All In The Game (Dearly Beloved) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  All in the Game

  by

  Virginia Crane

  Dearly Beloved Series

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All in the Game

  COPYRIGHT © 2013 by Virginia M. Czaja

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Debbie Taylor

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Last Rose of Summer Edition, 2013

  Digital ISBN 978-1-61217-701-4

  Dearly Beloved Series

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To my husband, Richard.

  After all these years the words still ring true.

  Chapter 1

  Standing before the center panel of the three-sided mirror, Amanda Prince slowly turned to check the dress she’d chosen for her approaching wedding. Pleased with what she saw, she looked at her friend, Rita Snyder, who sat in the dressing room chair watching. “What do you think?”

  “I think you’re nuts.”

  Shoulders slumped, she let out a long sigh. “You don’t like the gown? The color? Is the style too youthful?”

  “No to all of that.”

  Amanda turned back to the mirror. “Maybe it’s the sleeves. I know they need to be shortened a bit but it’s too darn late to pick another dress. The wedding is two weeks away.”

  “I know when the wedding is taking place,” Rita responded. “The gown doesn’t even enter into the equation. Although that handkerchief skirt hem may cause you problems when you go to use the ladies room.” Her smirk reached from ear to ear. “I could always come in the loo to hold up the hem for you.”

  Amanda was about to give Rita a smart reply when the sales clerk, both arms loaded with dresses in a rainbow of colors and styles, peeked around the curtain. “Is everything okay in here?” She stopped, her chin dropped to her ample bosom. “My dear, that dress is you. Is there anything else you need? Shoes? Perhaps a small purse.”

  Amanda shook her head and held her breath. Mimicking her size, the woman’s perfume was over-powering. “We’re fine.”

  Once they were alone, Rita waved her arm in the air. “Wow. You would think a high end boutique like this would have a rule about staff bathing in scent.”

  “Perhaps she’s new. I know the manager, Mrs. Silverman, is very particular about her staff.”

  “If she has a sense of smell she’ll be having a chat with that clerk.” Rita snorted and crossed her legs. “Back to your dress. As for the design being too youthful, it’s not, however, you may want to consider having the sleeves altered to three-quarter length rather than to the wrist. Don’t forget, it’s July in Florida, and the heat will be brutal. You don’t want to be sweating like a cow when you prance down the aisle.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes. She wasn’t planning to prance anywhere but to correct her friend’s comment would set Rita off on a tangent. The entire situation was already tense enough.

  “I could hardly forget July weather which is why Keith and I aren’t getting married outdoors. If it were spring, it would be nice to have the ceremony in Gilchrist Park over in Punta Gorda, but we don’t want to wait that long. We’ll be comfortable with the church, restaurant and car being air conditioned.”

  Amanda ran her hands over the soft silk fabric that draped so beautifully across her hips, then flared to mid calf. The cut enhanced her waist and breasts and made her feel like a million dollars.

  Blue had always been a good color for her, especially the cornflower shade that almost matched the color of her eyes. She was glad she decided to have her brown hair highlighted. Yes indeed, she was pleased with her reflection.

  “I’m not referring to the time of year. Or the heat factor or the design of the damn hem,” Rita groused. “I’m talking about you getting married again.”

  Determined to avoid yet another chapter in this ongoing discussion, Amanda took another twirl to check her image in the mirror. “A lot of women my age remarry and I remember my mother saying that when you get married in blue he’ll always be true,”

  “Does that mean that if you get married in white you’re doomed to fight? I wore white and God knows Dave and I sure had some doozies. The only good thing that sonofabitch did was give me Jeff. It’s a damn shame that he chose not to be a part of our son’s life, but then Dave’s the loser in that matter. I was a real happy camper to have my last view of him be the rear license plate on his car as it went down the street.”

  This was not the time to rehash that sad situation in her friend’s past. What could she say at this late date? She and Rita had been friends since high school and there wasn’t much they didn’t know about each other—including mistakes they both made the first time around.

  Their sons always said that they were the keeper of the secrets. One evening after his father had left them, and Amanda was explaining to her son, Adam, about his father’s girlfriend, she and Rita started telling stories. That’s when Adam learned his Great Uncle John was really his Great Aunt Lena’s son and not her brother. Back in that time pregnancies outside of marriage were manipulated to appear on the up and up. She and Rita had explained to the boys that when you were born and raised in a small town like Calusa, Florida, you learned a lot of secrets. In the end, Jeff and Adam crowned their mothers the Keepers of All Secrets.

  “Back to you and Keith,” Rita said. “If you really have to get married—”

  “Who says we have to get married? I haven’t had to worry about getting pregnant for years.” Amanda kicked off her shoes and reached to the back of the dress for the zipper. “Do you want to give me a hand here? It feels like we’ve been cooped up in this cubbyhole of a dressing room all day.”

