Sleigh Ride
LHOP inspired fan
fiction by Cheryl C. Malandrinos
Disclaimer: I do not own the
Little House on the Prairie television series, book series, or any of the
characters.
Winter
weather had come to Walnut Grove and the brown prairie was covered with white,
fluffy snow. Christmas was only a week
away and Almanzo decided it was high time to take his beloved on that promised
sleigh ride. When he arrived at the
Ingalls farm he found Charles hauling firewood to the house.
“Afternoon, Mr. Ingalls.”
“Afternoon, Almanzo. A bit chilly for a social call,
isn’t it?”
“I was
hopin you would let me take Beth on a sleigh ride.”
“I don’t
know Almanzo…weather like this; a blizzard could blow up any minute.”
“Not a
storm cloud in the sky, sir. I promise if
it looks like snow I’ll bring her right back.”
Charles
shook his head and smiled. He knew
better than to try and convince Almanzo of something once he got his mind made
up. “All right, but even a hint of snow
and you head right back here.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Almanzo
stepped out of the sleigh and followed Charles into the house. He loved the little house on Plum Creek. He had enjoyed many fine suppers around the
kitchen table and Charles playing the fiddle by lamplight.
"Half-pint,”
Charles called up the ladder.
“Yes, sir.”
“Almanzo’s
here.”
Laura had
already heard Manly’s voice and hoped he was there to follow through on his
promise. “I’ll be right down.”
“There
are a couple of bricks and some potatoes in the fire if you want them,” said Caroline.
“Thanks, Mrs. Ingalls. I brought some extra bear
skins too."
Laura
stood at the base of the ladder. She and Almanzo shared a smile. “Hi, Manly.”
“Howdy, Beth. Ya better dress warm. It’s a cold one.”
Laura put
on her long coat over her layers of clothes.
She grabbed her hat and tucked her left hand into her muffler.
“Remember
Almanzo, one hint of snow…” said Charles.
“Oh Pa,
we’ll be fine. I’m not a baby you know.”
“I still
want the two of you to be careful.”
“We will,”
she replied.
“Why don’t you take the corn bread
and molasses in case you get hungry,” said Caroline.
Laura grabbed the package off the
counter and took the jar of molasses out of the cupboard. She kissed her parents goodbye before
following Manly outside.
Covered in
warm bear skins, with bricks at their feet and potatoes in their pockets, the
young couple headed out, the sound of sleigh bells filling the prairie
air. They rode out of town and past the
lake which had already been frozen for two weeks. Almanzo kept one eye on Beth and one on the
sky.
As they
huddled together they shared their dreams of what the future might hold.
“How big of
a farm do you want Manly?”
“I reckon
150 to 200 acres would feed the house and give me plenty of money in the bank.”
“Whoever
your wife is will be a busy woman then,” she said with a smirk.
He flashed his crooked smile at her. “Pretty much, between the farm and all the
young’uns I plan on havin'.”
“She’ll
have to be a special woman to want to work that hard.”
“I’m sure
she will be.”
Dark gray
clouds blew in and the temperature began to drop rapidly. Almanzo looked up with concern at the now
stormy sky.
“Fun’s
over. Looks like a storm’s headed our
way. Hold on, I’m gonna try to get back
as fast as I can.” She nodded and
grabbed onto the right side of the sleigh. “Ha! Ha!” he called to his Morgans.
The horses raced
back towards town. A nervous Almanzo
looked around at the ever darkening sky.
“Dagburnit!” he cursed. “I never shoulda
come out this far.”
Laura furrowed her brow. “We’ll make it back,
won’t we?”
“Not by the
look of them clouds. It’ll be snowing by
the time we reach the lake.”
“The old Edwards
place is the closest," she said.
Almanzo
nodded. “All right. Tell me how to get there.”
