Free Summer Of My Secret Angel by Anna Katmore

an enchanting landscape. It seemed as if the beauty of the
country strived to calm everyone’s stressed out day.
    Unfortunately, my mother’s company and the
charity work I was bound to do cast an eerie shadow over the
surreal peace. The strangers in the front seats tried to make
friendly conversation with me, which I was so not interested in.
But apart from all that, I might have even liked it here.
    A soft poke in my ribs made me jump. Julian
jerked his chin to the windshield. “We’re almost there. This is—”
He paused and pursed his lips. “The residence of your
vacation.”
    “We might as well call a spade a spade.”
With one eyebrow cocked, I offered, “The place for slave
labor?”
    “Your temporary home.”
    “How very nice.” Flashing my teeth in the
parody of a smile, I dismissed him and read the sign next to the
road.
    Bienvenue à Fontvieille.
    Albert steered through the narrow streets of
the small town and a little farther until the line of houses and
shops gave way to woods and stony paths. The car came to a halt in
the driveway of an impressive property.
    I climbed out of the car when the others did
and gaped at the estate. To call it beautiful would have been a
vast understatement. It looked like somebody had waved a wand and
I’d arrived in a fairytale.
    Surrounded by a caramel-brown picket fence,
the house stood two stories. Front door, window frames, and the
long balcony on one side adopted the color of the fence, while the
sun reflected off the shiny white exterior and blinded my eyes.
    I couldn’t name the red, yellow, and violet
flowers offering dwellings to butterflies and bees, but they hung
profusely from the rectangular planters attached to each
windowsill. A gentle wind fluttered the curtains like the twirling
tutu of a ballerina. I couldn’t wait to get inside to find out if
the interior measured up with the fantasy façade.
    Too amazed to even flinch, I stood rigid
when my aunt rubbed both my upper arms with her soft hands.
“Welcome home, Jona.”
    Home . The word lingered in my ears
like the soft rustle on a midsummer’s evening.
    Marie let go of me, leaving my skin chilled
in the unfamiliar French heat. She walked to the front door with my
mother’s arm looped around hers, followed by Albert, who carried
our baggage.
    I was set to fall into line with them, when
a brown and white furry beast trotted around the corner of the
mansion. I stopped dead. It came right for me with a murderous
glint in its eyes, cutting me off from the safety of the house.
Shit, it must have devoured a kid only minutes ago. The white
shoelaces still hung from its jaws.
    The pony-sized dog lifted its muzzle to my
hand and sniffed. Afraid my wince might stir its appetite for
dessert, I strangled the frightened sound in my throat.
    The giant animal angled its head, gaping up
at my face. A low grumble in its throat grew to the most blasé bark
the world had ever heard. The laces tore away from its mouth and
dropped as a puddle of dog-drool.
    Julian’s laugh made me jump. “And here I was
thinking the dog was mute.”
    I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lower
lip, hating how he caught my every moment of fear.
    “Sit, Lou-Lou,” he said. The mountain of fur
lowered her butt to the ground. Her long tongue lolled out sideways
between huge, but not very sharp canines. While her tail swished
back and forth over the stone patio, Julian rubbed behind her wooly
ear then dared to sling his arm casually over my shoulder and
around my neck. “Shall we add dogs to the list of things that scare
you senseless?”
    The guy was seriously begging to be
introduced to my great right hook. I challenged him with a pissed
scowl as he dragged me toward the house. Before we reached the
front steps, I managed to escape his grip and entered alone.
    Hopefully, he would go to his own house
soon, so I could be safe from his sneaky remarks and the bunch of
butterflies he woke in my stomach each time he touched me.
Actually, I