  Rita stood behind her and brushed Amanda’s hand away from the zipper tab. “Here, let me get that. There’s a hook and eye that has to be opened first. As for having to get married you know damn well that’s not what I’m talking about. Why don’t you just go to the courthouse to tie the knot? Better than that, just live together. Nobody thinks any less of you, plus you get to keep your own name. That way when it all goes sour, he can just pack his bags and boogie on out of your life.”

  “Make up your mind, woman! First you say go to the courthouse, then you say live together. I’m getting mixed messages which I don’t intend to heed. As for the name, he said it didn’t matter one way or the other so I’m not going to change my name. That way I don’t have to fill out all those annoying forms.”

  “Isn’t he just too perfect.”

  Amanda’s eyes glistened with tears of annoyance. Before Rita could undo the zipper she quickly turned to face her. “You’re starting to piss me off, so cut out the snide
remarks. Do you want to be in my wedding or not? My daughter-in-law is your size. I’m sure Sarah would step in if I asked.”

  Rita took a step back and wet her lips with her tongue. “I’m sorry. Calm down. Of course, I want to be in your wedding. I just don’t understand why you’re going to the expense of having a big wedding?”

  “First, it’s a medium sized wedding. We’re only inviting fifty people, including family. I don’t think you could even classify that as medium. Neither one of us had a church ceremony the first time. Keith and his wife flew to Las Vegas; Ralph and I went to the courthouse over in Punta Gorda. Maybe that’s why things didn’t work out.”

  Rita swept that comment aside with a wave of one hand. “That’s a bunch of crap. Ralph was a womanizer from the get-go. Hells bells, he died in bed with a woman fifteen years his junior. No wonder he had a heart attack.”

  Amanda turned around again and pointed to the back of her dress. “Help get me out of this dress before they charge me room rent. I admit that Ralph was a total scoundrel, but at least he stayed until Adam graduated from high school. Although I don’t know why he even stayed that long as he was never around for his son. And by the time he bowed out of our lives I had a good secretarial job, which took take care of us both. Not that I had to worry as Adam always had a part-time job.”

  “Oh my God!” Rita snorted as she unzipped the dress. “Amanda, you’re beyond belief. Calling Ralph a scoundrel is being too kind. He was my relative and I would have used much stronger language, like he was a first class bastard. I remember when Adam was in grade school and you had to go to all the functions at school by yourself. Dammit, the night Adam graduated from high school Ralph was shacked up with his latest cupcake at the local Calusa Inn. He never had time to be part of the family but at least he wasn’t boring.”

  Amanda stepped out of the dress and put it back on the padded hanger. That last statement did her in. Rita could dis the late, unlamented Ralph all she wanted, mainly because whatever she said would be the truth. “Are you saying that Keith Manning is boring?”

  “Like a dish of vanilla pudding and it has me worried. You two have no zest.”

  “I happen to like vanilla pudding. You can do a lot with it...add shaved chocolate, a couple of drops of rum extract, or maybe some grated coconut—”

  “Jeesh, I make a simple comment and get a lesson in making desserts,” Rita huffed. “Let’s get out of here. I’m beginning feel claustrophobic.”

  Amanda slipped into the pants and shirt she’d worn to the shop. She’d heard a couple of women come to the dressing room area. They were probably too busy listening to her and Rita to get down to the business of trying on dresses. At this point did she really care?

  “I’m not leaving until this topic is settled. Look, if you’re trying to sow seeds of discontent this close to the wedding, forget it.”

  Rita simply shrugged. “Well take a look at your life since you met Mr. Perfect. You go out to dinner. You go to the movies. You go to the grocery store. You stay home and watch television on Saturday night.”

  Amanda gaped at her. “Why does that bother you, the woman with no social life?”

  “What do you mean ‘no social life’? I go out a lot.”

  “You work seven in the evening until seven in the morning at the hospital, then spend most of the day in bed. When you do venture out it’s for lunch with the girls. Why don’t you work the day shift?”

  “Because I make better money working the overnight hours. Add to that, I only work four days a week. That gives me three days off in a row, plus every other weekend off. Don’t try to change the subject. Back to you.”

  “Would you prefer Keith and I run around to the local watering holes? Before you answer, you know very well that was never my scene. We’re perfectly happy with the way things are going.”

  Because of her friend’s current attitude, Amanda was not about to hint at how some of those Saturday nights ended.

  “It doesn’t bother me,” Rita claimed, “but it should bother you. Keith is a widower, right? Any children?”

  “He has one daughter, Cheryl. Unfortunately, she can’t make the wedding, but I’ve already told you that. She and her husband and four kids live in Hawaii. We plan to visit them over the Christmas holidays. As for us, we’ve made a pact. Since this will be our last one—marriage that is—given our ages, we want the wedding to be one we will remember.”

  “Who sez?” Rita quipped.

  “Who sez what?”

