Since the death of her husband, Abby McClure has had to be mother, father, and breadwinner--taking over operation of the family lumber store business--to her three sons. Her sister, Maxine Scott, has tried to be matchmaker for Abby, much to her exasperation as she would rather not associate with the men eligible to her. But she changes her mind when Maxine reminds her of a casual acquaintance: widowed chemical engineer Jake Iverson, whom she has not seen or thought about in years. Based on some unfortunate situations and misunderstandings, Abby and Jake's new-found relationship does not start off well. When a serious courtship does begin, their respective children--specifically Abby's eldest, late teen Flip McClure, and Jake's only offspring, late-teen Stacey Iverson--are their biggest obstacles, as they don't want their respective roles of male and female household head replaced. When Abby and Jake eventually get married, another pressure is how they will live while both their too-small houses wait to be sold. Can their marriage survive all these issues?
—Huggo