A gray-haired man in his seventies hobbled toward them.
“What have you done to yourself?” Cassie asked.
“Darn rabbits. I chased them across the garden and fell over a rake. There’s got to be some way of catching them.”
Noah smiled at Mr. Jessop. “My dad used to dip a carrot in honey and leave it in a hutch. If you put a self-closing hinge on the door, they won’t be able to get out.”
Mr. Jessop scratched the side of his head. “I’ve never tried honey with a carrot. We used to poison the critters. But with all the little ones who come out here, I figured it wouldn’t be a good idea.”
Cassie was relieved he’d come to that conclusion on his own. Sometimes he had a unique way of solving problems. “Do you have a hutch you could use?”
Mr. Jessop nodded. “The woodworking group made me one last week, but the rabbits haven’t been eager to go inside. But honey…”
While he was contemplating the addition of honey to his rabbit-catching arsenal, Willow held her bucket in the air.
“Is it okay if I pick some green beans for dinner?”
“Of course it is. The beans in the first row are ready.” Mr. Jessop ambled through the garden, followed by Willow, Cassie, and Noah.
As they walked around the corner of the building, Noah’s eyes widened. “The garden is huge.”
“Mr. Jessop doesn’t do things by halves.” Cassie smiled when their head gardener grunted his approval. “He has a team of people who help him. Next year, we’ll hold a fundraiser for a greenhouse. With the right heating, we’ll be able to grow vegetables year-round.”
“What do you do at the moment?”
“When we can’t grow our own, we buy frozen vegetables.” Cassie started picking beans. “How much do you need?” she asked Willow.
“A full bucket. It looks as though we’ll have at least forty-five people for dinner tonight.”
Cassie smiled when Noah added more beans to the bucket. There wouldn’t be too many times when the chief executive of Wilson Enterprises picked fresh beans for his dinner.
And the funniest thing of all was that he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Noah placeda ladle of hot beef casserole on the plate of the last person standing in line. He’d never served dinner to so many people before. It hadn’t been as bad as he imagined.
“Well done,” Pastor John said from beside him. “I think we can safely serve our dinner now.”
Noah looked around the dining room. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some people were talking and laughing, others were quiet, but didn’t look upset by the noise around them.
It was like a typical family, only much larger than his own.
He placed a ladle of beef on John’s plate, then turned to serve Willow.
“Not me,” she said. “I’m trying a vegetarian diet.”
“I thought everyone in Montana ate meat?”
Willow grinned. “You’ve been watching too many movies.”
With his eyebrows raised, he turned to Cassie. “Beef?”
“Yes, please.”
Just seeing her smile made him happy. He gave her a generous serving of beef, then added a roll.
“Am I getting preferential treatment?” she asked.
“I’m hoping you might take pity on me and give me a few extra beans.”
