“I’ve got estimates for you,” he said.

Her eyebrows winged up. “Twenty-four hours later. That’s either impressive or you did a shit job.”

“Trust me. It’s impressive. I can do a lot of things in a lot less time. But a respectable amount of time,” he added. “Not like eight or nine minutes.”

Her shoulders bounced in that suppressed-laughter way of hers. He wondered why she didn’t just let it out. “Anyway, the flowers—” He snapped his fingers at Kevin, who had thankfully woken up feeling obedient that morning. The dog scampered off to find them. “Are an apology, and this is to butter you up.” He pulled a cold six-pack out of the paper bag he’d brought inside.

“Ah, an alcohol-worthy quote,” she said, eyeing the beer. “I had a feeling.”

“Quotes,” he corrected. “Are you a five-o’clock-somewhere kind of girl or do you need it to be a respectable drinking hour before you start on a Saturday?”

“It’s eleven a.m. here, and I’ve been at it since seven. I’m due a break, and I have a feeling I’m gonna need one of those beers when I look at your numbers,” she guessed.

“Smart woman,” he said. “Let’s take our happy hour outside.”

She followed him, the beer, and his paperwork through the front door. Silas stepped off the porch and crossed to his pickup, which he’d backed in. He sat on the lowered tailgate and patted the spot next to him. “Come envision with me.”

He tossed Kevin a chew bone, and when the dog settled down on the porch with it, Silas popped open two of the bottles of beer. “Estimate A is for the scope of work we discussed yesterday before the puke and nudity. By the way, I’m hoping those two things evened each other out when it comes to your hiring decision.”

She didn’t exactly confirm, but her small grin was enough for him.

He produced the first piece of paper from a folder and handed it over to her. “Nothing too fancy. The must-haves. The tree trimming and timbering, foundational plantings, redefining the beds around the front, mulch, trimming up the hedgerows, maybe a focal planting here or there to take advantage of the views. Cleaning up the existing beds around the house. Reseeding the lawn. Scrapping the creepy graveyard fence. Relaying the terrace, using as much of the original material as possible. Shoring up the retaining wall.”

She skimmed it, and he considered it a good sign that she didn’t immediately chug the entire beer when she hit the total.

“Uh-huh,” Maggie said with a nod that gave nothing away.

“This is what Estimate Must-Haves could look like,” he said, unfolding a larger piece of paper.

“You drew this?” she asked, studying the sketch.