Chapter 9

It looked like a typhon had just passed through Faith's bedroom. There were clothes and shoes everywhere. Mira was right. I should've listened to her. I need a wardrobe update. She cried to herself while she felt like she had nothing to her. It's just dinner with Callum and Mr Grant. Why am I stressing so much about it? She thought as she rummaged through her wardrobe and dresser for the millionth time as if the perfect outfit would magically appear.

Time was running short as Callum was about to show up at any moment, and Faith was still wearing leggings and a sports bra. As she glanced at the time of her phone, she finally gave up and grabbed a pair of jeans, white sneakers, a grey coat, and a pale blue blouse, that was tight fitting, but with flowy sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. This was probably Mira's at some point. I'd never buy something like this... Faith thought as she laid out the outfit in her bed, before hopping on the shower.

Dr Gardener: I'm here, Rapunzel. Please, let down your hair. Or just come out of your tower.

Faith chuckled as she looked at her phone.

Rapunzel: I'll be down in a sec.

Dr Gardener: Take your time. No rush.

Faith took one last glance in front of the mirror before rushing down the stairs. This will have to do... She thought as her reflection stared back at her.

"Sorry for the wait," Faith said as she got into Callum's car.

"No problem at all, princess. Your carriage will wait for you for as long as you need to." Faith rolled her eyes and sighed. "You look really pretty, Faith."

Faith opened her eyes wide and felt her cheeks flush a little. "Oh, thank you. I think this was Mira's. I was just trying to look a little more put together... I'm always wearing, you know... And... I... anyway-"

"Just take the compliment, Faith. And just so we're clear, you always look pretty." Callum smirked and took a quick glance at Faith that was completely out of words and as red as a tomato.

Kade's house was small and simple and yet filled with history and life. There was a very cozy and warm feel to it. It was a cottage style house right on the outskirts of town. Stone walls and red roof tiles. The view from all the windows was an amazing landscape. Green mountains, trees, fields of wildflowers and blue skies. Despite spending hours working around the gardens in Peterson estate, Kade had also spent a huge amount of time and had put a lot of dedication into his own garden and Faith was mesmerized by it. In the living room, on the fireplace mantel, there were family pictures of Kade with his nephews, and with his late wife. There were pictures of Kade with Callum and with Callum's brother, Zack. And Zack's daughters were also amongst the pictures.

There was one picture in particular that Faith couldn't help but to stare at. It was a picture of Kade's wedding day. They looked so happy... She was beautiful and Mr Grant looked so handsome. Kade looked exactly the same, as tanned as ever, with the same wide built, but his dark brown hair hadn't turned grey yet and his brown eyes were full of happiness and joy.

Faith never asked Kade any questions about it. She knew how much he missed his wife and how much he loved her. Faith was just a small child, but she still had some memories of them together, some glimpses of his wife stopping by the gardens with some warm lunch for Kade and how his face would light up whenever he saw her. One day, Kade's wife stopped showing up and the grownups only told Faith that it was because she was really sick and had to stay at home and rest. Shortly after that Faith started hanging around the gardens more, following Kade around. He wouldn't smile as much as he did when his wife showed up, nonetheless, Faith's presence would always brighten up his day.

"Kade just wants to make sure everything is perfect. Should be done in a minute. Please sit," Callum said, as he came out of the kitchen wearing an apron with a purple floral pattern.

"Looking good Doc." Faith smirked.

"One of Aunt Elsa's old aprons." Callum blushed.

"What are you making in there? Smells good. And I thought Kade didn't let you in the kitchen."

"He doesn't want me anywhere near the main course, but he gave me permission to bake a dessert."

"What are you baking?" Faith raised an eyebrow.

"It's a surprise."

"Did you steal one of Lydia's recipes?"

"No. She gave it to me. One of your favourites, after apple pie, of course."

"Really?" Faith blushed slightly. "You baked something for me?"

"Of course. You are our guest, after all."

"Thank you," Faith said with a timid smile as she turned back to look at the pictures.

