Chapter 1

Nate knocked at the door. The name Helen Salvatorewas written across it, and that was it. No Directoror Managerunderneath. As the owner of the station, Helen had never liked titles. Besides, in her sixty-something years of living in this small town of Clover East, she didn’t think she needed any introduction.

Unlike him, Nate thought as he opened the door. He had lived here for almost five years and he practically ran the office, but he knew he was still only an employee here. Helen never officially called him a manager or gave him any similar title. Nate felt his career was running on the same spot, but what did he expect in a place like this? He doubted he’d get another job with the same good pay and environment as this. He didn’t think he’d find a place he could hide as well as he could in Clover East.

“You wanted to see me?” Nate closed the door behind his back.

“Nate.” Helen rose from her chair behind her desk with arms wide open. Nate lifted an eyebrow. She thought of her staff as family but this was a bit extreme. “How are you, my boy?” She leaned across the table. Nate grasped her shoulders and kissed both of her cheeks.

“Good.”

“Good,” echoed Helen. “Nate, I’d like you to meet my grandson,” she said, looking over his shoulder.

Nate jerked back when he heard someone clear his throat behind him. He didn’t realize there was someone else in the room with them. He turned around and saw a man about his age, probably a bit younger, rising from his chair. His hair was light blond and his eyes were a greenish brown.

“Nate, that’s Lucian, my grandson. Lucian, this is Nate. He’s the one who runs this place. Just trust me when I say this station would’ve been defunct long before this without him.”

“Don’t listen to her.” Nate offered a hand, which the man accepted with a smile, but he saw the smile did not reach his eyes.

“Lucian is going to take over my position.”

“You’re leaving?” Nate turned to Helen in shock.

“I’m not getting any younger, Nate.” Helen sighed, returning to her seat. Nate mimicked her gesture.

“And when did you plan on telling me that someone’s going to replace you?” Nate swallowed. His tongue suddenly tasted bitter. Very well, Nate thought. Not only did his boss not think he was important enough to be informed about something as important as her resignation, he now had to accept the fact that an obviously younger man was going to be his boss. A younger man who seemed to wish he were a thousand miles from here.

Helen frowned. “Nate, I only found out last night that Lucian had finally accepted my offer.”

Nate shook his head slowly. “I don’t understand. So if he’d said no, you’d still run the place?” The moment the last word left his mouth, Nate knew he’d crossed a line, judging from Lucian’s sharp glare.

But Helen apparently didn’t think so. She looked pensive as she replied, “Maybe, maybe not. I did think it was time for me to just stay at home and enjoy the rest of my days. Look, Nate. It’s not that I don’t trust you with this station. I just thought—”

“Helen,” Nate cut her short. “I never thought I was supposed to be the one responsible for this place. That never crossed my mind. The station is family owned. It’s right that your grandson should take your place.” He glanced at Lucian, who was following his and Helen’s discussion with apparent interest. Nate wondered if the man was annoyed they were talking as if he wasn’t there.

Lucian sighed and rose from his chair, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window near Helen’s desk. The man appeared to be about a head shorter than Nate. He dipped both hands in his pockets.

“I don’t have any say in the matter. The place might belong to my family but if Grandma wanted you to take care of it, no one can say no to her.” Lucian turned around. “It’s really up to you, right?”

“Sweetheart, I’m asking you to take over here because you need to get away from that place. Aside from wanting you to do the job, of course.”

“Grandma.” Lucian looked pointedly at her. A frown appeared across his temples.

Nate lifted an eyebrow. This looked interesting. Nevertheless, he felt as if he were intruding. “Helen, if there’s nothing else—”

“Wait. I think you can take Lucian around now, Nate. He needs to know this place before I completely resign.”

Nate was alarmed. “You’re going soon?”

“I’d better be, now that Lucian is here.”

“Okay,” said Nate slowly, and gazed at Lucian. “In that case, what are we waiting for?”

* * * *

Lucian kissed his grandma’s cheeks before he followed Nate out of the office, walking slowly as he regarded the man from behind. Nate’s dark hair and blue eyes reminded him painfully of another man in another time, and Lucian made a jolting break away from that thought. He’d told himself to stop thinking about him. He shouldn’t. It was the main reason he had come here in the first place.