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

“Now tell me what happened tonight.” Lloyd had found a tray and put four glasses of water on it. He placed the tray on the coffee table and handed me a glass.


My hands shook as I took it, but I managed a sip. The world slowly righted itself. Embarrassed and exhausted, I knew I was going to be all right. I put the glass down and stood slowly, like an old man.


“Excuse me. I have to use the bathroom.”


I needed to splash some water on my face, urinate, and not break down and cry.


As both Christopher and Lloyd started to protest, I shakily hobbled back to the master suite and my bathroom. I shut the doors behind me, first the one to the suite, then the second to the bathroom. With trepidation, I looked in the mirror and shuddered.


The man who stared back at me was old and worn out. He’d spent his life trying to live up to what everyone in his family and his town wanted of him. And what did he get in return?


Chapter 12