Chapter 4

"I'm okay," Faith yelled as soon as she hit the dirt, aware that Kade and Callum were just a few meters ahead of her and had seen her almost cartoonish fall.

"Come here, Faith," Kade said while up grabbing her by the shoulders, pulling her up as if she weighed nothing. "I need to get some huge neon signs saying careful or danger just for you. Really bright neon."

Callum smirked behind Kade, trying not to laugh.

"How about not digging any holes around here, Mr Grant?"

"How about I do my work and keep the gardens you like so much in pristine condition?"

"Point taken."

"I'm doing this for the new flowers you ordered."

"Thank you!" She squealed and hugged Kade. He was already too used to Faith's sudden energy bursts and affection and knew he couldn't fight it off.

"Can't wait to see how they'll look here. Call me as soon as you're done."

"Will do, miss."

Faith finally glanced at Callum and their eyes met. They stared at each other for only a second, but it was enough for Faith to feel a sudden thump in her chest and completely forget why she was there to begin with.

"You have something there," Callum said as he touched the tip of his nose.

"What? Where?" Faith touched her face, but she couldn't feel anything wrong with it.

Callum chuckled. "May I?" He asked as walked towards her and Faith nodded. "Following a white rabbit, were you?" he had a cute grin while cleaning the tip of her nose with cloth. "Late for teatime with the mad hatter?"

"Very funny." She tried to hide her embarrassment with a glare, furrowed brows, a nose scrunch. This attempt at looking annoyed only made her cuter.

Her nose was small and cute as a button, even covered in dirt. He smirked as he cleaned the dirt of her face, and Faith felt the mysterious thump again. Callum stared at her face just for a split second. She had this natural beauty about her that was mesmerizing, and he didn't seem to be able to look away.

"See?" He showed her the dirty cloth.

"Oh, God. I'm so embarrassed. Do I have any dirt anywhere else?"

"No, but" he reached for her hair, "you had this on your hair." Callum showed her a little weed.

"Thanks." She felt her face turn red and looked at the floor. At the hole that made her embarrass herself in front of Dr Grant. "You keep seeing me in embarrassing situations. I should be used it to it by now, but I'm not."

"You trip and fall a lot?"

"All the time. It's ridiculous. There must be something terribly wrong with me."

"Is that why you stay in your tower, princess?" He grinned mischievously.

"You've used that joke before." She glared at him.

"I know. But you ran out on me. Thought I would give it another try."

"No, my clumsiness is not the reason. And I do leave my tower. I'm here, aren't I? And I mean, I'm not a princess and it's not a tower. Anyway..."

Callum smirked, amused by Faith's babbling. "No scrapes or bruises? You're good?"

"Yup. I'm okay. Nothing bruised, swollen, or broken. This time."

"Well, good thing you have a doctor around now." He winked.

Faith blushed a little more. "I guess so. Maybe we should give you a permanent position." Both chuckled.

Callum stood there, leaning on his shovel, staring at Faith while she stared back at him. He couldn't help but to think about how adorable she looked when she was flustered and embarrassed. How the red in her cheeks made the freckles around her nose stand out more. And Faith couldn't help but to feel embarrassed that the handsome doctor kept finding in her in awkward situations.

"Enough chitchatting, you two. Don't you both have work to do?" Kade grumbled while grabbing a bag of soil.

Both suddenly looked away from each other. Faith remembered what she was doing there, and Callum realized he had to go back to work.

"Mr Grant, talking about work, can you meet me later by the orchard?"

"Just tell me when."

"Thank you!" Faith dashed out of the garden but carefully looking at the ground this time.

As Faith entered the kitchen to snack on something, her parents and Lydia were discussing some details about future dinners they were having later that week.

"You were awfully quiet at dinner last night," Faith's father said.

Faith's mother glared at him. "Walter, don't bother her with that."

"Why not, Grace? She was the one who broke off the engagement. She has to put up with the consequences of her actions."

"Thanks for the support, dad," Faith grumbled as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Walter, you could've waited a little longer before you started inviting them over again, as if nothing happened."

"Everyone else's life doesn't stop just because Faith decided she didn't want to get married after all."

"I'm really sorry if me not wanting to marry someone I don't love messed up your life that much." Faith said as she stormed of the house.

"Walter! Go after her and apologize," her mother yelled.

"She's just overreacting. She'll come back soon."

"You were out of line. Your daughter is dealing with enough as it is. She already thinks she's disappointed you. You don't need to rub more salt on the wound."

"That's not what I was trying to do."

"What were you trying to do, then?"

"She needs to take charge of her life. She made a decision. It's done. No going back. Just forward. It's time to move forward."

