Page 80 of Love Me Forever

"I can't believe I haven't been here before."

"Chicago is a big city," Travis said. "Gran likes it here, says her neighbors aren't as pretentious."

"And she lives alone?"

"Yes. She insists on it. My parents once asked her to move in with them, but she doesn't want to. She gave them an earful. They never asked again."

I got the feeling that Beatrice was a force to be reckoned with.

We parked in front of the smallest house on the street. It was all on one level. As far as I could tell, it had a huge living room and bedroom facing the street and undoubtedly more rooms in the back.

"Dad is here too," Travis said, pointing to the car in front of us.

"To look at the generator?" I asked.

"Nah. This is simply Gran at work. She usually hates it when we want to check on her. If she specifically asked for help, it means she’s got a plan. At least you'll meet my parents at the same time too."

"I was not prepared for this." I looked in the mirror, trying to assess my appearance. What was I doing? It didn't matter anyway. I didn’t have a makeup bag with me, and I didn't want to leave them waiting.

Travis opened my door, and I climbed out.

"Are you okay? Do you think you'll get tired?"

I loved the possessive and protective tone of his voice, but I still teased him, rolling my eyes.

“If I wasn’t tired after all our adventures yesterday, I can manage a visit with your family.” I didn’t tell him I was concerned how they’d react. Yes, his mom was pleasant over the phone, but I was a stranger.

We walked up to the front door—I was surprised Travis didn’t insist on carrying me, but he seemed much more relaxed today than yesterday. He knocked twice.

"Come in," a woman's voice said.

Travis opened the door, ushering me in. An elderly woman with snow-white hair braided on one side welcomed us. She was petite and had a huge smile.

"You must be Bonnie," she said before either Travis or I could say anything.

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Beatrice." I raised my hand, intending to shake hers. To my surprise, she pulled me into a hug.

"Call me Gran. That’s what family does." Her smile seemed even bigger.

She considers me family? But she doesn't know me.I could barely hold my tears back.

"Dad is here too?" Travis asked.

At that same second, two people came in from what I assumed was the living room: a man who was as tall as Travis and had Beatrice's eyes and a woman who had his smile. She was holding a huge bag in her right hand.

"Hi, Bonnie. We're Travis's parents. Lena and Emmett."

I shook hands with both of them. "It's great to meet you."

"What needs to be done, Gran?" Travis asked.

"My generator is acting up, and I've got four light bulbs in the back that don’t work."

Travis frowned. "All of them? Okay."

"I'll check the generator," Emmett said. "You look at those bulbs."

Travis nodded. Emmett took a door to the left that descended into the basement, and Travis went all the way to the back.

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