Merry Christmas!

 

Hope all who celebrate have a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas!

Love Comes Softly Inspired Fan Fiction: Reunited

Reunited

 Love Comes Softly inspired fan fiction by Cheryl C. Malandrinos 

Disclaimer: This story follows the television movie characters, not the books. I do not own the Love Comes Softly television movies, book series, or any of the characters.

Clark sat at the table, reading his Bible and praising God for allowing him to find the note from Marty in time. Early this morning, he had dropped Marty and baby Aaron off in town and paid their fare for the wagon train headed back East. Though he didn’t understand why God had brought Marty into his life, just for her to leave Missie and him all alone, he trusted in God’s plan. And God had shown him that Marty and he were meant to be together… forever. 

Aaron lay asleep in his cradle, and Marty stood over the stove working on supper. Missie was outside tending to the horses. This day could have gone totally different without God’s hand in it. 

Clark walked up behind Marty and encircled her waist. Never had he thought he would find love again. He certainly didn’t expect it last fall when he asked the newly widowed Marty to marry him for the sake of his daughter. 

Marty leaned into him, and he lowered his head to nuzzle her neck. “How do you expect me to cook if you’re distracting me?” she said, even as she raised her hand to run in it through his thick brown hair. 

“I was just thinking,” he said, “when you’re ready, I would like to move back into the house.” 

Ready? She thought. Then it dawned on her. Was she ready to share her room and her bed with Clark? After Aaron died, she thought that part of her life was over. She knew she was pregnant with his baby, and that kind of love would have to carry her through the lonely days. Little could she imagine how much she would come to care for Clark in the months they lived together in the western mountains. She longed to have that kind of closeness again, to feel the heartbeat of someone against your back as you slept, the warmth of their body letting you know you weren’t alone. 

Clark sensed her hesitation and gently turned her to face him. “You take as long as you like.” He smiled. “I’m a patient man.” 

Marty cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. “That you are, Clark Davis. Only God knows how you put up with me when I first came here.” 

He chuckled. “Even then I knew you were a special woman, Marty, just what Missie and I needed.” He caressed her cheek. “Though I don’t know if I understood how much I needed you.” 

Missie burst through the door. When she saw them together, she stopped. She had never seen them so close before. She lowered her gaze to the floor. “I’m done my chores, Pa.” 

Clark strode over and knelt down in front of her. “Marty and I were just talkin’ about how grown up you’re gettin’.” Missie’s cheeks turned red. “I was thinking, come summer, I might see if we can build you your own room. Growin’ girls need some privacy.” 

My own room! Missie shouted inside her head. She never dreamed of having her own room. “It won’t cost too much, will it, Pa?” 

He ran his hand along her blonde hair, clutching the ends loosely between his thumb and pointer finger. “Now, you let God figure out the provision. If it doesn’t happen this summer, it will be done before the snow falls.” 

Missie wrapped both arms around his neck. “Thanks, Pa!” 

Marty smiled at them. “Could you set the table, Missie?” 

“Sure, Mama.” Missie skipped over to the cupboard. 

Marty’s eyes widened. She was Missie’s mama now. Within hours, her life had changed in ways she hadn’t thought possible as she waited for the wagon train to pull out this morning. Thank God that Clark had found her note in time. 

Clark strode over to her and cupped her elbow. “She loves ya.” 

“I love her,” said Marty. Then she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “And I love you, Clark Davis.” 

“I love you, too, Marty Davis.” 

As they stood there for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes, they knew sharing the same last name meant more than it did just a day ago. 

Copyright Cheryl C. Malandrinos – All Rights Reserved

Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Celebration Events Coming in 2024

 

Coming in June 2024: Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond by Dean Butler

 

An illuminating, insider’s journey through the world of Little House on the Prairie and beyond, from Dean Butler, who starred as Almanzo Wilder, the man Laura “Half Pint” Ingalls married—on the iconic show still beloved by millions of fans as it reaches its 50th anniversary.

With a foreword from Melissa Gilbert (Laura) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie)!

Cast just before his twenty-third birthday, Dean Butler joined Little House on the Prairie halfway through its run, gaining instant celebrity and fans’ enduring affection. Ironically, when the late, great Michael Landon remarked that Little House would outlive everyone involved in making it, Butler deemed it unlikely. Yet for four decades and counting, Butler has been defined in the public eye as Almanzo Wilder—a role he views as the great gift of his life.

Butler had been cast as a romantic lead before, notably in the made-for-TV movie of Judy Blume’s Forever, opposite Stephanie Zimbalist. But Little House was, and remains, one of the most treasured shows in television history. As the eventual husband of Laura “Half-pint” Ingalls—and the man who would share actress Melissa Gilbert’s first real-life romantic kiss—Butler landed as a central figure for the show’s devoted fans.

Now, with wit and candor, Butler recounts his passage through the Prairie, sharing stories and anecdotes of the remarkable cast who were his on-screen family. But that was merely the beginning of a diverse career that includes Broadway runs and roles on two other classic shows—Moondoggie in The New Gidget and Buffy’s ne’er-do-well father, Hank, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Coming of age during a golden era of entertainment, Butler has evolved along with it, and today enjoys success and fulfillment as a director and producer—notably of NBC Golf’s Feherty—while remaining deeply loyal to Little House. 