*
Laura and
Almanzo felt relieved to have made it to the Edwards farm. Three inches of snow had fallen by the time
they got there and it was falling harder all the time. The wind had picked up, making it difficult
to see. It was a good thing Laura knew
where she was going.
She paced
the floor of the kitchen, gazing out the window towards the barn for
some sight of Manly. She knew how
dangerous weather like this could be.
The door flew open and she raced to Almanzo and him tightly. “Oh thank God!”
He shivered inside his snow-covered coat and hat. “I’m all
right Beth, just cold.”
“I started
a fire. Why don’t you come sit over
here?” She led him
to the floor in front of the fireplace where she had laid down the bear skins
from the sleigh.
“Mmmm,
that’s better,” he said as he rubbed his hands together. He pulled off his wet boots and wiggled his
toes.
“I guess
it’s a good thing Ma told us to take some food.”
“We’ll have
to ration it. We might be here until
morning.” Laura nodded. “I’m sorry, Beth. I shoulda listen to your pa. He told me not to take ya out today.”
She smiled. “We found shelter and there’s
plenty of firewood to keep us warm. I
just hope…” Her words trailed off. She
was afraid to speak them.
“What?”
“I just
hope Pa didn’t go out looking for us.”
“With as
fast as that storm blew up, I doubt it.
I’m sure he’s safe at home.”
He pulled
her into an embrace and they sat together in silence listening to the howling
blizzard outside and hoping it would end as quickly as it had started.
*
Three hours
later the storm raged on. Almanzo found
a half empty kerosene lamp and lit it with some matches he had in his
pocket. “It’s gonna
to be nighttime soon,” he said. “We can
use this lamp for a while, but we should turn in early so we don’t waste the
kerosene.”
“Are you
hungry?” she asked.
“Starving.”
Laura cut
up some of the corn bread and spread molasses on it. They sat by the fireplace, eating and
drinking water from his canteen. Almanzo
would go to the window often and come back shaking his head.
He grabbed his hat and coat and stomped on his boots.
“I’m gonna
get some more firewood. Looks like we’ll
need it.” A frown covered his face as he
headed out the door. He came
back in and piled the wood on the floor.
“We’ll havta take turns watchin the fire. Why don’t ya try to get some sleep and I’ll wake ya when it’s time.”
She stood
up on her tippy-toes to kiss his cheek.
“It’ll be all right.”
He nodded,
but he wasn’t sure. She wasn’t the
one who was going to hear it from Charles the next day. Almanzo held her close and pecked her on the
cheek. “You have a
good sleep.”
Laura sat
down on the floor and untied her boots, slipping them off. Her hands went up to the pins holding her bun
in place. She unrolled her hair and
smoothed it out with her fingers.
“I like
when ya wear your hair down,” said Almanzo.
“It looks real nice.”
“Thank
you,” she replied, the darkness hiding the scarlet color in her cheeks.
She laid
down between the warm bear skins and tried to sleep. The sound of the howling wind and the
swirling snow hitting the windows caused her to pray the storm would soon be
over and that everyone in town was safe.
She drifted off, dreaming of Manly and the future he had told her about.
*
Almanzo
watched her sleep for a while. Her tiny body
seemed lost under the covers. Her long,
reddish-brown hair framed her tranquil face and Laura’s soft, pink lips seemed
to beg for his kiss. He slid out of
his chair and crawled along the. He knelt down next to the sleeping Laura and
brushed a wisp of hair away from her face.
Bending down, he could feel the warmth of her breathe on his face. He shuddered as he felt her soft lips against
his. He placed another gentle kiss on
her freckled cheek, and then got up and walked across the room to view the
storm through the window.
He listened
to the silence as the storm began to move on and the wind died down. He was thankful it would soon be over. A crackle from the fireplace made him glance
over at Laura again. He strolled back to
his chair and took his place as guard.
He would wake her soon, but for now he enjoyed watching her sleep.
He had never
thought he would feel such love for her.
