Bearclaw Valley all i want

winslet swears her heart jumps to her throat and makes a home there, its cadence rapid and uneven. thunderous, to a point where it's near deafening. she feels flighty again, but not with fear. elation? joy? bliss? all of them combined. 

he didn't voice how exactly he feels, and perhaps she's getting ahead of herself. but she can only imagine and hope it's the same feeling she harbors toward him. that he also feels short of breath every time she's around, or that he also struggles to focus because all he can think of is her. 

that maybe his dreams are infected with her image, too. 

she doesn't ask. she can't; she simply isn't brave enough, or perhaps she's anticipating and hiding from the sting of rejection. a rejection that would very well tear her apart. 

would it be worth it? and would it be so terrible if she said that it would be? 

hearts are fickle creatures, and she's learned that they choose who they want to love, and there's nothing anyone can do to change its mind. and hers has chosen cole. 

she stares up at him with reverence, with hope and affection and everything pure and wanting. wanton. no one has ever made her feel so wanton. and maybe no one ever would, not after him. 

"yes," she exhales. it's so heavy with words unspoken, with a weight that threatens to crush her. "i would love to take care of you." spoken with conviction, with raw truth. vulnerable. exposed. 

"i would in a heartbeat, if you would let me."