Call Me Michigan Read Online Free PDF Page A

her sister to fully enjoy college life.
    “Comin’, Tay,” Tim called as he rushed down the stairs, tumbling into her arms while falling over his own feet. He laughed in delight while his big sister tried breathing through all the horror scenarios she had created while waiting. How would people react to seeing her? She couldn’t imagine and stopped herself from going crazy.
    Grabbing the car keys to her dad’s beat-up truck, she headed outside and hopped into the cab. Timmy took a seat next to her, buckling up while humming. It calmed her down more than she was ready to admit.
    “School supplies first, and then school uniform, then grocery shopping,” she listed, more for her benefit than his. “And bank. I need money, too,” she added as she thought of how she’d pay for all those items.
    “Tammy brought back most of my supplies anyway, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Tim reported, and Taylor smiled to herself. Of course, her sister would’ve thought of that. She still drove the truck toward Sunburn’s general store. “Nope, don’t need anything from here,” Tim repeated, and Taylor shook her head, moving on to the bank.
    “I’m the adult in the house, so let me pretend I know what I’m doing.” She grinned, and he cuddled with her on the shared front seat. She parked the truck, ready to hop out, when he hugged her tight.
    “I’m glad you’re back. Tammy was getting too strict and too sad. She cried a lot,” he confessed, and she swallowed. Her sister most likely had been overwhelmed with it all.
    “Well, we’ll make sure she’s only happy from now on, okay?”
    Tim nodded while he stared at the bank. “Can I wait inside the truck?”
    She shook her head. “Come on, I’ll be quick,” Taylor promised and then helped her brother out of the cab. Three people had hugged and welcomed her back before she had even entered the bank. While it was clearly nice, a bigger part of her was freaking out. She barely recognized the faces, let alone remembered the names. Rushing into the bank, she was glad once the brass-framed glass door quieted all the noise from the street.
    “Tay! Oh, my gosh! I was wonderin’ when you’d be back in Sunburn! After all, the town has been buzzin’ with news of your return. I’m sorry it had to happen the way it did, but boy, am I so glad you’re here, honey!” It had taken all of two seconds before another hug engulfed Taylor, trying to match a voice she almost recognized with a woman that she wasn’t sure she had ever seen.
    The face looked strangely familiar, and she thought it was one she had seen in the pictures two weeks ago, only now it was covered with too much makeup and framed by dark waves instead of the soft blonde Taylor had been used to.
    “Ash?” she finally asked, realizing that her friend had tears in her eyes.
    “I missed you so much, but we all wanted to respect your wishes and leave you alone. You know, you asked us to stay away and not contact you? I always thought you’d be back, but then months turned into years, and I knew I should’ve known you’d be one of those who would actually succeed at leavin’. No one heard from you again, and while your parents were still here and hated you, we’d have preferred you to them.”
    Taylor could only shake her head in utter disbelief. “I never knew you were in love with Mason. I saw the pictures in his truck.” Of all the things she could’ve said, she picked that. A stupid topic, really, but she couldn’t help but wonder about the Ashley she had seen in the picture and the Ashley she now saw. In fact, barely anything was left from the best friend she remembered.
    “He came by one day, and we talked. Then he came by here again and brought a flower and asked me on a date. I agreed, and we went out. Then we went out a few more times. He was just like you always imagined him to be, ya know? Sweet and fun, romantic and crazy.” Taylor rubbed the spot above her heart, trying to ease the