  “There’s not a guarantee that this will be your last marriage. Age has nothing to do with getting married. I saw a piece on TV about a European woman who married for the fifth time and she was in her eighties. That gives you plenty of time.”

  Amanda shot Rita the hairy eyeball. “This time it’s for keeps.”

  The woman waved aside her friend’s comment. “That’s what you said when you married my cousin Ralph and said he was a real prince of a guy. How long did that last?”

  “It lasted twenty years so I think all things considered, it was a good run. As for the word prince, I hope you’re using that term loosely because he was a prince—in name only. To be perfectly honest, Ralph was a good guy in the beginning.”

  Rita sighed. “They all are.”

  Amanda draped the dress over her arm and pulled the louvered door to the dressing area aside. “I’m going to give this to the sales woman. Mrs. Silverman wants me to leave the dress here so her seamstress can make sure it’s in perfect condition. She promised to deliver it the day before the wedding. Can’t have a seam coming apart the way it did on Joan Roberts’ wedding dress. Remember the look on her face at the reception when she realized her entire backside was exposed to the world.”

  Rita choked back a laugh as she followed behind. “That is exactly my point.”

  “That the seams should be checked?” Amanda queried in a purely innocent tone as she walked to the register. Once there, she told Mrs. Silverman she’d decided to leave the sleeves as they were.

  But Rita, who clearly was not going to drop the subject, kept up the diatribe on the way to the car. “No. I’m talking about all men are ‘good guys’ in the beginning. When Ralph left and headed for the Bahamas, you swore you would never look at another man—and to your credit, you didn’t for a long time.”

  “Never is a very long time.” Amanda held up her hand to keep her friend from making a comment. “Before you bring it up I know I said that if I did meet someone special they could spend the night but they had to take their dirty laundry home with them.”

  “Right. So here you are, ready to start all over again.”

  Honest to God. If they weren’t in a public parking lot Amanda was tempted to give Rita a good smack. However, patience had always been her strong suit, so if she could just hold out for a while longer maybe she wouldn’t have to kill the woman and stuff her body in the dumpster by her car.

  Instead, she smiled sweetly. “This time it’s different. Keith is kind and thoughtful.”

  He also made her skin tingle and her bones mold like putty in his hands. Ah yes, that’s what she would think about rather than murdering her friend in the middle of a busy parking lot.

  Rita opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat. “You make him sound like a boy scout. Kind and thoughtful does not a marriage make. It takes more zing than that.”

  Before she could stop herself Amanda blurted, “Who said there’s no zing? He can make my toes curl.”

  “Ah ha, you’ve been holding out on me. I’m glad to hear that. You had me wondering if there was any fire down below.”

  As Amanda buckled up her seatbelt she felt the blush start at her neck and spread over her face. She was not going to share details about the trip to Tarpon Springs with Keith last weekend. Rita had been on duty and she hadn’t gotten around to telling her.

  “The topic of ‘fire’ is not on the table for dissection. All I will say is that the flame burns brightly and let it go at that.”
>
  “That’s a start in the right direction. You never were one to kiss and tell so I’ll let you off the hook for a while. What does Adam think of Keith? Has he given you two his blessing?”

  “Why in the world would I need Adam’s blessing? I’m of age to make my own decisions.”

  “He’s your son, for God’s sake. Has he ever even met Keith?”

  “As a matter of fact Keith was in Chicago for a meeting last week and they met for lunch. They got on great. Adam said they had a lot to talk about. They both love football.”

  Rita frowned and shook her head. “Unbelievable. An opinion should not be given after one lunch or liking football. I think you are headed for disaster.”

  “You know what? I think you’re wrong in this case. With your blond hair and peaches and cream complexion, you’ll look terrific in the smoky lavender shade you chose.”

  Rita laughed out loud. “I do believe that is the nicest way someone has ever changed the subject and told me to mind my own business at the same time.”

  Chapter 2

  Keith Manning and his best friend, Sid Sullivan, walked into the 19th Hole Lounge, took seats at the mahogany bar and ordered schooners of beer.

  Sid took a long sip, then wiped the foam from his upper lip with the back of his hand. “Man, that sure tastes good going down. I thought I was going to melt out there before we reached the ninth hole. Don’t know how I made it to the eighteenth.”

  Keith gave his friend a light punch on the arm. “You’re a piece of work. It’s early in the morning on a gorgeous July day. There’s no humidity for a change and there’s a nice Gulf breeze blowing. To please you, I even agreed to use a cart to get around the course.”

  “I don’t usually play in the heat of a Florida summer day because it’s too damn hot. And what’s with this descriptive blowing breezes and gorgeous days shit you’re coming out with all the time? Next thing I know you’ll be doing Tai Chi or taking ballet.”

  “What’s wrong with saying it’s a gorgeous day when it is?” Keith gave his pal’s paunch a friendly pat. “You wouldn’t mind the heat so much if you dropped a little tonnage there, old buddy. Ever thought about joining the local gym?”