She was just a schoolgirl when they met. They had always been close friends who shared
an interest in horses and farming, but he had always seen himself as more of an
older brother to her than a suitor. Then she changed. She became a teacher and her childish ways
were left behind. He had silently
watched those changes, never expecting them to bring him to where he now stood
— deeply and head over heels in love with her.
Almanzo had
worked hard to win her father’s approval. Charles had always been suspicious of his intentions toward Laura, and
when his feelings for her began to change it was gaining Charles’s acceptance
that he feared most. But it was all so
different now, and he knew at some point when he worked up the courage he would
be asking Charles for Laura’s hand in marriage.
It was time
for him to get some sleep, but he didn’t wish to wake her. He knelt down beside her again and
smiled. He tapped her shoulder and her
eyelids blinked open.
“Mmmm, is
it time to get up already?” she asked.
“Afraid so,
but the good news is the storm’s almost over.
I’ll have ya home by breakfast time.”
“Good. Pa
will be happy.”
Almanzo shrugged. “I don’t
think he’ll be happy with me.”
“Don’t
worry so much,” she said, getting out from underneath the covers and grabbing
her boots. “Right now, you need to get
some rest.”
“I threw
some logs on the fire about half an hour ago, so you should be all set for a
bit.”
“Thank you
kind,sir,” she said with a curtsy.
He chuckled. “Wake me in three hours.”
*
She nodded
and wandered over to the window to see what it looked like. There was at least two feet of snow on the
ground, but the flakes were now small and falling lightly. The wind had gone away and all that was left
was the beauty of a world covered in snow.
Laura knew
she should have been more anxious about being forced to seek shelter from the
storm, but how could she be afraid with Manly there to protect her. She glanced over at his sleeping form. His face was turned towards the fireplace,
but she could see the outline of his body under the covers. ‘How did I even get here?’ she wondered.
It had been
two years since they met; two years since she accidentally called him Manly and
he had in turn christened her Beth. She
had loved him from that first moment, but was frustrated to find that he saw
her as a child. It had taken a great
deal of time and her first teaching job to change all that. She remembered the excited and nervous
feeling she got when Pa told her he thought Almanzo might be in love with
her. And that night at the church social
they had shared their first kiss. She
would never forget it.
Laura
walked over to where he laid on the floor.
She stared at his wavy blond hair, wanting to touch it, but afraid she
would wake him. She knelt down behind
him and listened to his deep, steady breathing.
Holding her hair back with one hand, she leaned down and placed a small
kiss on his cheek. Almanzo rolled over
and opened his eyes. Still half asleep,
he thought he was dreaming when he saw Laura kneeling over him.
“Beth…” he
said with a look of confusion, “whatya doin?”
Laura felt
the blush rising up her face. She wished
she had a good explanation. “Uh…I…uh…”
He smiled
at her, knowing what she had been up to.
He propped himself up on one arm, the lump in his throat hard to swallow
as he gazed into her eyes. His hand came
up to her face. She shuddered when she
felt his fingers on her cheek. His
fingers traveled up into her hair and went down to the very tips which were
well past her shoulders.
He leaned
in closer to her, but stopped within millimeters of her face. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.”
He sat up
and raked his fingers through his hair.
“Promise me once we’re married you’ll wake me up like that every day.”
Surprised
she could only reply, “Married?”
“Beth,
you’re the only one I want to be with. I’m not
ready yet. I don’t have enough saved to
give ya a proper home. But the minute I do I’m gonna ask your pa for your
hand.”
She smiled
at him, trying to hold back tears of joy.
“Oh Manly, I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say
anythin…just be ready when I ask.”
He stood up
and walked around the room, knowing he couldn’t lie down again. His mind was filled with thoughts of her and
the life they would share. They spent
the rest of the night sitting at the table, listening to the dying storm and
dreaming of what the future held.
*
By early
morning the storm had stopped and Almanzo cleared a small path to the barn so
he could hitch up his horses. A short
time later he returned to the house and found Laura ready to go.
