was bright red. Mimi got up, wiping her eyes and shaking her head. She shooed them both out so she could get lunch ready.
“She still giving you a hard time about that quarterback?” Big D asked. He’d always had a soft spot for his granddaughter, but it got bigger after her parents died. Summer knew it and never took advantage. It was nice having Big D looking out for her, even when he only had to protect her from nosy grandmothers.
“She just wants me to get married before she dies. I figure the longer I drag it out, the longer she’ll stick around. Maybe I’ll wait until she’s a hundred.”
He looked up at the ceiling pleadingly. “Lord, help me.”
“Be nice,” Summer warned.
“She wants you to be happy, darlin’. That’s all she wants.”
She wanted them to be happy, too. When her dad died, so did a little piece of them. Summer’s presence helped, healed some of the wounds. Still, one thing she’d learned in the hard years since her parents’ deaths—people don’t get over burying a child. Mimi was having a good day today, but next week was the anniversary of her son and daughter-in-law’s deaths. As feisty as the old woman in the other room was, she still suffered from a broken heart. The dark days were coming. Summer could feel it.
“I am happy.” Big D gave her a knowing look from his oversize recliner. “Most of the time,” she added.
“I never thought you’d stick around here. Not that I mind, of course. I just thought you’d be more like your daddy, I guess.”
Summer had two reasons why she stuck around, and they were both in this house. Part of her yearned to be in the thick of things, studying weather phenomena on location instead of reporting about them from the safety of a television studio. Nevertheless, she knew her grandmother wanted nothing more than for her to marry someone with roots in Texas and raise a family that would fill the dining room table every Sunday. Summer wasn’t looking for some guy to settle down with because she wasn’t sure she wanted to settle down. Sometimes she hoped there was a man out there who was going to blow into town and sweep her off her feet, take her away and show her the adventure of a lifetime. That was a secret she’d never dare tell.
“I’m good, Big D. Don’t you waste one more minute worrying about me.”
He sat forward and patted her knee with a weathered but gentle hand. “I could say the same thing to you, sweetheart.”
* * *
SUMMER SPENT ALL of Sunday night thinking about what her grandfather had said. She thought about it again while she waited for her turn to speak to a bunch of kids at one of the local libraries Monday afternoon. It also crossed her mind when she arrived at the station later and opened an email from Ryan.
I have big news when I see you. You won’t be able to say no this time. Your career as a boring, Texas weather girl is over.
Ryan was crazy. Wasn’t he? Being a meteorologist was the perfect job for her. Summer got paid to talk about the weather five days a week. What more could she ask for?
Adventure.
The truth was, the thrill of a storm chase was like nothing else she had ever known. She tried to appease the wild child inside her with rock climbing, hiking, even skydiving. Nothing came close. Summer loved the weather, but did she love being the—
“Weather Girl.” Travis was all smiles as he sat on the corner of her desk. “Did you have a good weekend?”
“I had a great weekend,” Summer said, taking a good look at him. His hair was shorter, a lot shorter. It made him look older, less like a boy and more like a man. “It looks like someone attacked your head with some clippers.”
Looking sheepish, he rubbed his clean-shaven jaw with his knuckles. “I got a haircut,” he said, stating the obvious. “My aunt Kelly’s neighbor’s book club apparently thought it was too long. Kelly agreed and called my mother, who called me and said she wasn’t going to bake any red velvet cupcakes when I came to visit if I didn’t get it cut.”
“She drives a hard bargain.”
“You have no idea. Her cupcakes make me cry,” he whispered.
“Interesting,” Summer said, not interested in the least.
“I’ll ask her to bake you some. She likes you.” He cringed and closed his eyes. His cheeks turned pink. “I mean she watches you and likes you, you know, as a weather girl.”
If anyone knew about sticking her foot in her mouth, it was Summer. “If it makes you feel any better, my grandmother thinks you’re cute,” she confessed to ease his embarrassment.
“She does?” His eyes were bright like the clouds had lifted. “And would you say you consider your grandmother a wise woman?”
“Oh, Mimi is completely off her rocker. I mean, she is more than a few cards short of a full deck. Bonkers. Mad as a hatter. Crazy as a—”
“Okay, okay!” Travis put his fingers on her lips. “I get it.”
Summer’s heart skipped a beat, then flew into overdrive. Before she could process this unexpected physical reaction, Travis pulled his hand away and shoved it deep in his pants pocket.
“Did you know that the highest temperature ever recorded was 136 degrees Fahrenheit in Azizia, Libya?” she blurted out. “Can you imagine?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “That’s crazy hot.”
“Summer, Travis. Can you two come here a minute?” Ken called from the doorway of his office, breaking the tension.
Travis stood up and smiled. “I talked to him about giving your thirty seconds back.”
Her thirty seconds. Summer made a mad dash to Ken’s door. She could barely contain her excitement as she took a seat and waited for the two men to settle in. Maybe Travis wasn’t so bad after all.
“I want to run through your upcoming appearances. You guys know about the Balloon Festival in a couple weeks?”
“I’m running in the 10K, so I’ll be there all day,” Summer announced anxiously. She wanted him to get to the part about her thirty seconds.
“You run?” Travis asked, seeming surprised. Summer nodded and bit her tongue. Was it really that shocking? Was he unaware of the fact that women could run? Did she not look like a runner?
“Well, you two don’t need to be there until three o’clock. Brian and Rachel will be kicking off the event in the morning. You’ll need to be there after the balloon launch. I’m sending some head shots for Travis to autograph. I think we could get a lot of traffic.”
Abilene hosted an annual hot-air balloon festival to raise money for local charities. It attracted tens of thousands of people as well as local and national media attention. KLVA sent reporters to cover the event and held a meet and greet with some of the station’s personalities. Above and beyond Rachel and their anchor, Brian, Travis was certain to be a big draw this year. Summer loved the Balloon Fest, but she dreaded having to spend the afternoon dealing with the football god and his disciples. This obsession
