Call Me Michigan (5 page)

Surprisingly, the other woman teared up, hugging her. “It’s so good to have you back,” Kelly claimed. “I’m gonna take the boys and see you at the game tomorrow. If someone can handle whatever life’s throwing her way, it’s you. Tim’s excited to be at the game with you.”

Taylor glared at her brother, reminding herself that everyone shared everything right away and without hesitation in a small town.

“I’ve been bullied into going.” She grinned. “But I’m excited to go.”

“How about before I drop them off Sunday, I grab lunch, and we hang out and talk? We’ve missed you here,” Kelly emphasized, and Taylor found herself nodding.

“Sounds like a plan. Well, I have to go.” It was true; Taylor was anxious to be back home and out of the town that had eyes on her. She didn’t turn to check who it was this time.

“Bye, Taylor.” Timmy hugged her, making her bend down so he could kiss her cheek.

“Bye, Tay,” Kelly added, and Taylor waved before walking back to her truck. She nodded at a few people who greeted her. Once inside the cab, she started the engine, intent on finishing her errands so she could get back home as soon as possible.

Mason had a hard time not turning back to the window to see if Taylor was still there. Even though he was in a hurry, he wouldn’t mind looking at her for just a few more moments. She looked better already; two weeks of countryside putting color in her cheeks, yet it was more than obvious how tense she’d been. There was no doubt she still felt out of place.

“She’s back.”

Mason blinked in surprise and utter disbelief. Those were the first words Ashley had spoken to him since they had broken up. For a second, he considered playing dumb, when in truth, he was super aware of the fact that Taylor was still outside the bank, but then he decided against it.

“Good for you. I know you missed her,” he remarked, meaning it. He knew how much Ashley had longed for her best friend, especially in the last year ... even with all the conflicting emotions she had most likely felt.

“I didn’t think we’d ever see that day. Honestly, not ever. And now, she was forced back here and …” Ash shook her head, not looking at him, but stared at a point over his shoulder to where he guessed Taylor was.

“I don’t reckon anyone can force Taylor to do anything.” He was sure of that.

“She’s loyal to a fault, Mason. Always has been and you know that. As long as she thought her siblings were well taken care of, she stayed away. They talked every night, and Tammy and Tim went up there regularly. Now, she knew they needed her, and she returned. I wonder what she thought about the fact her bedroom was no longer,” Ashley mused, and Mason cleared his throat, trying to avoid thinking about how Taylor had felt walking back into her personal hell.

“I think she’s keeping her head held high. Being upset or even cryin’ would’ve given her parents too much power over her,” he commented while getting the cash he had planned on retrieving.

“True. I never thought about it that way,” his ex-girlfriend stated, and he just nodded. “I’m takin’ her to the game tomorrow. She’s a little too city,” she continued.

“She’s still Taylor. She’ll love every minute of the game,” he reassured her, more than just a little irritated by this conversation simply because they were having one.

Silence met his statement, and he looked up, finding Ashley studying him.

“I suppose you’re right,” she finally gave in, and for the first time in a long time, she had a hint of gentleness in her voice.

“I gotta go. Shift,” he mumbled, no longer wanting to talk about Taylor or better yet, talking to Ashley about Taylor since said girl was the reason Ash now was his ex.

“Be careful,” Ashley told him, and it almost sounded like it had back when their lives were entwined.

He gave her a weak smile and then left the bank.

“You know, Stiles, I hated what happened between you and Ash, but honestly, I … I think I get it now.” He inwardly groaned as he realized that Kelly had obviously waited for him while the boys played catch a few steps away. While he would’ve preferred Taylor, he was glad that at least with Kelly, he’d be able to leave soon.

“I always wondered what I did to you, but figured it was because of Ash, and I’m glad I was right. I’m sorry I hurt your friend, and I love that she has friends as loyal as you are. It’s what a girl needs. So if you could excuse me now? I gotta get to work.” He passed her, and Kelly reached out, stopping him with her fingertips on his arm.

“I’m Taylor’s friend, too,” she remarked, and he blinked.

“Okay?” he stated slowly, not exactly sure what that had to do with anything. Unless she thought … “No, Kelly. No. I have a four-year-old to take care of, I work in shifts, she just returned, and I don’t know anythin’ about her and …” Why was he even justifying himself? There was no need to, and therefore, he stopped. He knew that Ashley, Taylor, and Kelly used to be close, but making him the pariah was still wrong. Plus, if he continued his sentence the way he had started it, he’d only confirm what everyone guessed. “I used to be in love with her, but that was more than a decade ago, Kelly. All Taylor needs right now is a bunch of friends who have her back no matter what,” he finished instead. Then he told her a polite good-bye and moved away before she could say more.

In his truck, he sat and paused, wishing for a beer instead of having to work. He dialed his best friend, putting the phone on speaker while guiding the truck out onto the street toward Freedom.

“What’s up, man?”

“I get off at six tomorrow and will be home by seven. I’m gonna get Becca to bed and ask Mom to watch over her. Do you feel like hanging out and having a few beers with me then?” Mason inquired, hearing Brad sigh like an old man who had to get up just to switch the TV channel.

“Taylor? Or Ash? Because you haven’t called me up for a fun beer date in … forever,” Brad fussed, and Mason choked out a laugh.

“Come again? I do that a lot,” he protested. “Like seven weeks ago?”

