, Well, here’s our Vannie, Aunt Bert—come to stay with you while we go off to California. And what do you know; when they looked in the backseat, nobody would be there.

      Except Muffy! she reminded herself. Muffy wouldn’t disappear. He might be the tiniest white poodle in the whole United States, but he was also the loudest and the fastest. You always knew where he was. At the moment he was perched on a carton full of bedding that took up most of the backseat, snarling and yipping at a semitrailer truck in the next lane.

      For goodness’ sake! Vannie’s mom exploded. "Will you please keep that dog quiet! What’s he planning to do, eat that semi?"

      Vannie didn’t answer. Nobody could keep Muffy quiet when he felt like barking. Being small didn’t mean a thing to Muffy. That was just one of the reasons Vannie loved him.

      She looked out the window and saw that they were in real farm country now. The colors were pretty—green fields, red barns, and silvery silos like towers in a fairy tale.

      But where were the people? There was a house every once in a while, with a cluster of farm buildings around it, but she didn’t see any people. Just cows—a million cows—and some pigs and, once, a field full of gray sheep with lighter-colored lambs wobbling after their mothers. No wonder Dad’s aunt Bert was lonely, if all her neighbors had four legs!

      How much farther is it, for goodness’ sake? Vannie’s mom wanted to know. We’ve got a long way to go if you expect to make the Mississippi River by dark. She sounded tired and unhappy. "We should have called ahead. We should have warned your aunt."

      Vannie pulled Muffy off the carton and hugged him, even though he squirmed and squealed.

      It’s just over the next hill, her dad said, answering the question and ignoring the rest. Hey there, Vannie, look sharp now. Here’s where you’re going to spend your summer vacation, lucky girl.

      They stopped talking after that. Even Muffy was quiet for a change. The old sedan rattled and rumbled to the top of the hill and started down. Just below them, Vannie saw a little old house set back from the road. Tall trees clustered around it.

      Beyond the trees and a shed stood a barn that was at least twice as big as the farmhouse. The roof of the barn had holes in it, but on the side nearest the road there was a huge painting of a gold-colored dog. The dog was leaping over a stream of bright blue water. A row of green hills, all the same size, was lined up behind him, and there were puffy pink clouds overhead.

      What in the world! Vannie’s mom exclaimed. Her dad just shrugged. Now that the moment was here, now that they were actually turning into Aunt Bert’s front yard, he looked kind of scared.

      Come on, Vannie, he said, opening the back door of the car. Get yourself out of there and bring your suitcase.

      No suitcase, her mother said quickly. Not till we talk. Leave Muffy in the car, too.

      She took Vannie’s hand as they walked across the grass to the front porch. Behind them, Muffy yelped and battered the car windows, afraid he was being left out of a good time.

      Good time! Vannie thought. Huh! The closer they got, the more the house looked as if it might fall down any minute.

      The porch was a wonder. It stretched across the front of the little house, and it was crammed full of things: a long wooden swing hanging from the roof, a rocking chair, a footstool, a shabby old trunk, a box full of magazines,

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