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

Maisie knocked. There was no response, and I immediately got a foreboding feeling this would not go well.


“Honey? Beau’s here with supper. It smells amazing! You decent?”


No response. She looked back at me, her eyes pleading. She opened the door a crack and poked her head in. “Jack?”


I could hear gunshots being fired that I hoped were part of a TV show.


“No, honey,” Maisie whined, and at that moment I hated Jack a little bit, regardless of what was the matter with him, for the position he put her in. “I thought we could all eat together.”


Chapter 30