Shawna turned onto a tree-lined gravel drive that wound its way through a mature woods of oak, hickory and maple. A few hundred yards in, the woods opened up to reveal a yellow brick ranch-style house amid an immaculately landscaped yard. Shawna pressed a button on a remote and the garage door on the attached garage opened to reveal a neatly kept garage with space for her Camaro. Also in the garage was a Gator ATV. Shawna parked the car and we both got out. I stretched my legs as Shawna climbed in the ATV.
"Come on babe, I'll give you the nickel tour." She said. She started the four wheeler as I climbed in and soon we were behind the house and headed toward a large Quonset hut outbuilding. Shawna pulled the ATV up next to the building and shut it off. She led me past the over-sized garage door to a side door that she quickly unlocked. We stepped inside to total darkness. I heard a clicking noise and suddenly banks of florescent lights along the ceiling sputtered to life. Spread out before me were Shawna's cars. I was amazed.
"Well, what do you think?" She asked with a hint of pride in her voice. "It isn't Barrett's but I like them."
I didn't answer at first, I just walked around looking at the cars. She had done an amazing job with them. Every one of them looked like it had just come off of the assembly line. I leaned over to look into the MG and was blown away. The wooden dash gleamed like new and the seats where perfect. They were all perfect.
"I'm speechless." I said with awe. "You did this all yourself?"
"Almost all of it." She said. "The only things I don't do are the paint and the upholstery. I've got a couple of guys that do that for me. Those are specialties that I feel are best left to the professionals."
"That must cost a fortune." I remarked.
"I usually get it in trade. They are both collectors too so I trade them engine work for the paint and upholstery."
"Engine work?" I asked.
Shawna led me toward a set of swinging doors in the back of the room. She swung them open to reveal a full blown auto shop.
"Whoa!" I said.
"This was my dad's race shop. I've added to it over the past couple of years." She said. "I pay for my car hobby by building and rebuilding engines." Shawna pointed to a set of six engines sitting on stands against the wall of her shop. "Those are going to an ARCA racing team for next season. They are worth fifty grand apiece. I've got about $15,000 in parts in each one."
I did some quick math in my head. "Damn, that's over two hundred thousand in profit." I said.
"Well, you forget about the sweat equity in them. I've got about a hundred hours of labor in each one."
"Still, that's good money." I said. "If you can get that kind of money doing engine work, why are you still doing nursing and massage work?"
"Because I like nursing." She said. "And because I want this to be a hobby, not my whole life. The quickest way to kill the joy out of something you love is to make it your job. Speaking of hobbies, over here are my latest projects." She led me to the far end of the shop where a corvette yellow '68 El Camino stood next to the bare frame of what I assumed was her '67 Stingray.
I was immediately drawn to the El Camino. I had always wanted one and this one was something special. I walked around it, mesmerized by its graceful lines. I leaned in through the open window and I could smell the new leather of the re-upholstered bench seat. The paint job was perfect, from the corvette yellow to the black racing stripes running up the hood and over the roof. The chrome gleamed and the tires shone. It looked like it was ready to go cruising right now.
"This is incredible!" I gushed. "This has always been my fantasy car. I wanted one so bad back in high school that I thought I would die if I didn't get one. Let's take it for a spin!"
"You'll have to push it!" Shawna laughed. She popped the hood and opened it up. There was a big empty space where the engine should have been. "I've still got to put the engine in it. It's almost ready." Shawna walked over to another engine stand, this one with a partially built engine on it.
"It's a big block Chevy that I've bored over and completely rebuilt. I'm waiting on some headers and a carburetor to get here from Summit Racing and then I'll be able to drop this bad boy in there and get her running." She said. "When I'm done with her she'll run like a scalded dog!"
"Promise me I'll get the first ride."
"You bet." She said, and then a smirk crossed her face. "You'll get to help me break in the new front seat too." Shawna's hand rubbed across my crotch, leaving no doubt as to her intentions.
"We can break it in right now if you want!" I replied, pulling her to me tightly.
"Oh no." She said, pushing me away. "My first time with you is not going to be crammed in the front seat of a car. It's going to be in my bed."