Have Faith

Chapter 1

Faith grumbled again as she turned off the freeway and onto the side streets. She was not going to like her summer vacation at all.

At eighteen, Faith had just finished her freshman year of college. Most of her friends were going to be enjoying themselves at the beach for the next three months. That was her first choice too. She wanted to get a nice tan and have some fun.

Here parents were the spoilsports, however. They insisted that she get a job and earn some money for next year. Why couldn't they just give her an allowance like her friends' parents did? Why did she have to work? But they kept up the pressure and Faith saw her dream of frolicking in the surf disappear.

Once she resigned herself to getting a job, she did make an effort at finding a summer internship. She thought that working at a technology company would be good experience and she even applied to several modeling agencies because she thought that would be exciting. She might even get a chance to do some modeling and she knew that paid good money.

She was certainly pretty enough to be a model. Her tall, slender body was very graceful and she had an elegant, statuesque form. Her breasts might be bigger than the typical model's but they were firm and she would have no difficulty wearing strapless attire. And her face was beautiful. Green eyes sparkled and every aspect of her facial features was perfect. Her long auburn hair was silky and lustrous as it framed her face.

Unfortunately, she had waited until it was too late to get an internship. All of the positions had already been filled. And none of the modeling agencies even replied to her letters or returned her calls. Apparently, they had already filled their needs.

She was not about to work in a restaurant, though. She had done that one summer during high school and she vowed to never do it again. The people had been rude and demanding and she had been miserable.

But the edict still stood. She had to get job. One night, a week earlier, her aunt had proposed a solution. She had been visiting for dinner and heard the debate about summer employment. She said that she could use some help for the summer.

Faith's eyes lit up. Aunt Jane was an executive at a pharmaceutical company less than two hours away. Why hadn't she thought about that? Of course she should do an internship with that company. And it would solve her other problem. It would get her away from her overbearing, nagging parents.

Just as fast as her hopes had been raised, however, they were dashed. Aunt Jane's offer was to take care of her daughters for the summer. Faith liked her cousins; loved them, in fact. But they were five years younger than her. She wanted to be around a more adult crowd. And being a babysitter for the summer sounded even worse than being a waitress. Jane helped a little by describing her as a governess but Faith still knew that she would be babysitting.

Faith couldn't find any way to wiggle out of the job, though. The summer had arrived and she still had no job. Plus, how could she say no to family? Aunt Jane had already said that she needed help. It was impossible to reject the offer.

Now she was near the end of the trip. It was Sunday afternoon and, instead of sunning herself at the beach with her friends, she was reporting for duty.

Jane met her at the front door and gave her a big hug. Then she helped Faith bring her suitcases into the house. After dropping them in the room she would be using for the summer, Jane led her to the family room where the twins were watching the television. They squealed and jumped up as soon as they saw Faith, running to her and squeezing her tightly. They giggled and ran around their older cousin and then hugged her some more.

Faith had to admit that Linny and Cinny were cute. They were clearly excited and were adorable in their enthusiasm. Their full names were Caroline, who had been dubbed Linny, and Cynthia, who was Cinny. They were identical twins and Faith always had a hard time figuring out which was which. She would have to ask Aunt Jane how she kept them straight.

"We're so happy that you will be staying with us," said one of them excitedly.

"Yeah," the other chimed in. "We've never had a governor before."

"Governess," corrected their mother. "Faith will be your governess for the summer."

"What does governess mean?" asked the first one.

"It means that she looks after you, and that she's in charge."

The twins looked at each other and immediately started giggling. Neither of them said a word but put an arm over each other's shoulders and walked back to the television, still giggling.

"Oh boy," thought Faith. "This is going to be worse than I thought."

"They'll be fine for you," said Jane after she had led Faith back to the living room. ‘They're just a little wound up right now. They'll settle down for you quickly."

Jane then showed Faith around the house to familiarize her with it. She already knew her way around pretty well because she visited frequently with her parents as she was growing up. The one saving grace that she had been looking forward to was the pool. Her aunt had a completely secluded back yard with a huge swimming pool. She might not be able to get to the beach this summer but she was sure going to get that tan.