"Why?" she asked bluntly. "You a cop or a parent or a teacher?" she asked, because those were the only things she could think of that would be a problem. "Darlin,' it don't matter, her age. She could date someone the same age as her that could mess her up in terrible bad ways, or she could date you and be cared for. Ain't that what matters? That the person you're with loves you and puts you first? Ten years, it ain't nothing at the end of it all," she said, adding with a smile. "I'm younger than Shane, but he needs caring for more than I do. You can't assume numbers tell you the whole story of a person."
She reached out, and she tugged on his collar a little, straightened the shoulder of his shirt, smoothed down the sleeve. "Plus, you seem real nice," she said truthfully, because he didn't seem the sort to sleep with a girl and then decide she was too young to be worth his while.
That made her pause. "You think she's got enough brains for you?" she asked bluntly.