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the ground and vanish without a trace. Because the prickling down her arms made it clear that something was very, very wrong. Please, God, let her not have started her period without realizing it.
    She hadn’t. But it was just about as bad. She realized to her horror that a couple stray—but very obvious—copper-colored curls were peeking around the bottom edge of the suit.
    “We know she’s a natural redhead, anyway. And, hey, gotta love a Nature Girl.” That was the comedian of the group again, a beefy blond, the source of the loud laugh Desiree had heard earlier.
    She didn’t wait to hear more. She waded further into the river water, struck out with a breaststroke that carried her away from the group, and then concentrated on swimming back and forth across the extensive area, as wide as several pools. Letting the movement and the cool water carry away her humiliation, and the burning sting of her tears.
     
    And that had been a very long time ago. Time to let it go. Desiree lifted the phone, punched buttons.
    “ Hi, honey,” she heard after the third ring. “How did it go?”
    “I t went fine,” she said, her heart soothed as always at the enthusiasm in the voice at the other end. “All neat and tidy, contract signed on the bottom line. It’ll be a good challenge for the next year or so, anyway, getting this thing up and running. And a pretty good signing bonus too. You sure you don’t want to go to Hawaii this year? Lie by the pool in the sunshine and let some handsome young cabana boy bring you daiquiris?”
    She heard the raspy laugh that always reminded her of the smoky taste of whisky, followed by the ever-present cough that came straight from the cigarette pack. “Oh, honey, what in the world would I do in Hawaii? I like Reno just fine. You keep sending me there, and I’m more than happy. Marti and I can’t wait to get our hands on those poker machines next week. The Silver Legacy had better watch out, because I’m feeling lucky.”
    Desiree had to laugh herself. “They’ve probably got your picture up already in the ir security area. All primed to escort you out when you start winning big. All right, then. But if you ever decide you want to go someplace more exotic, you just tell me.”
    “ If I get a hankering for the pool boy, I’ll let you know,” her grandmother assured her. “But what did Alec say when he found out? I didn’t talk to Pastor Dave about it, because you said not to, but oh, Lord, it’s been hard to keep that secret. I still think it’s too bad Alec’s not a doctor like his brother, but I know he’s done real well. Was he excited to be working with you?”
    “Let’s say he was able to contain his enthusiasm. I was pretty much foisted on him, I told you that.”
    “But he has to know that you’re the best,” Dixie argued. “The way you’ve had all those articles written about you and everything.”
    “I don’t think he’s read those,” Desiree tried to explain. “I’m not as much of a celebrity as you think, Grandma. The guys with the ideas, the entrepreneurs like Alec, they’re the big stars.” And some of them were meteors, streaking across the sky.
    “Well, I’m proud of you,” Dixie said firmly. “ What’s the name of the company again?”
    “AI Solutions. It’s kind of a little joke. AI st ands for Assisted Integration, but everybody in the industry thinks of it as ‘artificial intelligence.’ The way computers think, like in the movies. And that’s about all I can tell you right now, because it’s all still a big secret.”
    “AI Solutions. I like it,” her grandma decided. “It’s got a classy sound to it, doesn’t it? That’s just great, honey. Go buy yourself something to celebrate. I meant to tell you, Target has some real good deals on sheet sets right now. But only till this weekend, then the sale’s over.”
    Desiree smiled. Man, she loved her grandmother. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll do that. What about you? Do you need