“Benny? Benny, where are you?” called ten-year-old Violet from the back door of the big white house.
No one answered.
“Benny?” Violet called again.
“Haven’t you found him yet?” asked her sister, Jessie. “Henry’s waiting.”
Henry was fourteen and the oldest of the four Alden children. Benny, six, was the youngest.
“He and Watch were playing ball,” Violet said. “But I don’t see them now.”
“I know how to get Benny’s attention. Watch this!” said Jessie, taking charge. She was twelve and liked to get things done.
Cupping her hands to her mouth, Jessie shouted, “Benny! Watch! Ice cream!”
Almost immediately a small boy and a small dog came running from behind the old boxcar that stood at the edge of the backyard. “Here we are,” the boy cried. Watch barked happily.
Violet laughed. “Benny! You’re all muddy,” she said.
“We are?” Benny looked down at his dirt-streaked T-shirt. Then he looked over at Watch, whose whole face from nose to ears was powdered with sticky dirt. “Oh,” he said. “I guess we did get a little dirty. I was helping Watch dig a hole to bury a bone.”
“I’ll wash Watch with the garden hose,” Jessie said. “Violet, why don’t you help Benny get his hands and face clean.”
“Aw, do I have to clean up already?” Benny said.
“If we’re going to get ice cream, you do,” Violet told him.
“Ice cream? Well, I guess I could wash up a little bit,” said Benny. He followed Violet into the house.
“And put on a clean T-shirt,” Jessie added.
“Awww,” said Benny, but he didn’t argue. Benny would do almost anything for ice cream.
A little while later, Violet and Benny came hurrying down the front steps of the house. Jessie, Watch, and Henry were waiting.
“There you are,” said Henry, jumping to his feet. He picked up his bicycle. “Let’s go.”
It was a hot day, so Watch rode in Jessie’s bicycle basket instead of running beside them. But he was still panting gently by the time they reached the Greenfield Ice Cream Barn at the edge of downtown Greenfield. The small shop was built to look like an old-fashioned red barn. Behind that was a real red barn with a small fenced-in pasture on one side. A neat gray shingled house with red trim stood just down the road. The owner of the shop lived there.
The Aldens steered their bikes into the bicycle stand in front of the store, and Watch hopped out of his basket. But instead of leading the way to the Ice Cream Barn where he knew he would get some water and maybe a taste of vanilla ice cream, he scampered toward the big red barn.
“Watch!” exclaimed Benny. “Where are you going?”
Watch barked.
“Okay, I’m coming,” said Benny, as if he could understand what Watch had said.
Henry looked at his sisters and shrugged. “I guess we’d better go see what Watch is up to,” he said.
They found Watch in the pasture next to the barn. He was nose-to-nose with a large tan horse with a cream-colored mane and tail. Benny was scratching the horse’s ears.
“Look! Watch and I found a horse. A big horse!” said Benny.
“There’s never been a horse here before,” said Jessie.
“What’s your name?” Violet wondered in a soft voice.
“That’s Butterscotch,” a voice said behind them. “She’s a new business partner at the Ice Cream Barn. And so am I.”
The Aldens turned to see a tall girl, with bright green eyes and a thick ponytail, coming out of the barn. Her hair matched the color of Butterscotch’s coat. She had on jeans and a red shirt with the words ICE CREAM BARN embroidered in gold above the pocket.
“Hi,” said Benny. “Who are you?”
“Benny, don’t be rude,” said Jessie.
The girl laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” she told them. “I’m Brianna. I’ve just moved to Greenfield to join the ice-cream business.”
“I’m Jessie. This is Violet, Henry, Benny, and Watch,” said Jessie.
“How can Butterscotch be in the ice-cream business?” asked Henry.
“Why don’t we go get some ice cream and I’ll explain,” Brianna suggested.
Inside, the shop was white with red trim. Old photographs of farmers and farm scenes decorated the walls. Gingham curtains hung in the windows.
Katy, the owner of the Ice Cream Barn, stood behind the red counter in a long white apron. She had just handed a customer a scoop of vanilla on a sugar cone.
The customer, a blond woman with thick, dark eyebrows and a stiff frown, said, “This is a single scoop?”
