Where We Began

chapter fifty-nine

Cole's POV

After the barrage of photos was finally finished our parents all gathered on the porch to wave us goodbye as we all piled into our vehicles to head off for food before the walk out at prom tonight. Brooke threw me her keys as she led me around the garage to a tarped car. She smiled at me as she grabbed the tarp and pulled it back to reveal a matte black 1969 Dodge Challenger. I opened the passenger door for her to slide in as I noticed Eli helping Rebecca in his truck before running around to jump in and start it, making it roar over Devan's modified Shelby GT350.

"Devan's car looks nice but only pussies drive automatic mustangs," Brooke laughed from the passenger seat as climbed in the beautifully restored muscle car, "oh shit I assumed you could drive stick but I didn't ask first!"

"It's all good baby," I laughed as the car roared to life, catching everyone's attention, and we filed in the line of cars trying to leave her house, "the Pathfinder isn't a stick because insurance is too high on a newer vehicle and I plan to pass it down to Lynne but my old river truck is a stick."

"That makes sense," she laughed as my dad came up to her window while we waited for the cars in front of us to pull out, "hello Mr. Matthews!"

"Is this your car?" my dad asked, taking in the reworked masterpiece.

"Yes she is," Brooke smiled at the look of awe on my dad's face, "I got her a couple years ago."

"Where did you find one in this condition?" he asked, peeking inside to take in the newly leathered seats and reupholstered ceiling, "all the ones I have found are either rough cosmetically, missing an engine or just plain crap."

"Oh she was complete trash when I got her," Brooke laughed making my dad look more confused, "she didn't even run. We had to use the tractor to pull her off the trailer and bent all four rims in the process when the tires completely fell apart."

"Who did her restoration?" he asked, always wondering about competition for his shop, "she looks and sounds amazing."

"I did," Brooke smiled proudly as the cars in front of us began to move.

"You and I need to chat sometime," he laughed shooting me a don't fuck this up look before patting the window, "yall have a good night."

"Thank you!" Brooke laughed, rolling up her window and turning to me, "close your mouth Cole you'll catch flies."

Brooke's POV

The look on Cole and his fathers face when I said I was the one who restored my car was part of the reason I got into restoration in the first place. Ever since I was little, cars have fascinated me. My aunt has pictures of me with her brothers under the hoods of many old trucks, tractors and other equipment holding tools and flashlights covered in grease, always grinning from ear to ear. I loved taking things apart and putting them back together to understand how they worked or, in the case of my car when I found her in the back of a dilapidated barn, why they didn't work. If I had had it my way I would've taken shop class in high school but the college classes were more important if I wanted to make money or at least that is what the school told my parents. I admit to being smart, I am the valedictorian of our class, but I feel like I could be smart and do things I enjoy. I did rebuild an entire car using only YouTube, Google and a manual with wiring diagrams but I guess going to med school would be beneficial to keep up with my expensive hobby.

"I can't believe you did all of this yourself BG," Cole said, running his hand across the dash, "this is amazing."

"Well I can't take all of the credit," I laughed as he shot me a look, "Zane's truck came in handy when I had to go pick up the heavy parts."