"And she's trying to. That doesn't mean she has to act like nothing happened. You better apologize to her."

"I will. I'm sorry."

"You to say it to her, not me."

Faith ran towards the gardens as tears started to cloud her vision. She bumped her nose onto something hard, and someone grabbed her by the arms, preventing her from falling on her ass for the second time that day. Quickly cleaning her tears with the back of her hands, Faith tried to pull herself together. When she was finally able to open her eyes and see clearly, she saw Callum standing in front of her with a concerned frown. She also blushed as soon as she realized that her nose had hit Callum's chest.

The green in her eyes... Despite the circumstances, Callum couldn't help but to notice the beautiful shade of her eyes as she stared right back at him. He controlled the sudden impulse of hugging her and comforting her. They barely knew each other, it wouldn't be appropriate, but he didn't seem to be able to let off her just yet. The proper thing to do would be to simply ask her if she was okay and then let her be on her way, and yet there was something about her that made him oddly protective.

"Oh, hi there again. Why are you crying, princess? Did the evil queen put a curse on you or did you kiss a frog, and he didn't turn into a prince?" Since a hug didn't seem like the right move, Callum thought that at least getting a giggle out of her would be worth the try.

Faith chuckled between her tears and snot. Callum's jokes were bad and cringy and yet he made her laugh and that was all that mattered in that moment. He was ready to make a joke and tease her when everyone else was still judging her for her own decisions. And for some reason, this time, when he called her princess, she wasn't upset by it, or at least not upset as she would've been if it had been someone else calling her that.

"You're such a dork," she sniffled. "Is that how you talk to your patients, Dr Grant?"

"Sometimes. If kids are afraid, we have to make them feel comfortable. Make them see you as a friend and not the monster hiding in their closet at night."

"Does it work?"

"It got you laughing, didn't it?"

She cleaned her tears with her hands. "I guess so. I must have the sense of humour of a five-year-old, then." They chuckled.

"By the way, the new flowers are ready and Kade said he's going to take a quick break and then he's free to meet you at the orchard."

"Thank you."

"Come on, cheer up and go take a look at your garden." Faith smiled, and Callum smiled back. "What are they?"

"The new flowers?" she asked, and Callum nodded. "Panicle Hydrangeas."

As they walked around the garden, Callum kept asking Faith about the different types of plants and she would gladly answer. She was happy that someone else was interested in something that she loved so much, something she had poured so much love and time into. Even though she knew Callum was just trying to cheer her up, she was still happy to walk around her favourite place and answer questions about it.

"So, why botany?"

"I've always been obsessed with nature, and I wanted to study something that would contribute to the family business. As of right now, I'm fully in charge of the farm while my dad is focused on our real estate investments. So, it seems like it worked out pretty well. What about you? Did you become a doctor because of your parents?"

"How do you know that?" And again, Faith couldn't help to notice that there was a weird glimpse of something in his eyes. It wasn't anger, maybe sadness, but not quite either... What happened? She wondered.

"You are aware that I have known your uncle for years, right? We might not have met before, but he has talked about his brother and nephews."

"What has he told you?"

"Not much. Man of few words, as you know. Just that you are all very successful doctors. He's very proud of his nephews. Both followed in the footsteps of their parents. Did your parents force you both into it?"

"No, not all. And we all have different specializations. I think both my brother and I just always admired them and that's what made us follow the same path. Although, my brother has always been more cut out for it than me. He's an extremely skilled surgeon. There aren't many like him. He worked extremely hard to build his career and his name, but he's also one of those rare cases that was born with the innate talent."

"They say firstborns are smarter, right? But don't worry Doc, you got the good looks."

Callum chuckled and his cheeks flushed a bit with the compliment. "So, I guess that means you have both since you're an only child."

"Not sure about that. I don't think I have either. Pretty average." Faith shrugged and showed him a sad smile.

"Agree to disagree," he said with a smirk. "You're selling yourself short."

"And you are just being too nice."

"I'm not. Just look at this place." Callum pointed at the garden around them. "And you should definitely take a better look in the mirror." He winked.

"I-," Faith didn't know what to say. She felt her cheeks burning and she could swear her heart had just skipped a beat. "I should go back to work. Mr Grant is probably waiting for me."

Callum nodded. "You didn't answer." He smirked.

"What?" She frowned.

"Curse or frog?"

Faith chuckled. "Probably both. My clumsiness for sure must be a curse that was put on me still in the crib, and I haven't found a prince yet."

"See you around, Faith." Callum smiled and Faith turned around before her cheeks could get any redder. "Don't go around kissing any frogs."