“Yes,” said Katy. She cocked her head and looked at the enormous mound of vanilla ice cream. The Ice Cream Barn was well known in Greenfield for its big servings. The Aldens knew that the woman couldn’t be from Greenfield or she would have known that.
The woman pushed her sunglasses farther back on her head and stared at the scoop of ice cream.
Katy grinned. “If that’s not enough, I could add a little more.”
“Where?” Benny whispered to Violet. The cone looked very full already.
“It’s too much!” the blond woman declared. “How can you stay in business with such big single scoops?”
“It’s a mystery!” said Katy cheerfully. “But our customers just keep coming back. Big scoops, exciting flavors, that’s our specialty.”
The woman sighed, as if Katy had said something upsetting. Then she turned away, balancing the vanilla ice cream carefully, and took a seat at a small table near the window.
Katy looked over at Brianna and the Aldens and winked. She was a small woman with a big pile of black and silver hair wound in a bun on top of her head, almost like a swirled ice-cream cone. Her eyes were chocolate-brown.
“I’ll take care of these customers,” Brianna said, motioning toward the Aldens.
“Okay, but wash your hands,” Katy said. She smiled at Benny, then disappeared through the door to the kitchen.
“Yes, ma’am!” said Brianna, laughing.
Soon Henry was digging into an ice-cream float with chocolate ice cream. Jessie had chosen peanut chunk swirl with chocolate sprinkles, while Violet had cherry vanilla in a dish. Benny picked two scoops, one of pistachio and one of the special flavor of the week, double lemon pie.
“A mix like that might give some people a stomachache,” Brianna said as she handed Benny his double scoop.
“Not me,” said Benny. “Not my cousin Soo Lee, either. She lives in Silver City and she likes ice cream, too. But she’s on vacation with Uncle Joe.”
“We’ll still be serving ice cream when Soo Lee gets back,” Brianna promised as she set a bowl of water outside the door for Watch. Next to it, she put a dish with a little taste of vanilla ice cream. Then she poured herself a glass of water and leaned on the counter across from the Aldens.
Benny’s eyes got round. “Don’t you want ice cream?” he asked Brianna.
“There’s such a thing as too much ice cream, Benny,” Brianna said.
Benny looked shocked. “No, there isn’t,” he argued.
Everyone laughed and Benny smiled a little sheepishly.
“It’s too bad we can’t take some chocolate mint chip back to Mrs. McGregor,” said Violet. “She loves the chocolate and the little green mint chips. And the ice cream is extra good today.”
“Who is Mrs. McGregor?” asked Brianna.
“She’s our housekeeper,” Violet answered. “We live with her and our grandfather.”
“We used to live in a boxcar in the woods,” Benny added. “Just by ourselves. That’s where we found Watch. And then Grandfather found us.”
“We were orphans and we didn’t know we had a grandfather who wanted us,” explained Jessie.
They told Brianna all about how they’d found the old boxcar in the woods where they’d lived until their grandfather, James Alden, found them and took them to live with him in his big old white house in Greenfield.
“And now the boxcar is in our backyard,” concluded Henry.
“Grandfather put it there for us,” Violet explained. “Now we use it as a playhouse.”
“That’s an amazing story,” said Brianna.
Just then Katy bustled back in. “Well,” she said, “I’m glad to see my favorite customers and my favorite granddaughter have met.”
“I’m your only granddaughter, Granna Katy,” Brianna answered, laughing again.
“Granddaughter? But you said you were the new partner,” Jessie said.
“That, too,” Brianna agreed. “Katy’s favorite and only granddaughter, and her new partner.”
“You said Butterscotch was a new partner, too,” Henry reminded her.
“Does Butterscotch test ice cream for you?” guessed Benny.
“Good grief, no!” Katy exclaimed. “What an idea!”
Brianna said, “What flavor of ice cream did you say Mrs. McGregor likes?”
“Your chocolate mint chip,” said Violet.
“What has that got to do with Butterscotch?”
“It’s a surprise. A mystery,” said Brianna.
“We’re good at solving mysteries,” Benny said promptly. “We’ve solved lots and lots of them.”
“I can guarantee you’ll have this one solved by this afternoon,” said Brianna.
“How?” Violet wanted to know.
“You’ll see,” said Brianna. No matter how many questions the Aldens asked before they left the ice-cream shop, she wouldn’t give them even a single clue to help them solve the mystery.
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