"Were you looking at their wedding picture?" Callum asked as he stood right behind Faith. She could feel the heat and the scent of his body and had to control the sudden urge to lean back against him. What are you thinking, Fay?! Don't you dare move! She yelled at herself.

Faith nodded. "Do you think anyone ever recovers from losing the love of their life just like that?"

"I don't know. But I hope so." Callum was still struggling with his own heartbreak, so he couldn't even imagine what his uncle must have felt when his wife died. But he did hope that it was possible to heal and move on. It's never too late to move on and fall in love again and he hoped that his uncle would smile again in the same way he was smiling in those old photos.

"I remember her. I must've been around five or six. She looked like a forest fairy to me." Faith chuckled, embarrassed with that little confession, but that's exactly how five-year-old faith remembered her. "She would always show up wearing gorgeous floral dresses and her hair in a long braid and holding a picnic basket. I remember how happy Mr Grant looked when he saw her. She would always give me a small treat. A muffin or a cookie. I suppose both her and Lydia contributed to my addiction to sweets and pastries."

"Those are beautiful memories. Sadly, my brother and I didn't get to spend enough time with her." Callum sighed. "It's funny how the two of us never met before, even though we have heard about each other and seen these pictures." Callum said as he grabbed a small frame that was hidden behind the more recent ones.

"It's me! That's me!" Faith squealed. "So embarrassing."

"You were as adorable back then." In the photo, Faith must've been around seven. She was wearing a red dress, white shoes with lacy socks and a red bow on her hair. She was on Kade's shoulder and had just picked an apple from a tree.

"My dad took this. I was so happy because I thought I was helping them out." She chuckled. "But I guess I was just distracting them."

Callum couldn't help but to smile as he saw how Faith was looking at those pictures, and how adorable she looked. She had the cutest smile on her face and a shimmer in her eyes.

"You look so much like your brother," Faith said surprised, as she picked up a picture of Zack and placed it beside Callum's face. "He's six years older than you, right? It's like you have your own magic mirror that lets you see six years into the future and know what you'll look like."

Callum laughed. "I guess so. I never really thought about it. I don't see that much of the resemblance at all."

"You've got to be kidding me. How can you not see it? If it wasn't for the age gap, you two could be twins."

Faith kept glancing at Zack's picture and at Callum's face. They both had the same tanned skin and light amber eyes that almost looked like honey, especially under the sunlight. But whereas Callum's hair was wavier and more dishevelled, almost curly, Zack had straighter and sleeker hair. Zack also had a slightly slenderer built when compared to Callum's broad back and shoulders. But despite the small differences, it was an uncanny resemblance.

"How come both of you are so handsome? It's like you two won the genetic lottery. Not fair." She pouted.

"So, you think I'm handsome, princess?" Callum asked with a grin, leaning forward, placing one hand on the fireplace mantle, narrowing the distance between his body and hers.

Faith blushed immediately, feeling trapped between the fireplace and Callum. She turned around and rushed to put Zack's photo back in its place. "I mean...From an objective point of view, yes. I guess... Everyone would agree that the two of you are indeed good looking when considering what are deemed to be attractive features."

Callum chuckled and took a step back. "It's okay, princess, just admit it. You think I'm good looking." Faith opened her mouth, but no sound came out, which made Callum even more amused that he already was. She has no idea of how adorable she is... "I need to go back into the kitchen. But please sit. We'll be out with the food in a second." Faith nodded and without saying a word, with her cheeks still red, she started walking towards the dining table.

As Callum walked back into the kitchen, he noticed that Kade was quickly cleaning the corners of his eyes. There were no tears, but his eyes were still glistening.

"Are you okay?" Callum asked as he crouched down in front of the oven.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you left the door open," Kade grumbled as he opened a bottle of wine.

"I'm so sorry. We shouldn't have been talking about-"

"It's fine. I'm not upset. It's the opposite, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"Hearing Faith talk about her. It was nice. Those memories." Callum smiled and took the desert out of the oven while Kade started putting the food on the table. "You could put her on the pros list for staying here, you know?" Kade said as he grabbed a bottle of wine.

