Everything about thirty-five-year-old Stone Acres hardware store owner Frank McCord is old-fashioned -- from his bow tie and overalls to the way he happily makes house calls. He dreams of lasting romance, true love, and marriage. Frank’s ancestors have run the store and been mainstays in the small California town for over a century. While genial Frank upholds tradition and earns the respect of friends and neighbors, he fears he’s too dull and old to attract a husband. Maybe it’s time to break out of his mold. Then handsome thirty-six-year-old electronic games designer Christopher Darling and his fifteen-year-old son, Henry, come into his life. Christopher has everything Frank could want in a potential partner: charm, kindness, and compatibility. Also, he’s a terrific father to Henry. When their Stone Acres home turns out to be uninhabitable, Frank offers the Darlings temporary lodging in his ancestral farmhouse, where he and his tenant Emil reside. Since Emil thinks Frank is his, sparks fly. Suddenly, Frank’s monotonous life promises to explode with love and change him forever.

Frank at Heart

With a happy heart, I walked back to the store and got ready to administer two hiring tests  3


My procedure for hiring was pretty simple. In the identification section of the test, I gave applicants a common nail, a Phillips-head screw, a paint stirrer, a tape measure, a claw hammer, a screwdriver, a crescent wrench, pliers, a putty knife, and a box cutter. I gave these objects one at a time to the teen and asked him to identify what the object was, when to use it, and how to use it.


Then I gave the applicant six pieces of precut plywood, eight corner angles, tools, and other supplies, and had him—it was usually a him—follow simple directions to make a box with a hinged flap. The whole test was either incredibly easy or horribly complex and frustrating.


Chapter 7