Page 15 of Giovanni's Obsession

Raven

“We should be there in about another two hours.” Gio says, climbing back into the car.

We stopped yet again to refill the gas tank and to get a hamburger to quieten down my growling stomach.

“Where are you from?” I ask, popping a fry into my mouth as he pulls back out onto the road.

“I’m from a small village in Italy.” He answers easily but doesn’t continue beyond that.

“What’s your last name?” I ask.

“Baratta.”

I guess I’ll only get the answer to my question without him elaborating at all.

“Any family? Siblings?” I try, yet again.

“Yes.” His answer has me rolling my eyes.

“Seriously, Gio?” I huff out and he glances my way.

“I have a brother. Alessandro but everyone calls him by our last name. Baratta. You’ll meet him as soon as we get to where we are going. As for other family, I have an Uncle and Aunt in New Orleans as well as a cousin.” He finally says and I sigh in relief.

“What do you do for a living?” I hedge but his eyes cut over to me as he shakes his head letting me know this is something we can’t talk about.

Having run out of questions for now, I sit quietly watching the scenery out my window. I can see mountains in the distance covered in snow and wonder if I’ll need a heavy coat.

While he was able to grab one of my suitcases, it didn’t have a lot in it as far as clothing for cooler weather.

“What’s the name of the town we are going to?” I ask.

“We won’t be in town but the closest one is called White Summer.” He says.

Looking back out the window, I wonder why the name of a small town in Montana sounds so familiar to me? I’ve never been this far West before, so I know that I’ve never been there.

Shrugging it off, I let the quiet ride lull me back to sleep.

---