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After Gavin left, Chuck looked at Niall. “I heard. Window worries?”

“He thinks my marketing and promo suck.”

“He’s not wrong.”

“Thanks. Wow.”

Chuck grinned. “Being honest. But that’s not why I’m here. Come with me.”

Curious, Niall followed Chuck through the store to the children’s section at the back. Chuck had a tablet in his hand, which he handed to Niall.

“What’s this?” Niall asked, looking at the screen.

“Winnie’s treehouse. Well, designs. Options or whatever. Some rough sketches I did during my lunch break at the lawnmower hospital.”

Niall stared at the tablet, surprised and touched. The sketches were detailed and professional—a squat knobby otherworld-ish tree sprang from that one dead corner in the back that he kept changing, then a small platform nestled atop three gnarled branches that extended over the children’s section shelves, atop them a little hutch with a curved roof that made it feel like something out of Mother Goose. A ladder led up to it, and safety railings enclosed the space.

“You did this today?” Niall asked as he scrolled through the designs. It wouldn’t even cost him floor space. In fact, it turned the kids’ area into something magical.

“I had some time while the roofing tar dried.”

The gnarled trunk almost looked like an ancient face with an irregular mouth, but then he saw the knob. “Is that a door in the trunk?”

“Just an idea, if you dig it. If you ever wanted to do, like, a story time or kids’ parties, I thought it would be a nice entrance for a costumed character or a magician or whatever. The knot’s a handle, and there’s a half door if you wanted a puppet stage at some point. At its core, the trunk will work like a hollow column wrapped in artificial bark, so I figured—”

“You’re a genius. This is genius.”

Chuck pointed to one of the sketches. “It would be a hundred percent secure—the platform would be anchored to the wall studs, and the railings would be high enough to prevent falls. The ladder could be removable if you’re worried about kids climbing up unsupervised.”

“I don’t even know how to react,” Niall admitted. “But Chuck, this would end up a massive project. Weeks and weeks of work. Materials. I can’t afford to pay you anywhere near what something like this would cost.”

“Who said anything about payment?” Chuck leaned against the bookshelf, his expression casual but his eyes intent. “Consider it my contribution to the next generation of readers. Plus, Winnie might finally stop mocking me. That’s payment enough.”

Niall studied Chuck, trying to understand his motivation. “Why are you doing all this? The roof, now this…. You barely know us.”

Chuck was quiet for a moment, his easy confidence faltering. “Could be I’m balancing the scales a bit. I spent a lot of my life tearing things down or walking away when they got hard. I hurt folks. I can’t tell you how good it feels to build something for once. To stick around long enough to finish a project.”

Niall looked out the windows into the bright street. “I get that. Divorce sucks in all directions. After Elise left, I was so focused on proving I could handle everything on my own I wouldn’t let anyone help with anything. It was… exhausting.”

“And now?”

“Now I’m still exhausted, but I’m learning sometimes it’s okay to accept help.” Niall handed the tablet back to Chuck. “If you really want to build this crazy thing, I won’t stop you. Winnie might actually grow her own pair of wings and fly.”

Chuck’s face lit up with genuine pleasure. “Great. I can start gathering materials tomorrow. A guy at the lumber yard owes me a huge favor from high school.”

“Of course he does.” Niall could only imagine.

“What can I say? Plus, I’ve been doing a little set work for the Paper Bag people, and they’ve got a ton of leaves, bark, plaster that someone donated about twenty years ago. They agreed to pay me in tree parts for a couple of weeks. What I mean to say is I’m well-connected in all the useful trades.”

“Speaking of connections… any chance you have some high school buddy who’s a halfway decent plumber? The handle on the sink in the side bathroom is almost kaput.”

“I can take a look now if you want. Probably easier to just replace.”

They moved to the small customer bathroom at the back of the store. Chuck examined the sink handle, then pulled a multi-tool from his pocket and began disassembling it with deft confidence.

“So,” he said as he worked, “dinner with the in-laws tonight?”

“Former in-laws,” Niall corrected out of habit. “And no, only Winnie. I begged off, claiming inventory duties.”