I didn't have anything else to do, and I've been forbidden to go home without permission." A hint of good-natured humor crept into his words.

“You were having a little heart-to-heart with Yasna, and I didn't want to interrupt.

“So I wandered outside and took a look around out back. I had no idea how far back your property line went, Rachel. You have room to put ina damn big garden. And I'm sure Sarah wouldn't mind really fresh vegetables rather than that crap from California and Texas they sell at the Jewel.

“So I went and rented a tiller from Home Depot and broke ground on a vegetable patch. Nothing too huge. Maybe around a thousand square feet or so, back behind those maple trees in the backyard." He colored slightly as he looked at Josh and Rachel.

“I know it's your property and I didn't have any right to do it. If you want, I can put grass seed down, and in a month or so you won't even know I did anything.”

"Well," Josh drawled. "I don't think we should be hasty." He glanced at

Rachel. "What do you think, Venus?"

“I think if Jeremy has gone to the trouble of breaking the ground, then the least we can do is see what he makes of it," Rachel replied. She turned to her former intern.

“What are you planning on planting?"

“Well," he said, "It's a little late for some things.

“We're into June already. But we can still put in lettuce and radishes and carrots.

Peppers too, I think. It might be a little late in the year for green beans and tomatoes-"

Sarah made a gagging noise, and Jeremy paused, looking at her curiously. "What?"

“Green beans make me blow chunks," Alex said, snickering, and was joined by his parents as Sarah threw a wadded-up napkin at him.

“Sarah doesn't Like green beans," he explained to the room at large.

“And one time when she was about eleven, she used that Line on Mom and

Dad. I don’t know, maybe she had been watching a bunch of stoner movies or something. But I thought Mom was going to bust a gut, she was laughing so hard.”

Sarah raised a finger in warning.

“Don't. Say. Another. Word.”

“Wouldn't dream of it," Alex said, scooching his seat behind Maria's in mock terror.

"Anyway," Jeremy went on. "We should be able to get some good salad fixings out of the garden, at Least. I'm planning on sowing the seeds over the next few days. And next year, with the ground broken and an earlier start, you can put in whatever you want. Green beans," he said with a teasing look at Sarah.

“Onions, squash, broccoli, strawberries, maybe even a grape arbor. I bet my father could help me get some grape vines."

“What happened to the Law?" Rachel asked.

“I'm going to be an environmental lawyer," he replied, his jaw set stubbornly.

“But that doesn't mean I'm not going to have time to grub around in the dirt as well." He cast a look around the table, meeting their gazes firmly. "I guess the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. My father Loves the land and growing things. So do I."