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

Maybe it was by the grace of God that Beau didn’t recognize or remember him. What could Jack possibly offer him now?


He debated whether he wanted to read more of their initial correspondence. In the end, he decided he had no choice. He’d come this far, and painful as it was, he needed to see more. His own response was briefer and more to the point. He told Jack about his job and about moving to Seattle. Curiously enough, he didn’t mention from where, which was an amazing coincidence. Or was it?


Jack used to believe in things like confluence, that everything happened for a reason, at least until that night everything bad happened, when everything changed.


He read through the e-mails, which got shorter and shorter, winnowing down to plans for their first date, which Jack already knew would be at Soldano’s, just before Christmas eight years ago.


Chapter 61