He nodded.
“Do you think I might be throwing my life away if I do something in the Trades, rather than practicing law”—I shrugged—“I don’t know, maybe because you feel like being a mechanic is ‘less-than’ what you originally had in mind?”
“You’re better than that.”
“Better than what?” I challenged.
“Better than this,” he said, waving a hand up his body. “Better than some asshole who comes home with grease in his hair and under his nails. Better than someone who deals with men who have no idea how to speak to a woman who deserves better.”
“Wow,” I breathed out. “That’s how you see yourself?”
“It’s not how I want to see you.”
I frowned. “Are you seriously saying that if I choose to become a mechanic, you’ll see me as some sort of lowly grease monkey?”
“Of course not, but I hate the thought of you being surrounded by them.”
“Cash, I’m surrounded by them now. Our dads are officers in an MC.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Actually, it’s worse,” I pointed out. “No one here has a filter, including me.”
“Baby, no one here’ll fuck with you because they know your dad’ll remove their spleen.”
I smirked. “No one fucks with me because they knowI’llremove their spleen.”
“There is that,” he conceded.
“Do you really see yourself as some has-been loser who should have gone to med school but ‘settled’ for being a mechanic?”
He stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head. “No. I love what I do.”
“And if I choose to go that route, will you think less of me?”
“I could never, baby. You’re pretty close to perfect.”
“Okay, let’s not go overboard.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re out of my league and you know it. Everyone knows it. Hatch made it clear—”
“Jesus, what did Hatch say?” I demanded.
“He told me to apologize and beg your forgiveness. Then he said you’re better than I deserve, and I knew it. And that’s when he said I needed to talk to your dad, which I do if this is something you want.”
“Cash,” I breathed out. “None of that’s true. Well, talking to my dad probably is, but I’m not better than you deserve. You’re kind of amazing when you don’t take the weight of the world on your shoulders. I mean, come on, buddy, the Vietnam War wasn’t your fault, too, was it?”
He let out a quiet grunt.
“Maybe there really is something to girls falling for men just like their dads,” I grumbled.
Cash leaned forward, running his hands up my thighs, his face tortured. “I love you, Teagan. More than I’ve ever loved anyone, and that scares me to my core.”
“I get that.” I gripped his chin. “But you need to figure out if you love me enough to get over that fear because even though I know for a fact I’m not better than you, I do know my worth and I won’t be subjected to the shit you’ve been pulling lately.”
He settled his cheek on my lap. “I know your worth too, Turtle.”
I stroked his hair. “God you’re an idiot.”
