Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We arrived back in Sedona to the waiting arms of our family and coven. Everyone was so happy to see Vance again, and he received lots of hugs, as well as a chastening from my dad for leaving on his own—which he took rather well, I thought.

Jinx, who acted as if she hadn't seen me in a year, personally mauled me. She purred like a motorboat on my lap while we explained our findings to my family and told them of our plan to go to Mexico.

We ended up trading Shelly's car for Marsha's, which Vance had inherited after she was killed. It was a silver-colored Audi S8. Vance loved driving it because of all the power it had. I figured it was a guy thing as I reflected back on my little green scooter. I felt like I hadn't driven it in ages.

We packed up and left Sedona the next morning, headed down the I-17 toward Phoenix. It was a sunny December day, and the closer we got to the valley, the warmer it became. Stopping to stretch our legs, we decided to get some lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant just off the I-10. Afterward, we continued on to Maricopa and then over to Gila Bend, where we turned to head down to Ajo.

In Ajo, we got some ice cream before continuing on to Lukeville, where we purchased gas at a station right before we crossed over the border into Sonoyta, Mexico. We drove through the town until we reached the turn that would head us toward Puerto Peñasco.

The drive took about an hour through the beautiful Sonoran Desert. Watching the hilled scenery pass by, I could tell when we started getting closer to the ocean because the soil quickly turned sandy, becoming ever thicker, until there were rolling hills of it surrounding us.

At the outer edges of Rocky Point, we came to the turn that would lead us out to the oceanfront resorts of Sandy Beach. The colorful hotels loomed over us on our drive along the winding, palm-tree-lined street until we came to the gates, of the Sonoran Sea Resort, where my dad had made our reservation. He said he felt better about us staying someplace with on-site security. We pulled up to the towering ten-story hotel and checked in.

Our condo was a spacious, three bedroom, deluxe suite on the sixth floor and was lavishly decorated in a palm tree theme. There was a sage green down sectional at one end of the room with a large custom-made entertainment center along with an entire wall of windows that led out to the balcony.

At the other end of the room was the kitchen, complete with granite countertops and furnished with all the necessary appliances. The adjoining dining room had a beautiful glass-topped table with plush dining chairs.

We all wandered through together, checking out the place as we tried to decide who would stay in which room. The master bedroom was gorgeous—with a tall, four-poster, king-sized canopy bed. It was so high that a stool was placed next to it to use to climb up on the bed. The room came with its own master bath, complete with a Jacuzzi tub.

The secondary bedrooms also had king beds and shared a bathroom.

"Brad and I can take these bedrooms if you and Shelly want to share the master suite," Vance suggested.

"Sounds great to me," Shelly replied with a grin. "I'm all about the luxurious!"

I saw Brad roll his eyes behind her back and I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing as I followed Shelly into our room.

We put our luggage away and headed out onto the huge patio that overlooked the immaculate grounds of the resort below us, and then out to the beautiful Sea of Cortez.

"This is great!" I said, placing my hands on the wrought iron rails and taking in the view.

"I agree," Vance said, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning his head against mine.