"What?" Callum chuckled, embarrassed, as he felt his cheeks burning. I'm too old to blush or have a crush on someone... I'm not a kid anymore. What's wrong with me? He grumbled to himself.

"You know what?" Kade threw some napkins and a breadbasket at Callum. "Go sit at the table."

"What if she's not interested?" Callum asked, struggling to grab everything that Kade had thrown at him.

"You're really dumb when you want to," Kade sighed while shaking his head. "Or at this point, you're just lying to yourself, because there's no way that someone can be this dumb."

"What do you mean?" Callum frowned.

"You're trying to convince yourself that there's nothing there because you are afraid." Kade stopped what he was doing and looked straight at Callum. "Don't be a coward like me. Take chances in life." Callum felt a knot form in his throat while Kade saw right through him. "Now go and sit. I'll bring the food the out in a second."

As they gathered around the table, Faith almost drooled at the sight of the food. It turned out that Kade was an amazing cook, almost on a par with Lydia. Although everyone knew that no one could ever truly surpass Lydia's cooking. The lamb was tender and moist, the potatoes perfectly seasoned with herbs and olive oil and the bread was freshly baked with the perfect mix of softness and crunchiness.

"Have you heard back from Dr Clark's?" Kade asked.

"I-," Callum looked up, away from his plate, and quickly glanced at Faith, that was staring back at him with her eyes wide open. "I did."

"And?" Faith asked while trying to contain her enthusiasm and failing miserably at it as she started smiled and fidgeting on her seat.

"The job is mine if I want to. He gave me some days to think about it." Callum said with a worried look and clenched his jaw. Both Kade and Faith glanced at each other as they understood that there was no point in pressing Callum on the matter. "How about I go get the dessert?"

"Yes, please," Faith squealed. "Super excited to see what you made, Doc."

Callum came back from the kitchen holding a freshly baked batch of Lydia's cinnamon rolls and they looked almost as good as hers. "Surprised?"

"Pleasantly surprised. These look great. Thank you. You two didn't have to go through all this trouble just for me."

"Nonsense," Kade grumbled, while clearing the table, making space for cinnamon rolls. "I'll go get dessert plates."

"I think that was Kade's way of saying, you're no trouble at all, we love having you here. Please come by more often," Callum said, trying to impersonate his uncle the best he could, making Faith chuckle.

After dinner, Faith insisted that she should at least help to clean up the kitchen, and after much grumbling from Kade's part, she finally won the argument and he let her help load the dishwasher. Once they were with the cleaning, Kade packed some leftovers for Faith, and Callum drove her home.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the job," Callum said as he parked the car in front of the Peterson house.

"You don't have to apologize for that. And no pressure whatsoever, but if you do decide to stay and want to get a place of your own, I can help you with that. My dad has some interesting properties around town."

"Thank you, Faith. I'll let you know once I make up my mind."

Callum knew he didn't have to tell Faith about the job, neither did he have to apologize, and yet, for some reason, it weighed on him that he hadn't told her sooner. He wanted to share the news with her as soon as he heard them, but his excitement had suddenly been crushed by the overwhelming fear of starting over. If he stayed a little longer in this limbo of working at the Peterson farm, then he wouldn't have to settle down, it was a job with no strings attached that he could leave at any moment and run back to the city and go back to his old life. I don't know what I want... He thought. But as he looked at Faith, he knew that was a lie. There was something he wanted, but was just too afraid to go for it. Maybe uncle Kade is right. Maybe I am being a coward...

"Good night, princess. Please do not climb out of you tower alone this time around if you hear any robbers or any ghosts."

"I won't. I'll wait for my knight in a shining armour ridding a white horse."

Callum chuckled. "Sleep well, Faith." He smirked and winked at her.

"Bye." Faith waved as he drove away, her heart pounding in her chest. Her stomach felt weird... Butterflies? No. I probably just ate too much... It must be indigestion.