“Good for you, Miss Ginger,” Trevor said. “I think you’d make an excellent teacher. Kids really flock to you, and you have a great understanding of their emotions.”

“Thank you, Trevor. I’m excited. For the first time since Bill died, something has lit a fire under me.”

Haven had no idea about any of this. She felt so out of touch with her mom and what had been going on. She reached across the table and squeezed her mother’s hand. “You’re sure this is what you want to do?”

“Yes. I’ve also renewed my gym membership. I go almost every day with Wanda Dixon and Cathlyn Simms. We started out on the cardio equipment and took up weights. We also take a Zumba class. Now that is fun.”

Haven blinked. Her mom at the gym? It was like she didn’t even know her anymore. No wonder she looked so different. Her cheeks were rosy and she was smiling a lot.

“That’s awesome, Miss Ginger. Exercise is great for you. You must feel really good.”

Her mom nodded at Trevor. “I feel amazing. I’ve lost fifteen pounds, and I’ve been sleeping better than I have in years.”

“That’s just . . . great.” Haven wanted to be happy for her mom. She really did. But something didn’t feel right.

“And then there’s this book club I joined as well. We meet once a week on Thursday nights. I’m reading a lot again. It’s so refreshing. So eye-opening.”

Haven leaned back in her chair, unable to fight the tears.

Her mom frowned. “Haven, what’s wrong?”

“Wow. It’s a good thing Dad died, so you could have this whole new life, isn’t it, Mom?”

“Haven. Honey, it’s not like that at all.”

“Isn’t it? Your life improved after he died, didn’t it? Look at all the fun you’re having now.” She pushed back from the table. “Excuse me. I need some air.”

She fled the kitchen and grabbed the car keys Trevor had left on the table by the front door. Without thinking, she got in the car and backed down the driveway, knowing only that she had to get out of there, had to get away from her house and her mother and everything that just wasn’t the same anymore.

Not only was Dad not there, leaving a gaping hole in her life, but now her mother was this completely different person.

Did everything have to change? Everyone?

She had to go see her dad and try to make sense of all of this.

TREVOR COULDN’T BELIEVE THE WORDS THAT HAD spilled out of Haven’s mouth. She was always so sweet, so sensitive to everyone around her, especially her mother.

But she’d just cut down her mom, and in the cruelest way possible.

“Miss Ginger. I’m sorry. You have to know she didn’t mean it.”

Tears welled in Ginger’s eyes. “Oh, honey. I know she didn’t. This past year has been so hard for her. She was so close to Bill and losing him devastated her. God, it devastated me. I could barely function the first couple of months after he was gone. I don’t know what I would have done without Haven, without my friends and family. But Haven, she pulled it all inside and wanted me to think she was fine. She felt she had to be the strong one for me when I knew deep down inside she wasn’t all right. That’s why I called you.”

“I’m glad you did. But I thought she was coming out of it, that she was through the worst of it.”

Ginger nodded. “I think she wanted to walk into her house and see that nothing had changed. It’s bad enough her daddy isn’t here anymore. And now everything else is different, including me.”

Trevor felt the need to defend Ginger. “You have a right to move on with your life.”

“I know that, and you know that. But I don’t think she understands just yet that Bill is, was, and always will be the great love of my life. And whether my weight or my occupation changes, how I feel about him never will.”

She pushed back from the chair. “I need to go talk to her.”

Trevor stood. “I’ll go with you.”

She laid her hand on his chest. “No, honey. This one I have to do alone. I’ll bring her back with me.”

Trevor watched Ginger grab her keys and walk out the door, wishing there was something he could do to help.

But Ginger was probably right. This conversation had to be between mother and daughter. And he couldn’t intervene.

He’d never felt more helpless.

Chapter Twenty-Two

HAVEN SAT ON THE CEMENT BENCH THEY’D ERECTED in front of her father’s grave, staring at the headstone marked with his name, his dates of birth and death, and the words Husband, Father, Friend To So Many etched on his tombstone.