Page 1 of Slow Kind of Love

Chapter One

The weather in Berkshire was as wet and dreary as it was the day Link Major arrived over a month ago. Heavy gray clouds hung low in the sky, full of rain and cold, and a perpetual fog spread over the estate. The fog snaked its way along paths and gardens and rolled up to the edge of the forests that surrounded the manor to the north, then to the gentle swell of hills to the south. Even through the clouds and mist, he could see that everything was green and lush, and a part of him lifted at the sight even as he stepped back, knowing he was leaving.

He glanced back at his ancestral home, a frown on his face. Link loved Bell Grove Manor just as much as he hated it, and this homecoming had lasted far longer than he’d wanted it to. Everything had gone as expected. His father was distant, frozen in his inability to deal with the impending death of his own father and the return of his prodigal son. Their conversations had run dry about two days into Link’s return, and after that, Link had spent all his time with his grandfather.

As the old man lay propped up in his great bed with his dog, Pepper, at his feet, Link read to him. The Bronze Horseman was a favorite of his grandfather,and surprisingly, Link had been swept up in the drama of war and love and loss. A large tome, they’d made it halfway through when his grandfather had taken a sudden turn. Sadly, it had been his last, and he’d passed with his family and dog at his bedside.

With his grandfather entombed in the family plot alongside ancestors who’d been there for centuries and the reading of the will completed the day before, Link was headed back to the United States. Back to Crystal Lake. Back to the place he’d found some sort of peace after the craziness of his life here in England.

More importantly, he was headed back to a woman he couldn’t quite figure out. A woman who pushed every last button he owned and frustrated the hell out of him.

Elise Avery.

He checked his cell phone one last time, running the pad of his finger over the last text message he’d received from her more than two weeks ago, and then shoved it into his pocket with a scowl.

Hope you are well.

That was it. All she’d sent.

He pulled up the collar of his leather jacket and whistled sharply, a ghost of a smile touching his features when Pepper came barreling from between the great hedges of the garden to his right. Unlike many of his peers, who paid hundreds, if not thousands of pounds for purebreds, his grandfather, Alistair Charles William Major, had a love of mongrels, and his canine pal was no exception. The brown-and-white dog had short bowed legs, a long tail that curved up dramatically, and a large head with droopy ears that looked like it belonged on an animal twice its size.

It had no breeding, and, as it licked Link’s fingers and jumped up on him, no manners. But his grandfather had loved the animal fiercely, and now Pepper belonged to Link.

Along with all this, he thought, gaze traveling the vast expanse of property laid before him.

Not for the first time did he wonder at the workings of his grandfather’s mind and the family dynamics that had led to him naming Link as the heir to Bell Grove Manor Estate, and not his own son. And though he knew his father would fight the will, he also knew his grandfather had been of sound mind, and the lawyer had assured him there was no way the will would fall.

“You have some decisions to make,” David Croft had said after Link’s father and stepmother stormed out of the library. “This is a working estate and it’s well-oiled, with good people in place to keep it running, but an absent owner isn’t what your grandfather had in mind.”

“I know,” he’d replied, attempting a smile that fell flat. The weight of it all must have shown on his face, because his grandfather’s solicitor rounded the desk and laid a gentle hand on Link’s shoulder.

“Surely you don’t feel as if America is the place you need to be? You’re a son of England. Your ancestors fought alongside the kings and queens of this land. Don’t you miss it?”

Do I?

Yes.

But there was someone he missed more. The question however, was did she miss him?

Abruptly, Link gave himself a mental shakedown and was about to hop into his Land Rover when a small red roadster came into view down the long driveway and eventually came to a rolling stop a few feet from him. He smiled and walked over.

“Rose,” he said, taking a step back when his cousin hopped out of the smart Aston Martin and enveloped him in a fierce hug. She was the daughter of his late mother’s youngest sister, and Link had known Rose all her life. And now at the age of twenty-six, she was becoming a woman to be reckoned with. Stubborn, witty, and charming, she had no problem drinking a pint with the locals at the pub in town or attending a gala in furs and diamonds alongside the elite upper crust of London.

“I knew you’d try to sneak away without a goodbye.” Her long red hair flowed on the breeze, rippling around her as she took a step back. With her creamy complexion and pale blue eyes, she was quite a sight.

“I hate goodbyes.”

“I know.” She winked. “It’s why I made a point of getting here before you left.” She shrugged and shook her head, eyes on his vehicle. “You’re really doing it, then.”

His eyebrows shot up questioningly.

“Leaving us, just when I got you back.”

Rose had always had a flair for the dramatic. “I’ve been gone for a number of years, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he replied dryly.

“Stay.” She pouted. “It’s not the same without you here.”

“I’ve got things…” His words died at the look on her pretty face.

---