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

I slid quietly from the couch. Jack smacked his lips and drew his knees up to his chest. I waited by the couch, breathless, for him to wake, but he didn’t.


I hurriedly turned the thermostat down to seventy. I knew it would take a while for the oppressive and suffocating heat to dissipate, so I opened the door. As soon as I did, Ruth ran outside. It was okay. I occasionally let her out without a leash. As long as I stood on the porch and watched her, she seemed to have no interest in running out onto the road or exploring anywhere farther than the confines of our little kingdom here by the Ohio.


Like Dorothy, Ruth knew her heart’s desire extended no farther than her own backyard. I watched her dash down the stairs and then squat quickly at the bottom to pee. She wandered over to the yew bushes bordering Daisy’s front porch and sniffed and then bolted back up the stairs.


Chapter 80