Page 186 of Wrench

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¡°There you are!¡± He swooped me into his arms and lifted me from the ground,

spinning me in a circle. ¡°Happy birthday.¡±

Tank lifted his glass to me. ¡°Happy birthday, Samantha.¡±

¡°Why, thank you.¡±

¡°Did you manage to get your dad through the door?¡±

I puffed out my cheeks. ¡°Hardly. You think he¡¯s gonna like Evelyn¡¯s friend?¡±

¡°Trust me,¡± Tank replied with a nod, ¡°huge Diamondbacks fan.¡±

¡°First woman I¡¯ve met who knows more about sports than any guy in the room,¡± Isaac

added.

I smiled mischievously. ¡°Brilliant.¡±

¡°Hey, Samantha. We¡¯ve got a present for you in the kitchen. Come on!¡±

I followed him to the back and drooled at the food on the counters. Tons of homemade

brisket, with a hint of honey in the barbecue sauce, potato salad, corn on the cob, and

enough more to know I¡¯d be stuffed by the end of the night.

Sitting on the large table was a gift box wrapped in light pink wrapping paper and a

fancy emerald green bow that told me Evelyn wrapped it.

¡°Open it,¡± Isaac said, looking more excited than I was. I did a small clap of my hands

before unraveling the bow and ripping the paper. Lifting off the lid of the box, I gasped.

¡°No way.¡±

¡°Yep.¡±

I looked at Tank. ¡°Are¡­ are you serious?¡±

He nodded. ¡°Put it on.¡±

Lifting it as if it would crumble under my hands, I hung the jacket in the air to admire

it. Fresh leather filled my nose, a smell I never realized I loved before. It was strange

seeing a jacket so tiny after being used to seeing the massive ones the guys wore all the

time. But I wasn¡¯t just happy about getting a new leather coat.

On the shoulder was a green and yellow patch with the initials ¡°B.R.¡± stitched into it.

My heart swelled with pride and belonging, as I admired my new badge of honor. Never

had I held something before that symbolized so much respect, being only the second

woman to ever be in the club.

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