The Weather Girl

by Amy Vastine

  Travis let it slide, knowing it was never easy for Conner to be the older brother of the Sweetwater superstar quarterback. Things had been always easier for Travis growing up. Everyone lavished attention and praise on him, while Conner was often overlooked. When they were younger, there was some resentment on Conner’s part. Their father invested much more time, energy and money into Travis. But as they got older, Conner found it in his heart to be more supportive than envious. He had always been there for his younger brother, cheering him on and sharing in his spoils. He was a good man who was struggling in this new role of being a father.

  “Maybe my car isn’t working and I need you to drive me over there,” Travis offered.

  An appreciative smile spread across Conner’s face as he texted Heidi. The two men headed over to Red Bud Park in Conner’s car, in case anyone saw them. The field was littered with almost a dozen hot-air balloons ready for takeoff. Several were red, white and blue, and there was even a balloon shaped like a cupcake. Local businesses from all over the Big Country had booths lined up at the edges of the grass. The smell of good ol’-fashioned Texas barbecue filled the air. Kids ran around, clinging tightly to their purple cotton candy or cherry-red snow cones.

  Shannon, an intern from the station, was standing next to the KLVA van when Travis and Conner arrived. “You made it just in time to see them launch,” she said as Travis approached.

  “Where’s Summer?” He swore that wasn’t going to be his first question, but it popped out anyway.

  Shannon smiled. “Oh, you’ll see.”

  A loud air horn sounded, signaling the fliers for takeoff. Within minutes, the sky was filled with a myriad of colored balloons. Travis took out his camera and got a few shots of the incredible sight.

  “You still like to take pictures, huh?” Conner asked, holding up his camera phone to capture the moment.

  “It’s become a hobby, I guess. How about I just send you some copies of mine?” Travis said, pushing Conner’s phone down. There was no way a camera phone would do the view justice. Once he was satisfied with his shots, he turned his attention back to Shannon. “Where’d you say Summer was again?”

  Shannon pointed up at the balloons. “Watch the big purple one.”

  The balloon was about a hundred feet in the air while the others had floated much higher. The KLVA cameramen were planted underneath it as if they were waiting for someone to jump out. Travis used his camera to zoom in on the basket. Sure enough, he caught sight of a blond ponytail. The next thing he knew, Summer was opening the basket as though she was going to jump.

  “What the hell is she doing?” Heart racing, he wondered why there wasn’t someone up there telling her that was unsafe.

  “Just watch,” Shannon said. Then Summer launched herself from the basket, swan-diving as if she were going to land in a swimming pool. But there was no swimming pool. There was nothing. No net, nothing to save her from a fall that high. That was when he noticed the cord attached to her leg. Down she went, until the bungee cord stretched and pulled her back up, again and again, to the delight of the crowd.

  Travis, mouth agape, stared at her dangling body until he began to laugh. He laughed so hard he nearly cried. She felt the rain coming, but she didn’t feel fear. She was completely fearless. Summer Raines was full of surprises.

  * * *

  “SAME TIME NEXT year?” Travis heard the man escorting Summer back to the van ask.

  “You know it, Hank,” Summer said, giving his tall, wiry frame a hug. Hank looked like a younger version of Travis’s high-school chemistry teacher, Mr. Thomas, which was pretty much the complete opposite of Travis.

  “Thanks for the heads-up about the rain. Last thing I want to do is wrestle with that balloon in a downpour.” Hank pushed his sunglasses up his nose. Summer had predicted there would be isolated showers this afternoon, but the sun was shining as it had been all day. Travis figured the rain was on its way, though. He knew better than to question Summer’s “feelings.”

  “Always happy to help.” Her face was flushed. That must have been some adrenaline rush. Travis wondered what it would feel like to touch her, to feel her blood flowing through her veins, her skin tingling. Hank looked as though he wanted to feel what she was feeling, too. Hank gave Summer a sheepish wave before taking off.

  “Look who made it back to earth in one piece,” Travis said. Astonishingly, Summer smiled and her cheeks flushed a deeper red.

  “Look who remembered he had an appearance.” She took her spot next to him in their booth. Ken had sent a stack of promo pictures for Travis to sign. By the look of the line, he was going to be there all night.

  His eyes narrowed. “Hey, now, I was totally on time. Of course, if I knew I could jump out of a balloon, I would have shown up a few minutes earlier.”

  “You wanna go?” She started to get up.

  Travis grabbed her arm and pulled her back in her seat. “Maybe next time.”

  There was no tingling, but he defintely felt something when they touched. Summer swallowed hard and stared at his hand as if it were a bear trap wrapped around her arm. Her skin was warm and soft, but he let go before she felt the need to yank her arm away. They had managed to get along for an entire week—he didn’t want to ruin that streak by giving her the wrong impression. He had sworn he wasn’t interested in anything other than friendship. Touching was most likely against the friendship rules.

  “Bull crap.” Conner coughed into his fist behind them, causing Summer to glance over her shoulder.

  Travis prayed his brother would not embarrass him. “Don’t make me call your wife and tell her what really went on today,” he warned.

  “You wouldn’t,” Conner gasped.

