Gotta Have It

“I’m betting the electromagnetic vortices are the sexiest, right?” Tess sat up and leaned over the front seat.

“I never really thought of it that way,” Durango said. “But, yeah, I suppose those would be considered the sexiest vortices. Concurrent flow and all that.”

“Do you really believe the vortices have such influential power?” Abby asked.

“Not at all,” he said. “The power is within you. The vortex is just a channel, funneling energy into whatever you bring to it. Positive or negative. Light or dark. Passionate or dispassionate.”

Abby swallowed. “All this sounds pretty out there. New Agey. Weird.”

And not at all like the old Durango she used to know. That young rebel had been full of torment and anger. He was different now. More relaxed, more philosophical, more sure of his place in the world. Plus, he didn’t seem to hold the slightest grudge against her for turning against him all those years ago. That was really nice. She approved of the changes in him.

Durango leaned over and placed the flat of his broad thumb in the center of her forehead. “Open your mind, Abby. The world is a much bigger place than your father’s circle of influence.”

She stared at him, her forehead tingling from his touch. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You figure it out.” Durango’s enigmatic black eyes challenged her to go beyond the tried-and-true. He was so busy watching her that he missed his turn-off and had to corner quickly.

The tires squealed. Abby sucked in her breath and clutched the hand rest.

The credo medallion flew off the rearview mirror and dropped into her lap.

Freefall.

With shaky fingers, Abby slipped the medallion back over the mirror.

“Yee-ha!” Tess said from the back seat. “That was fun.”

“Just checking to see if you were awake,” Durango joked.

They turned down Back O’ Beyond Road. It seemed an appropriate name encircled as they were by miles and miles of the majestic red rocks. Abby had to admit there was something incredibly special about those rock mesas. No matter what you were doing, you invariably felt your eyes drawn to them.

There were other Jeeps on the road. Other tours. They drove for a while longer and then Durango found a place to park.

“We walk from here,” he said, strapping on his backpack.

The weather was temperate. A good fifteen degrees cooler than in Phoenix. The sun was bright but not overpowering. The air was peaceful. Quiet.

Abby couldn’t believe that she had lived out her entire life in Phoenix and had never once made the short two-hour trek to Sedona. She didn’t have much time for vacations. She stayed too busy with her job and running her father’s household and helping out with his political campaigns. And whenever she did take time off, she usually preferred cruising the Caribbean to checking out local hot spots.

Just think, all this time, Durango was only two hours away and you never knew.

Her heart lurched oddly. Why did that realization make her feel so sad?

The world is a much bigger place than your father’s circle of influence. Durango’s words echoed in her head.

He led the way up the trail. They’d only gone half a mile before Tess started bitching. “How come nobody told me there’d be so much walking.”

“I did suggest you might not want to wear high-heeled sandals.” Abby shook her head.

“But hiking shoes blow my sexy image.” Tess pouted.

“It’s not too much farther,” Durango said.

“Why don’t they build roads right up to the vortex?” Tess whined. “For us couch potatoes.”

“That would kinda ruin the whole point of nature,” Abby pointed out.

They passed a few other hikers on their trek up the rock. Tess finally ended up pulling off her shoes and padding after them barefoot. The sound of her feet slapping against the red sandstone echoed softly throughout the canyon.

When they came to a large flat rock in the middle of the path, Tess plunked herself down on it.

“You guys go ahead.” She waved a hand. “I just wanna sit here and rest a minute.”

“We’ll wait with you,” Abby said and perched beside her. The last thing she wanted to do was be alone with Durango.

“I really want to be by myself. To meditate.”

Abby stared at her. “Since when do you meditate?”

“Since I found out Colin Cruz is deep into Eastern philosophy. Now, do you mind?” Tess made shooing motions at them. “Scram.”

She knew what her friend was up to and, while Tess thought she had her best interest at heart, Abby wasn’t the least bit grateful.

“Abby?” Durango raised a questioning eyebrow and cocked his head in the direction of the summit. “How ’bout we give Tess some space.”

Okay, fine. Blowing out her breath, Abby slid off the rock and reluctantly followed Durango up the trail. So much for the quiet, tranquil buttes of Sedona.

“You and Tess are total opposites,” Durango said to Abby when they were out of earshot. “How have you stayed friends for so long?”

“Tess is something of a character,” Abby conceded. “She’s a lot of fun to be around.”

“And you’re the ground wire.”

“I guess you could say that.”

They reached the top and, just as they were going up, a camera-wielding, balding, paunchy, middle-aged man wearing Bermuda shorts, a Van Halen T-shirt and black sandals with plaid socks was coming down.

“I looked all over this damned rock and couldn’t find hide nor hair of that stupid vortex,” he was muttering under his breath.

“A vortex isn’t something you see,” Durango told him. “It’s an energy field. You have to feel it.”

The guy snorted, mumbled something about New Age fruitcakes and took off down the trail.

“Well, he was friendly,” Abby said. “Not.”

“People like him show up all the time. They’re usually from a big city. Rushed, in a hurry, looking for a short cut to inner peace. They hear about the restorative power of the vortex and they think it’s a ticket to instant enlightenment. But there’s no such thing.”

Abby cocked her head and studied him. He looked at peace and she was happy for him. “You seem to have come a long way in the enlightenment department.”