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

Henry got up and stood by him, his arms going around his father’s neck. I understood. I would have done the same thing.


“Why? You aren’t a contractor or an architect, are you? You’ll know better what to do next time.” I said. I’d been sucked into their lives just as they’d been in mine. I wanted more than anything to help them.


“No, my dad’s not an architect,” Henry said. “He’s a world-famous game designer.” The boy held his dad tighter and glared at me like I should have known who his father was.


“Henry,” Christopher chided him softly. “Frank doesn’t need to know what I do. He’s being incredibly kind to us. He could have kicked us out last night.”


“Then if you’re not a contractor or architect, why do you feel like a failure? Someone deliberately duped you.” I wanted to know how he could blame himself for something he didn’t know about and didn’t understand.


Chapter 15