  “Friend of yours?” Summer asked.

  “Related, unfortunately.”

  “Conner Lockwood.” He stuck out his hand and Summer shook it firmly.

  “Summer Raines. Nice to meet you.”

  He didn’t let go of her hand right away, kissing the back of it like some sort of gentleman. “The pleasure is all mine because you, pretty lady, are insane. The way you took a nosedive.” Conner shook his head in awe. “That was crazy.”

  “Leave her alone,” Travis said, scrawling his name on another picture of himself. “The only crazy person here is me—for letting you tag along.”

  “Boy, can you feel the love?” Conner said to Summer, ignoring his brother completely. “He acts like he’s the only interesting person around here. Did you know that I played for LSU the year we won—”

  Travis interrupted, “She doesn’t care about football. You’re boring her and you’ve just met. Nice work.”

  “Doesn’t care about football?” Conner’s eyes widened in shock, as if he’d been told she wasn’t from this planet. “He’s kidding, right?”

  Summer shrugged. “I’m into more extreme sports. Sorry.”

  Travis chuckled as Conner’s jaw dropped. He really didn’t have to worry about her holding her own.

  “More extreme? You’re kidding.” Conner turned to Travis. “She has to be kidding. Tell me she’s kidding.” He looked Summer up and down. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

  “Texans and their football. I’ll never understand.”

  “Is that a no?”

  “Not originally from around here, no.”

  “You’re lucky. We’ve kicked Texans out of the state for lesser crimes.”

  Summer laughed. Of course she liked Conner. He was one of the good guys. Travis spent the rest of the afternoon signing everything put in front of him and smiling for every photo. There were plenty of lovely ladies in line, but the little kids were on the receiving end of most of his attention. He signed so many footballs he lost count.

  After Heidi called for the third time, and Conner ran out of excuses, he tapped Travis on the
shoulder. “I’ll be moving in with you if I don’t head home. Any way someone can give you a lift?” He not so nonchalantly glanced in Summer’s direction.

  “I can drop you off,” Summer offered.

  Travis bit back his frustration. It was a nice gesture, even if he was certain she was only offering because Conner had asked. “You sure?”

  “Or I could,” Shannon chimed in.

  Summer stiffened as if challenged, then smiled at the intern. “I got it. It’s really no big deal.”

  “It’s no big deal for me, either. I have nothing to do after this. I can drive Travis home.”

  “I think I already said I got it.”

  “I’m just saying, I’m sure you’re busy—”

  “I’m not.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’re busier than I am.”

  Conner began to laugh and both women stopped arguing. He patted Travis on the back. “Some things never change, do they, little brother?” Turning to leave, he gave Summer and Shannon a wave. “Nice to meet you ladies.”

  The look on Summer’s face said she was about to spout off every high temperature ever recorded. Her discomfort made Travis feel worse. It was obvious to him that she’d only offered because Conner was asking, not because she was interested in Travis. Shannon, on the other hand, was one of the women still enamored with who he had been. “I’m sure I can grab a ride with the guys in the van,” he suggested.

  “Had I known driving you home was going to be such an issue—” Summer began.

  “I’ll go with you,” he jumped in. At this point, not accepting her offer would be more offensive than anything else he could do. “Thank you.”

  When the signing finally came to an end, Travis and Summer wished Shannon and the crew a good evening. Clouds had moved in and the wind picked up, sending discarded fliers and garbage tumbling across the field. The energy in the air felt different, heavier, and Travis’s skin tingled. He smiled at his observation. The Weather Girl was rubbing off on him.

  She was too busy to notice.

  Summer held her closed red umbrella in one hand and dug through her big bag of tricks with the other.

  “So you know when it’s going to rain and you like to throw yourself out of hot-air balloons. What else do you do?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said, her mouth twisting in frustration as her keys continued to elude her. She shook the bag in an attempt to locate them by their jingle.

  “I really would like to know,” he said, perhaps too curious for his own good. Summer shook her head and continued hunting for the elusive car keys. “Have you always been like this?”

  “Like what? Completely incapable of finding my stupid keys?”

  He liked the way she could be so self-deprecating. Brooke had never wanted to admit she was anything but flawless. “Fearless,” he said, taking the umbrella from her so she could use both hands to rummage through her bag. He wished he could get that feeling back. The one that made him believe he could do anything he set his mind to. Lately, that other f-word—failure—was haunting him.

  Summer laughed. “If you bungee-jump and have no fear, there’s something wrong with you. It’s that little bit of fear that makes it fun.” She found the keys and unlocked her car.

  Travis opened his door and moved the passenger seat back to accommodate his long legs. “That’s probably true. Being afraid is what makes overcoming something that much more rewarding, right?”

  “Exactly.” She started up the car and switched on the wipers. Travis was about to question that decision when big, fat raindrops began hitting the windshield. She was freakishly good at her job.

  “So maybe the real question is, what else are you afraid of, Weather Girl?”

  Summer squeezed her lips together before stealing a glance in his direction. “I’m afraid you broke Shannon’s heart by not choosing her to drive you home. I’ve never seen someone so disappointed.”

