Free The Weather Girl by Amy Vastine

needed to say something to them. Alone.
    “You comin’?” Big D asked, holding his free hand out for her.
    “Can I have a minute? I’ll meet y’all back at the car.”
    “Take as much time as you need, sweetheart.” He smiled and turned back toward the path and the giant angel staring at them.
    She waited until they were all far enough away to have her say. “Well, you two, I’m sure you know what Ryan said to me today. You also know why I didn’t say yes.” The wind picked up and blew her hair around. She wrestled with it until the loose strands were securely tucked behind her ears. “I just want you to know that I promised to take care of Mimi and Big D and I plan on keeping that promise. I mean, who knows if things would work out if I went off and did this crazy show? It could be off the air in a few months and I’d be out of a job. I like to know what’s coming and there’s just no telling with this wild idea Ryan’s got. Right?”
    Summer knew she was trying to convince herself more than them. It wasn’t as though they could voice their opinion anyway. She started to leave but stopped. “I miss you guys. All the time. I love you,” she said, lifting her hand and waving goodbye to the headstone. She hoped that was an acceptable way to end a conversation with the dead. As she passed the angel she mumbled an amen just in case.

CHAPTER SIX
    T RAVIS   FINISHED   HIS   run in record time. His morning workouts were all he had to block out the negativity constantly whirling in his head. Besides struggling at work, he had heard through the grapevine that his ex had moved in with some Miami basketball player. How quickly Brooke had become an expert in making Travis feel completely insignificant.
    West Central Texas still loved him, but the novelty of his presence at the station was destined to wear off sooner than later. All he was looking for was a little guidance, but his father was ignoring him. Not that the old man could coach him in broadcasting. But maybe he could tell Travis if he should give it up and pursue something else. If he told him what that something else should be, that would be helpful, too.
    Ken’s special assignment had made things a little easier. Talking about football at a football game felt much more natural than being behind a news desk. He and Summer had survived their first Friday night game together, and it was evident the woman was from another planet. She knew nothing about football. She claimed she went to high school in Abilene, even claimed to remember some of the guys who played when she was in school, but she had no clue what a first down was or how many points a touchdown was worth.
    Summer didn’t know one single rule of the game, but she could tell him the average snowfall in British Columbia. She was an anomaly, for sure. An anomaly with eyes framed by the longest lashes, who challenged high-school cheerleaders to a handspring competition during halftime.
    After a shower and another unanswered phone call to his dad, Travis’s plan was to spend the morning making this house his home instead of some temporary living space. The modest two-bedroom cottage was nothing compared to his villa in Miami, but he didn’t want to invest too much in a place that might not be permanent.
    There were plenty of pictures to hang and boxes to unpack before he had to make an appearance at the Balloon Festival. But just as he hammered in the first nail, a knock at the door startled him.
    “Ouch!” Travis shoved his hammered thumb in his mouth as if that would soothe the pain.
    “You have to save me.” Conner Lockwood pushed his way into his little brother’s house without waiting for an invitation.
    “Conner, buddy, good to see you. Please come in,” Travis said to the empty front porch.
    “Do you know what it’s like to live in a house with a human less than three months old? It’s torture. She cries. All the time. She poops. All the time. She wants nothing to do with me! In