Personal chef Beau St. Clair, recently divorced from his cheating husband, returns to the small Ohio River town where he grew up to lick his wounds. Jack Rogers lives with his mother, Maisie, in that same small town, angry at and frightened by the world. Jack has a gap in his memory that hides something he dares not face, and he’s probably suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Maisie, seeking relief from her housebound and often surly son, hires Beau to cook for Jack, hoping the change might help bring Jack, once a handsome and vibrant attorney, back to his former self. But can a new face and comfort food compensate for the terror lurking in Jack’s past? Slowly the two men begin a dance of revelation and healing. Food and compassion build a bridge between Beau and Jack, a bridge that might lead to love. But will Jack’s demons allow it? His history could just as easily tear them apart as bring them together.

Dinner at Jack's

“I guess I’m not really ‘selling’ the job, am I? But I’m not sure you can even call it a job, not a proper one, anyway. With benefits and stuff like that.”


“There you go again—tempting me with outrageous promises. How you’ll make all my dreams come true. Low pay and a job that’s not really a job.” I chuckled. “How can I resist? Listen. I grew up here in Fawcettville, and I’ve been gone a long time. I just moved home. And—” I paused for effect. “I actually used to be a personal chef, back in Seattle, where I lived for a long time.”


Maisie expressed more interest in the town I was from than my prior cooking experience, and I wondered why.


Chapter 19