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

Inside, except for an enlarged and updated kitchen, the Bottom hadn’t changed one iota. The tacky laminate-topped tables and plastic menus remained. Designer Fredi Zimmer swore every year that he was going to redesign the place, and every year Lorraine smiled serenely at him, served his pie, and patted him on the shoulder.


The smell of down-home cooking remained too. I watched Christopher take a deep whiff and break into a grin.


My stomach grumbled, as I imagined his did. There’s nothing like good food to downgrade almost any crisis.


A young girl I didn’t know seated us inside in a booth along the far wall.


“The special’s corned beef hash with broccoli and sweet lima bean salad.”


Henry mumbled, “May, not can,” but kept his head down.


Christopher and I shared a smile, and both of us said, “Only water,” in unison. Then we grinned.


Chapter 21