The warmth, heart, and decency that fans of Laura and Almanzo fell in love with on Little House echo through this uplifting memoir, a story, in Butler’s words, about “good luck, good television, and the very good—if gloriously imperfect—people who made it so.”

Available for pre-order now at Amazon!

Love Comes Softly Inspired Fan Fiction: Misinterpretation

Misinterpretation

Love Comes Softly inspired fan fiction by Cheryl C. Malandrinos 

Disclaimer: This story follows the television movie characters, not the books. I do not own the Love Comes Softly television movies, book series, or any of the characters. I used a bit of dialogue from the Love Comes Softly movie. 

Marty stood by the stove, confused and hurt. Had she misinterpreted Clark’s actions yesterday? After months of living with Missie and Clark in the cabin he had built for his family, a family that once included his deceased wife Ellen, she realized something between them had changed. Or had it? 

After she had playfully shoved him as he planted seeds, causing him to lose his balance and tumble into the dirt, she ran off with Clark in pursuit. He easily caught up with her and grabbed her by the waist, tickling her until she was breathless with laughter. For the first time since she came, he laughed. No, he guffawed. He tossed his head back and laughed so loud and so long that Missie appeared in the doorway to say he had “gotten his laugh back.” 

“I guess I did,” he said. 

Then his expression turned serious and full of intent. His eyes looked at her with longing, at least she thought they did, and he slowly moved in to kiss her. And she wanted him to, she knew that, even if she used little Aaron’s crying as an excuse to escape. She had ruined the moment, and now it seemed Clark was willing to go back to the business of living without the comfort of a woman by his side. 

He said nothing about her note. Clark moved around her in the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and spoke about how the wet winter made planting easier before he sat with his coffee and Bible at the table. She had written her heart’s desire out in that note. She knew the three of them had become a family, and that despite her intention to go back East when she first came to live with them, there was no place on earth she would rather be than with Missie and Clark. So, she told him in that note that she wanted him to ask her to stay. She even signed it “Love, Marty.” How could he not say anything? 

She remained quiet the rest of the morning. If Clark noticed, he said nothing about it. Then later that day, as Missie was out doing her chores, he turned to her as she pretended to read. 

“I haven’t seen ya turn a page for thirty minutes,” he said. 

She admitted she had trouble concentrating. How could she not? She had poured her heart out to him, and he didn’t even acknowledge her note. Even though she didn’t want to leave, she knew at the end of the week when the wagon trail pulled out, she would be on it. She couldn’t stay if Clark felt nothing for her. 

* 

How could he have misinterpreted how Marty felt about him? Clark would have sworn they had grown closer over the months Marty had been with them. If he were honest with himself, when he approached the young widow on the day of her husband’s funeral with the notion they get married, he didn’t think she would accept him. His timing was dreadful. She was kneeling over her husband’s freshly dug grave. But as he explained, his Missie needed a woman’s hand, and the preacher was leaving the territory until spring. 

Since that time, Marty had won over Missie, given birth to the son she had been carrying when her husband died, and learned how to cook and help out on the farm. She fit so well into their home life, that even when the barn burned down and he reminded her of his promise to pay her fare to go back East when the wagon train returned, he held out hope she would stay. 

When he ran after her in the yard yesterday, her playful laughter had sparked something in him he thought had died with Ellen. For the first time, he saw a real future for Marty, Missie, and him as a family. He and Marty would be husband and wife in every sense of the word. Clark even allowed himself to think of more children padding around their happy home. 

When Clark offered to bring Marty to visit with Sarah Graham while he helped her husband Ben brand his new calves, he thought she would jump at the chance. Ben had been the one to find her husband, Aaron, after the accident. Sarah, a widow with children before marrying Ben, understood what Marty was going through, and befriended her, giving her advice along the way. 

“I should probably spend the day packing,” Marty said. “It’s about that time.” 

The hope he had held onto crumbled away. “Are you sure?” Clark asked. 

Marty said nothing, but she stared at him with sad, determined eyes. He swallowed hard; his heart shattered by the understanding she had made her decision.

 “I’ll let Missie know.” 

*

Missie sat between Pa and Marty on the wagon seat. Grownups made no sense. Missie had misinterpreted how this would all turn out. Well, that’s the word she thought she had learned from one of Marty’s books to say she had misunderstood how Marty felt about being a part of her family. 

When Pa called Missie over to tell her Marty was leaving on the wagon train at the end of the week, she couldn’t believe it. 

She balled up her fists and screamed, “No!” Then she ran off. 

The last time she felt this angry was when Pa asked Marty to marry him. She hated Marty being there. Pa and she had done just fine on their own. Why did they need her? 

But Missie admitted she had learned so many things from Marty, like a love for reading, how to cipher, how to sew, and a little about babies. Marty being there allowed Missie to help out on the farm but have time to play with Clint and the other Graham children. She had grown used to Marty and baby Aaron being around. Their house would be so quiet without them. 

She had told Marty once that Pa’s eyes lost their sparkle after her Mama died. But when she found them in the yard the other day that sparkle and his wild laugh had returned. Missie thought that had to mean something. 

But here they all were, sitting together without saying anything, just like the day Pa and Marty got married. She felt the sadness surrounding them. She could barely contain her own tears. Why did Marty have to go? 

 

Copyright Cheryl C. Malandrinos – All Rights Reserved