3 Weeks 'Til Forever Read Free

trio of men entering the bar.
     
    One
locked eyes with her immediately and wouldn’t let go. He extended his hand to
the bartender, doing what looked like a ritual handshake that signaled they’d
been friends for years.
     
    All
the while, his deep-set eyes held hers in a Cobra-like stare; they just
wouldn’t let go.
     
    Standing
there in nothing but her light-blue bikini, Janey felt exposed in more ways
than one.
     
    A
marathon runner, she was physically fit and quite comfortable with her body. It
was the way he looked at her that made her feel so exposed – as if he knew
her secret places and had already explored them.
     
    Shaking
off this feeling of intimacy emanating from a complete stranger, she quickly
paid the bartender, grabbed her drink and headed back to her beach chair. Janey
felt his eyes on her the entire way.
     
    As
the cool, fruity liquid traversed her parched throat, she started to relax
again – even though the image of the tall, dark stranger stayed with her.
Surprised at this, she pushed thoughts of him firmly from her mind as she
settled back down with her Kindle to resume her novel.
     
    Adjusting
herself on the beach lounger, a smile of contentment caused the corners of her
full lips to turn up as she thought about a comment the main character in her
novel made. At this precise moment, a shadow blocked the warming rays of the
sun.
     
    She
looked up to see the cause and there he stood – the dark, broad stranger from
the bar.

Chapter
5: The Meeting
     
    Extending
a large hand, he said, “Good afternoon, I’m Redmond. What’s your name?”
     
    She
couldn’t fault him for his manners, even if he was a bit forward. Deciding to
see how far he was willing to take his boldness, Janey responded, “JC.”
     
    “JC?”
     
    “No
mother would name her daughter that; especially one as beautiful as you. What
does JC stand for?”
     
    Janey
was struck by how insightful he was. It reminded her of her father’s ability to
size people and situations up quickly. Holding her head back a little further
to look up at him, she said, “Janey Coltrane.”
     
    “Just
Janey Coltrane?” he questioned. “If you’d been a male child, I would believe
you were given such a short, succinct name, but ‘just’ Janey Coltrane doesn’t
quite fit. Will you please tell me your full birth name?”
     
    Damn
he was bold – and insightful – she couldn’t help but think.
     
    “As
it seems I’m being interrogated Mr. ahh ‘Redmond,’ can you first tell me what
goes with Redmond. Is that a first name, surname, middle name or nickname? Is
it even your real name?”
     
    “I
am Redmond Charleston Hillyard,” he declared, rather than stated, like a man who
knew exactly who he was and what he wanted at all times.
     
    In
the face of such directness, Janey couldn’t help but answer his question in
kind, so she responded, “If you must know, my full name is Janey Belle
Coltrane.”
     
    “I’m
actually not fond of my middle name and my first name sounds too much like the
moniker a 12-year-old girl would have, so ever since I can remember, when asked
my name, I just say JC.”
     
    “I
can count on one hand the number of people who’ve ever questioned me about it.
And only my parents ever got away with calling me anything else. My mom called
me Janey Belle and my dad always called me by just my first name.”
     
    Stopping
herself, because she had a tendency to prattle on when she was nervous, Janey
wasn’t sure why she was nervous or why she’d revealed such personal information
– even though it was harmless – to a complete stranger.
     
    It
was unlike her because she tended to be guarded until she got to know someone
really well.
    Looking
into her sun-glass covered eyes, Redmond said, “I’m going to call you Janey. JC
sounds too masculine for such a tiny, beautiful woman.”
     
    It
didn’t escape Janey that he hadn’t asked, but stated as fact, that that was how
he would refer to her.