One

      Kalissa Smith stripped off a pair of dirt-streaked garden gloves and paced backward from the Newbergs’ house, smiling with both pride and satisfaction. It had taken a full month, but the new lawn gleamed emerald under the August sun. Beyond its scalloped edges, fresh, black dirt was mounded in flower beds positioned against the brick walls of the two-story colonial. Evergreens and dwarf maples were clustered in one corner of the spacious yard, providing shade and privacy.

      “The ornamental peppers definitely work,” said Megan, crossing from their company pickup truck in the driveway.

      “It’s a bit of a twist,” said Kalissa.

      Megan drew a deep breath. “I think they’ll be happy with the twist.”

      “They’d better be happy.”

      The Newbergs were not the easiest clients in the world, but at least the job was finally complete.

      “Did we make any money on this one?” Megan asked.

      “I sure hope we did. We were underwater on the turf, but we saved on labor.”

      “Only because we did most of it ourselves.”

      “Good thing we charge ourselves such reasonable prices.”

      Megan smiled at the joke. “It does look fantastic.”

      Kalissa couldn’t help flexing her sore shoulders. Her calves were tight and her abs ached from so many days of physical work. On the bright side, she had absolutely no need to visit a gym, and she was developing a very nice tan.

      “I’m going to take some pictures for the web site,” she said.

      Mosaic Landscaping had been in business for just under a year, starting when Kalissa and Megan had both earned college diplomas in landscape design.

      “There were three more inquires on our voice mail this afternoon,” said Megan.

      “Can we at least grab dinner before we start a new project?”

      Megan chuckled. “On top of everything else, you want food?”

      “Call me high-maintenance.”

      “I could go for a burger.”

      “Benny’s, here we come.”

      Benny’s Burgers was a funky little restaurant tucked in an alleyway near their landscape shop on the west side of Chicago. They’d rented the aging storefront and warehouse space because of its generous size and reasonable rent. Esthetics had little to do with the decision—though they had painted and brightened the upstairs apartment, moving two single beds and some used furniture into the space.

      Kalissa retrieved the camera from the front of their serviceable, blue pickup truck, making her way around the yard to take shots from various angles.

      At the same time, Megan gathered up the last of the hand tools, stowing them in the pickup box. Then she perched herself on the tailgate, scrolling through pages on her tablet.

      “Any new inquiries from the web site?” Kalissa called as she lined up for a picture of the flagstone walkway edged with pink and white peonies. The front porch and double doors filled in the background, and the sun was hitting the flowers at just the right angle.

      “There are still a lot of people looking for maintenance.”

      Megan and Kalissa had talked