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

The next time I turned up, after my winning meal of White Trash Mac & Cheese, Jack was a different person. Maisie had already left for work by the time I got there, so I couldn’t ask her if something had happened to explain the shift in Jack’s mood. I suppose I could have called her later, but I hated to add to her burden, especially when I didn’t know if the change was just a fleeting thing. Maybe it was something that simply came and went, and I had yet to witness it.


He had every reason, I thought, to be depressed.


Chapter 62