Grace (BWWM)

Chapter Fourteen

"What's the emergency?" I ask as soon as Grace opens the front door. My eyes survey her, looking for any injuries. My mind was running as I drove over as quickly as I could. I got off work early this afternoon and I'm still in uniform. Grace's text worried me, and my eyes wanderover her shoulder, looking for signs of trouble. She said that I should come quickly, and it was urgent.

"You'll have to see for yourself," she says with a somber look. My heart drops.

"Did Nova injure herself?"

"No, Joe."

"Did something happen to Rose then?"

"No."

My mind continues running and I frown, tugging at my top as the worry deepens, but I try to keep calm.

"It can't be Ty, right? He's always careful."

"It's not him, Joe." Her words are quiet, and something dawns on me.

"Austin? It's Austin?" I ask, and she only stares at me. Oh my word. "Grace, what happened? I thought things were going fine-he sent a letter just last week and everything."

"There was a call today . . ." She trails off, looking away. Fear rests heavily upon me.

"I don't understand, what happened?"

"Come in, let's talk inside."

I follow her numbly after she shuts and locks the front door.

"Is he . . . Grace, what's going on?" She doesn't respond to my question and my heart drops. "Grace . . . I don't understand," I repeat.

We sit on a couch in the living room, and she lets out a loud sigh. Suddenly the twins come upstairs from the basement. They say hello, but my greeting is lackluster.

"Did Ma tell you about Austin?" Ty asks as Nova turns away, a hand covering her mouth. Is it that bad?

"She only told me there was an emergency, but she didn't say what was up. Ty, what's going on?" Just then Rose comes up the stairs and her lips are pursed, but I notice her mouth twitches up every now and then.

"Hey Uncle Joe."

"Rose . . . hey, are you doing alright?" I ask, trying to be careful because of relationship with Austin.

"I'm trying," she says, hanging her head. Oh no. Suddenly there's a loud burst of laughter, and I look to Nova who doubles over. I just blink, not sure what to make of such a reaction to this mysterious unfortunate news. But then I look back at Rose who fights a grin. I notice how her eyes dance and she glows. One look at Grace who rolls her eyes with a smile, and at Ty who simply shakes his head, and I know something is up.

Feeling completely out of the loop and confused, I look around, not sure how to feel.

"What's going-oh my word, what?" The last person I expect to see comes up the stairs in sweatpants and a shirt, hands in his pockets as he wears a large smile.

"Afternoon, Pops. It's been a year."

Austin. I stare at him, wondering at first if this is possible. I didn't know that he was coming back today. The last I knew was that his flight was rescheduled because of complications in Virginia. But here he is.

"Austin," I murmur before standing and walking towards him with quick steps, picking him up in a bear hug. There's cheers and laughter and I'm just glad to have him back home.

It turns out it was all a set-up, obviously.

"It was so tough keeping it from you!" Nova cries later, after we've all gotten situated on the seats in the living. "You're too curious for your own good, Uncle Joe." She throws her arms up.