“You had just heard that Taylor would be coming back. You sat on the bed of your truck next to me and stared at the stars until deciding that most likely ya wouldn’t be able to handle it,” Brad admonished, and Mason couldn’t even argue. “You’ve become too serious, man. How about you come to the game after your shift tomorrow?”

Mason thought for a moment. Taylor would be there, Ash had mentioned, and it would give him some time to watch her from afar. “Ash is takin’ Taylor to the game,” he muttered, hoping that Brad wouldn’t try to take his suggestion back.

“Taylor told you?”

“Ashley told me.” The sentence hung between them for a few seconds, and then Brad burst out laughing.

“Was she drunk or on drugs? Tied down and locked up? Delirious or half-asleep? That woman refuses to speak to you, and she would keep that up even if she were dyin’.” He chuckled, and Mason actually found himself smiling.

“I ran into Ash after I ran into Michigan,” he declared, still wondering what had made his ex break her vow of silence toward him.

“Ah … assuming Michigan is Taylor, I see,” Brad asserted. Now, wasn’t that interesting?

“Oh, you see, huh?” Mason growled, wondering why he was still standing among fog when everyone else seemed to be seeing as clear as day.

“Come on, Mase. You probably gave Taylor the puppy-dog eyes like you used to. For twelve years, you’ve been salivatin’ after a girl, or better, the perfect picture you created of her in your mind. Havin’ her back must be hard for Ash because, let’s face it, you still want Taylor. You never got over her. Ashley probably thought you wasted your time on a dream, but then she probably realized that it didn’t matter because she simply wasn’t it.”

“The whole town is talking about it like that, but …” He briefly closed his eyes before focusing back on the road. There was no ‘but’ really. He’d been in knots since the moment he had heard she’d be back, and then, when she had been in his truck and pointed out who she was … his mind had gone blank. Holding her then, he felt like he could finally breathe again. “I still love her,” he concluded.

“No, dude, you love what you thought you two could be,” Brad injected, and Mason pinched the bridge of his nose.

“So what do you suggest then?” he wondered.

“Game. Beer. Get to know the new girl, the Michigan one, and see where it takes you. Maybe this time around, you’ll have a real chance … and you can get into the panties you’ve been admirin’ for so long,” Brad teased, and Mason could hear him grin, being glad that a comment like that had come at the end. There had been too much seriousness going on. He wouldn’t deny, though, that he liked the plan.

“Game. Beer,” he concurred before he hung up. He needed some good old country to soothe his soul before another brutal twenty-four-hour shift started. And what helped better for a broken heart than having people serenade you with promises of forever, nights in a truck, and fires ignited by sparks of passion?

The house was quiet. So far, Taylor had tried to read, then turned on the TV to watch for a few seconds, before turning it off again and bathing the house in another round of silence. She couldn’t sit still long enough to relax, instead pacing the living room. She felt watched with every turn, making her even more antsy.

Eventually, she stepped out onto the porch, her heart urging her to where she used to find solace. Shaking her head, her steps brought her back inside. She straightened everything in the living room, placing the pillows in a neat row and lining up the magazines on the side table. She brushed her hands across the throw cover of the couch, then she went to the kitchen. Sadly, that was just as clean as the other room and just as suffocating. Finally, she reached for a lighter, passing the coat rack and grabbing Mason’s jacket since it was the only security blanket she really had. Without thinking, she followed the urging of her heart.

The evening air was cool even though it was a summer’s night, and usually, she would’ve paused to enjoy the clean air, but her ballerina-covered feet had no intention of lingering. She had the way burned into her mind, and with every step she took, a weight lifted off her shoulders. She crossed the little creek that had always marked the spot where her heart would start racing in anticipation. This time, it fluttered in anxiousness.

The old barn door still opened as easily as it always had, and she took a moment to let her eyes get used to the darkness. She moved forward into the barn, climbing the ladder she knew too well. Next to the last step was the oil lamp that sat exactly where she remembered it. She lit it with a flicker of her lighter, and then she looked around.

The couch she remembered still sat to her right, covered by a sheet, and against the wall across from her sat the desk in the same condition, hidden from her eyes by white linen. She walked over and tried the desk lamp, surprised when it flickered to life, adding to the oil lamp’s golden glow.

Back when things had gotten too loud or too crazy, she had found refuge here. During her finals in high school, she had practically lived in that barn, needing to escape her parents.

With a deep breath, she carefully pulled the sheet from the desk, her heart aching as she realized it was in the exact same condition as the last time she had walked out of here. Emotions overwhelmed her as she spotted all the pictures still standing there. Only one was missing, but she couldn’t pinpoint what had been on it. Even though this once had been created as ‘Mason’s cool hangout,’ he had given her the chance to feel more at home by decorating it the way she wanted.

“I was wondering when you’d be back,” a voice remarked behind her, and Taylor spun around.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Stiles. I didn’t mean to trespass,” she mumbled, feeling sixteen all over again.

“Oh, please! This place belongs to you probably just as much as it belongs to my son. During the summer, some days I felt like I had six kids instead of one.” Mason’s mother laughed, and Taylor looked back at the pictures. Kelly, John, Brad, Ashley, Mason, and she had spent so much time up there; she couldn’t place them with one exact memory. As it was, everyone was beaming, and Taylor definitely remembered. They had laughed so much up here that she thought they would make the bad of the world vanish.