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

Life was certainly strange. One day it was going along like it always did. Then the next, it threw a curveball. You could let the pitch go, telling yourself you’d swing at the next one. Or if you’re conservative like me, you could bend and twist to connect with this one because you doubted another one would come along.


I only needed a day with Christopher to know I’d probably never be in his ballpark again. He was a perfect pitch being tossed at me, and I wasn’t walking away without following through with him.


I felt like I’d reached a degree of happiness I’d been seeking forever. I could be at peace for the rest of my life with Christopher by my side. The realization both thrilled and scared me. Did he feel the same?


I didn’t know this man in the sense of understanding all the baggage he was carrying around with him, but I did know his essence. I could picture us decades in the future sitting peacefully side by side. The unexpected thrill of ethereal happiness glowed between us.


Chapter 17