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

“Wait until they see the new Frank and the new McCord’s Hardware.”


“McCord’s Hardware? You’re finally changing the name? Why not Frank’s Hardware?”


“Nope. McCord’s. Putting the family front and center like it should’ve been all along. I always thought my grandfather’s austerity went a little too far—naming it just Hardware.”


Lloyd nodded and sipped. “A new Frank and a new name for the store, huh?”


“Yup. No more overalls, no more bow tie, and a lot more variety in merchandise. I’m going to expand out of the hardware business and into the twenty-first century.”


His eyes got wide, and he grinned at me.


“Well, that should keep the talk around town interesting.” He ran a finger along the lip of his mug. “This have anything to do with Christopher and Henry Darling?”


“It has everything to do with them. And with Emil. And my longtime disgust with my life.”


Chapter 19