  “Nice deflection.” That probably wasn’t the first thing that had popped into her head, but he was sure it was all he was going to get. “Shannon’s a good kid.”

  “Good kid, huh? She’s not that much younger than you are.”

  “Maybe. She just reminds me of the girls I knew in college.”

  Summer’s eyes were glued to the road. “Did you know Texas averages a hundred and twenty-six tornadoes a year?”

  Travis rubbed his neck and looked out his window at the suddenly ominous gray sky. He wondered if she knew something she wasn’t telling him. “Wow, is that the most?”

  “Yeah, we have more than twice as many as Oklahoma.” She sped up the wipers and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “But we’re also the second biggest state, so the data is a little skewed.”

  “I’ve lived in Texas all my life and never seen one.”

  “Well, your life is far from over.”

  “This is true. Something to look forward to, I guess.” He paused for a beat. Looking forward to something would be nice. He wasn’t so sure he should be hoping for a tornado, though. “I think that’s what I’m the most afraid of,” he said. “I don’t want my life to be over. There’s still got to be something out there for me. I don’t want to miss it, you know?”

  Her eyes slid to his. “Then you have to use that fear to push yourself to take risks you normally wouldn’t. You never know what could happen.”

  He could fail. He could fail and fail again. The fear of it nearly paralyzed him. He was so used to living in a world where the only decisions he had to make were the ones on the football field. His path was always brightly lit and filled with one way signs. Now the world was filled with endless possibilities, and he didn’t have a clue what signs he should be looking for. Except the one pointing home. He came back to West Central Texas because it was the least scary place to start.

  Travis directed Summer to his cottage but didn’t jump out right away when they arrived. The rain had picked up and it pounded on the car so loudly it didn’t feel awkward to sit in silence for a minute. “Thanks for the lift. I owe you one.”

  “No trouble, really.” Summer shrugged. She reached back and grabbed her umbrella. “Here, use this. You can give it back to me on Monday.”

  “You sure?”

  “I can park in my garage. You need it more than me. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for you getting sick, now, would I?”

  “The way things have been going, I might need a reason to call in sick.”

  Summer shook her head. “You have to stop trying so hard. When you overthink things, the words get all jumbled. Try pretending you’re telling the crew what happened in the world of sports instead of reporting it to all of Big Country. It’s as simple as having a conversation with some guys at the bar.”

  “That’s some good advice. Thank you.”

  “Who knows, ESPN could come calling, and I’d get my thirty seconds back.”

  Travis’s laugh felt good coming out. “Well, we all know how much you want those thirty seconds.” Wishing her good-night, he popped open the umbrella and stepped into the rain. Summer lingered until he got his front door open, then backed out of his driveway after he waved. He shook off the excess water from the umbrella and set it by the door to dry. Flicking on some lights, he made his way to the couch and lay down, throwing an arm over his eyes.

  Summer was beautiful and interesting, but being around her made Travis feel mighty inferior. ESPN would never knock on his door, but he’d give her suggestion a go. Travis was used to carrying the team, not being the weakest link. Not that Summer intended to make him feel that way. She was who she was. She was excellent at her job. She bungee-jumped out of hot-air balloons. She believed in taking risks. Her only weakness was her inability to find her keys to save her life.

  Travis wanted to take some risks, too. He wanted to face fear a
nd beat it. If only he could decide what risk to take.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  RICHARD WAS IN a particularly bad mood when Summer arrived at the station on a cloudless Tuesday. He had his fan on high even though the air-conditioning was set at a comfortable sixty-eight degrees. His thinning brown hair, peppered with gray, was damp at his temples.

  Richard didn’t get into broadcasting meteorology because of his looks. It was his knowledge that had won him his job some twenty-plus years ago. He loved to talk about things like jet streams and isobars, which tended to do nothing but confuse people. Summer thought part of his dislike for her stemmed from the fact that she knew more about weather than he did. It was his “thing” to know the science of meteorology. Summer came in and knew more, remembered more without having to look it up and presented it in a way that didn’t make people feel stupid.

  Today, he hated her because Ken had some big ideas. Ideas that made Summer the head and face of the Channel 6 Weather Team. Ideas that made Richard attack Ken in the middle of the newsroom.

  “I’ve been chief meteorologist for ten years! This is a demotion!” Richard raged.

  “First of all, you were never given that title by the station,” Ken argued. “Second, nothing has changed. You still do weekday mornings. I could put you on weekends. That would be a demotion.”

  Richard’s fist pounded on the desktop. “She’s a joke, Ken! She thinks she can feel the rain coming and tells the viewers that. They think she’s crazy. I’ve had people tell me so at appearances.”

  Summer chose not to share what people said about him at her appearances. None of it was flattering. She decided it was best to rise above it and keep her mouth shut. This was Ken’s battle anyway.

  “Then they must love crazy because our ratings are the highest they’ve been in years. Summer and Travis are going to be the stars of our new marketing campaign, like it or not.”

  “Do Rachel and Brian know that?” Richard continued, the vein in his forehead bulging. “I thought they were the faces of Channel 6. You really know how to stab your veterans in the back, Ken. Good work.”