She smiled
when she saw him. “Is it time?”
He
nodded. Laura slipped her hands into her
muffler and walked towards the door.
Almanzo stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. They shared a tender kiss and then braved the
cold to make it back to her parents’ house by breakfast time.
It was a
scary ride for the nervous Almanzo who was going to face Charles when he got to
the Ingalls farm. He had worked so hard
to win Charles’s approval and now he feared it would all be lost. Laura could see the anxiety on his face. She tried to reassure him, but she too was
concerned about what Pa would have to say. Sleigh bells jangled as the horses pulled the sleigh in front of the house on Plum Creek.
The front door opens and Charles and Caroline dashed outside.
“Oh thank, God!” exclaimed Caroline when she saw them.
“I’m sorry
you were so worried, Ma,” Laura said from the sleigh. She hopped out and hugged her. “The storm came up too quick and we had to
race to the old Edwards farm.” She
turned to Charles. “I really am sorry, Pa. I didn’t mean to worry you so.”
Charles’s
steady glare was on Almanzo. He hadn’t
even turned when Laura spoke to him.
“Caroline, take Laura inside.
Almanzo and I have to talk.”
Almanzo
stepped out of the sleigh and came to stand next to Charles, ready to take his
punishment. “I’m sorry, sir. I…I went out too far yesterday and we got
caught in the storm. I didn’t want to
risk tryin' to get back here.”
“If you
want to be foolish with your life, Almanzo, that’s your business. But don’t be foolish with Laura’s. Caroline was up half the night worried about
her. And I didn’t get too much sleep
either.”
Almanzo
felt the lump in his throat. He was sure
Charles would forbid him from seeing Laura and he could never bear that. “I shoulda listened to you. If I had, none of this woulda happened.” He shook his head. “Mr. Ingalls, I have never been in love
before, and I didn’t think it would be Beth when I did fall in love. But by God I love her more than anything. I
hope ya know I would never intentionally do anythin' to hurt her or put her in
danger.”
Charles
softened towards him. How could he be
angry with a young man who cared so much for his Half-pint? “When Caroline and I were courtin, I would
sneak over to her house and climb the trellis up to her bedroom window and kiss
her goodnight. I’m sure Papa Holbrook
woulda whipped me but good if he found out.”
He smiled thinking back to it. “I
remember what it’s like to be young and in love, Almanzo. That’s why I’m so hard on you. But if you promise me you won’t ever do
anything like that again, I won’t say another word about it.”
“You have
my word, sir.” Almanzo extended his right
arm out to him and the men shook hands.
He slapped
Almanzo on the back. “Good, now let’s
get in the house. Caroline’s got
breakfast ready and I’m sure you’re starving.”
*
The two men
walked in and both Laura and Caroline were relieved to see the smiles on their
faces. That morning when they all sat
down at the table, they thanked God the young couple had made it home safely,
and hoped they would hear only good news when they made their way into town
tomorrow for church services.
Right after
breakfast Almanzo said goodbye to the Ingalls family. He wanted to check on Eliza Jane and let her
know he was all right. Laura grabbed her
shawl and followed him out.
“I’ll see
you in church tomorrow,” she said.
He reached
up and cupped her face in his hands. “It
seems like an eternity until then.”
His lips
found hers and the cold weather was forgotten.
He pulled back and his crooked smile shone back at her. Hopping into his sleigh he dashed off towards
home.
Laura
watched until the black sleigh disappeared over the hill. She sighed as she thought back to what he had
said last night. All her insecurities
over how he felt and if he could truly see her as anything more than a child
floated away the moment he said he planned to ask Pa for her hand. What an exciting winter this would be as she
readied herself to accept his proposal, knowing that one day her dream would
come true: she would be Mrs. Almanzo
James Wilder.
Copyright Cheryl C. Malandrinos - All Rights Reserved.
