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 took a spoonful and closed her eyes, her spoon still poised in midair. “Oh my God, that’s beautiful. I have no idea what’s in here. But it tastes truly divine.”


“Thanks.” I took a bite of my own soup and had to admit her description was both flattering and spot on. Throughout the pre-dinner drinks—vodka and tonic for Maisie and me, beer for Dad—I’d had to resist the urge to ask Maisie about Jack. I didn’t want to upset her.


“What the hell’d you put in this, anyway?” Dad asked.


Despite the phrasing of the question, I could tell he was enjoying the soup. He was almost finished with his bowl when Maisie and I had barely taken a couple of spoonfuls ourselves.


“It’s just carrots cooked in chicken stock…” And I proceeded to tell him how I’d made the soup, not that he was really that interested. Gourmet cooking for Dad was heating a Marie Callender chicken pot pie in the microwave and adding canned Parmesan to the mix when it was done.


Chapter 68