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 with a man who threw a ball to other men made absolutely no sense to her.
Ken was momentarily distracted by an email alert. He slid his reading glasses off the top of his head and onto his face. He took his sweet time reading the message and typing a response.
“I run,” Travis whispered.
“That’s super,” Summer whispered back. Did he want a medal? Did he not get enough attention for his previous career? Clearly he needed recognition for being able to run, as well.
“Okay.” Ken turned away from the computer. “There’s also the Rodeo Parade next month. You’ll both need to be available for that, too.”
“No problem,” they said at the same time.
“Perfect. Then I’ve only got one other thing.” Ken sat back, took his glasses off and set them on his desk. “Travis came to talk to me earlier about giving the thirty seconds back to weather.”
“I appreciate that,” Summer said, meaning it wholeheartedly.
“He and I discussed it, and I think I came up with the greatest idea,” Ken continued.
Summer’s smile faltered a bit. Ken had come up with an idea? Wasn’t the idea giving weather back its thirty seconds?
“So, picture this,” Ken said, holding his hands up as if he were framing the scene. “Instead of weather getting an extra thirty seconds each night, we add a whole special segment once a week.”
Summer almost leaped out of her seat. A segment? A special segment? Her grandmother was right. Travis was cute. He was unbelievably cute. He was maybe the cutest guy she had ever met. “I am so glad you changed your mind,” she said in a rush. “Like I told you a few weeks ago, I’ve been working on this weather history—”
Ken held up his hand to stop her. “Summer, Summer, hold on there. Let me finish.”
The knot in her stomach told her something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She stole a glance in Travis’s direction. He was rubbing the back of his neck, and his tension only added to her worry.
“Travis is going to bring a lot of viewers to the station, but he needs some—” Ken smiled at Travis apologetically before turning back to Summer “—polishing if we want to keep the viewers from switching back to Channel 4. You’re a natural when it comes to reporting. You two are both young, attractive people. I’ve seen you banter in the newsroom. I like it. I like it a lot. I like it so much, I want to combine weather and sports during football season.” His steepled fingers slid together to join his two hands.
Summer felt the heat rising up her chest. This was not what she wanted to hear.
“We send you two to do special on-location reports. Summer tells everybody how hot it is on the field and Travis talks about how hot the action is. He’ll learn a thing or two from you. The viewers will eat you two up. It’s brilliant. We’ll do a couple of the high-school games to warm you up. Local games here in Abilene, Sweetwater’s homecoming and then I want to send you down to Austin. Travis’s alma mater. Summer in a Longhorns T-shirt. It’s gonna be magic.”
There were no words. No words for what Summer was feeling. She was being asked to report the weather at a football game. At several football games. No “This Day in Weather History.” No escape from the nightmare that had begun when Travis Lockwood stepped into the newsroom.
“So, what do you think? You love it?” Ken looked back and forth between them with a huge, ugly smile.
Travis cleared his throat. Twice. “Ah, I think I’m game if Summer’s game. I mean, as I said earlier, I want to prove myself—prove you didn’t made a mistake hiring me.”
Summer was having an out-of-body experience. She was no longer sitting in the chair. She hovered above everyone, looking down at the disastrous scene. Ken was all too pleased with himself, and when he came up with ideas like this, there was no stopping him. Nothing she said would make a difference, but she tried anyway.
“A Texas game means you want us to work on the weekend. Richard’s not going to like that. He thinks things are unfair already. If I take the weekends, too, no telling what kind of fit he’ll throw.” Her voice shook slightly as she fought to keep herself together.
“I don’t really care what Richard will and won’t like. We’re talking one Saturday. Most of these segments will be local high-school games on Friday nights. Maybe we’ll send you to Dallas for a Cowboys game.” Ken’s focus went back to Travis. “You think you could work your connections to get us some one-on-ones? Maybe you and Romo? Travis! This is the best idea I’ve ever had!”
The walls began to close in on Summer. She needed to get out. She needed to leave the building. Without saying a word, she bolted from the office, past the elevators and straight to the stairwell. Her footsteps echoed as she made her way down.
“Summer!”
Her name didn’t even register until she had pushed open the heavy door into the lobby. She couldn’t face Travis right now. Oh, the things she might say if she opened her mouth. This was his fault. If he hadn’t come to work at Channel 6, she wouldn’t be dealing with these changes. She certainly wouldn’t have to go to football games every week. Weather would be nothing but a second thought on those days.
Fueled by her frustration, Summer exited through the building’s revolving doors. The afternoon sun momentarily blinded her, and in her frantic need to get away, she bumped into a passerby. Shielding her eyes, she apologized to the man and kept moving with no destination in mind. Maybe Ryan was right. Maybe what Summer needed was an escape from it all. Why did she want to be a stupid weather girl anyway?
A hand wrapped around her arm, and Travis tugged her to a stop. “Summer, please. Don’t be mad.”