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

It was weird, having him in control. I wanted to pinch myself, wondering seriously if this was a dream. But other than Jack’s abrupt change in behavior, this quiet supper in this yellow kitchen had all the earmarks of reality. Because I didn’t know what to say or even do, for that matter, I lifted my wineglass. “To Soldano’s and good Sicilian cooking!” I said, with more good humor than I felt. I wondered if my mentioning the location of our first date was a kind of test. Would Jack really remember?


Jack raised his glass and clinked it against mine. He didn’t smile, and the sadness in his gaze, in his whole aspect for that matter, remained. We began eating. We ate so long in silence, I thought his admission might be the end of our talking. I was just about to ask him specifically how and why he remembered when he spoke.


“Soldano’s. Lovely place, wasn’t it? I remember all the different chandeliers they had, a whole bunch of them. They were beautiful.”


Chapter 65