Free The Weather Girl by Amy Vastine Page B

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.
    * * *
    “S AME   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