Interference

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.

Note: This story is about Laura and Almanzo's courtship. To give the story a more realistic feel, I have used some of the happenings and characters from the Laura Ingalls Wilder, Parts 1 & 2 episodes.

Laura and Almanzo were arguing outside of the Feed & Seed.

Almanzo used his nickname for her when he spoke. "Beth…all I know is what Eliza Jane told me."

"What about what I've told you? It was nothing!"

"It certainly didn't look like nothin to my sister!"

"Perhaps that's because Eliza Jane wishes it were something!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means she will stop at nothing to get us to call off our engagement."

"That's not true Beth."

"Yes, it is Manly," Laura insisted. "You know that she's against us getting married. She's never liked me."

Almanzo was stuck between the two women. His older sister, Eliza Jane had always been there for him; especially since they struck out on their own, left New York and made their way to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. They lived together in a house outside of town.

Laura, his betrothed had a temper to match her reddish brown hair. They had been friends since the day she accidentally called him "Manly." But one day that friendship blossomed into love and he asked Laura to be his wife.

Almanzo lowered his voice. "She's just lookin out for me."

"Well, then maybe you should tell her that's my job now!" Laura turned away and stomped off towards home. Almanzo stood there shaking his head and dreading going home to Eliza Jane.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Almanzo yanked on the reins and spoke a firm, "Whoa." He unhitched his horses from the wagon and led them to the barn. When he came back out, Eliza Jane was waiting for him.

"So Mannie, did you ask her about it?"

"Yes I did Sis," he answered in exasperation.

"And what did she have to say for herself?"

"She said it was nothin."

"I know what I saw Almanzo."

"Sis, I'm really tired right now. Can we talk about this later?"

"She's going to make a fool out of you."

"Since I'll be the fool, I guess I should be the one worried about it."

He walked into the house, leaving an angry Eliza Jane outside. As she entered the house in search of her brother she began screaming, "Almanzo James Wilder, don't you talk that way to me. If it weren't for me you would still be in New York."

"And I suppose my being here has nothin to do with you wantin the strength and security of a man around the place," Almanzo snapped back.

"If that's all I wanted, I would have asked Royal to come out west."

"You wouldn't have asked Royal. The two of you never saw eye to eye on anythin. Besides, Royal would never have let you rule the roost. You wanted your younger brother here so you could boss me around like when we were kids."

"That's not true Mannie," Eliza Jane said in a much softer tone. "I'm just…I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Sis, you don't need to do that anymore. I'm twenty-six years old. I can look out for myself…and soon I'll have a wife to take care of me too."

Eliza Jane frowned at the mention of Laura. "She's not right for you. Don't you want someone older who knows her own mind? Laura's too young to know what she wants."

Almanzo stepped towards her and pointed his finger at her in anger. "Laura was right. She told me, but I couldn't believe it." Almanzo stood in front of his sister, his finger still in the air, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're tryin to get us to call off the engagement."

"Now why would I want to do that?" she asked demurely.

"Because you don't like her."

"That's ridiculous."

"No it's not. Every time I asked Laura here for supper you were too busy to join us. The night I asked you to her folks' place you had papers to grade. And when I told you we were gettin married all you could muster was 'that's nice.'"

"You're making too much of this, Mannie."

"I don't think so." Almanzo put on his hat and turned towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Eliza Jane asked.

"To see Laura; I have to apologize. We're gettin married Eliza and there's nothin you can do about it."

Almanzo left the house and slammed the door behind him. Eliza Jane stared at the closed door. 'None of this would have happened if it weren't for Laura', she thought.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

On his way to the Ingalls farm Almanzo stopped in the meadow to pick some wildflowers. As he approached in his wagon, he saw Laura's pa working outside. His wagon came to a stop beside Charles. Almanzo jumped down from the wagon and grabbed the flowers off the seat.

"Afternoon Mr. Ingalls."

"Afternoon Almanzo," Charles replied.

"Laura inside?"

"She sure is. She came home hoppin mad. Did you two have a fight?"

"Not really a fight, more like a difference of opinion."

"Why the flowers then?"

"Because her opinion was right."

Charles chuckled. "Come on inside. I'll get her for you."

The two men made their way into the house. "Half-pint," Charles called up the ladder into the loft.

"Yes Pa?"

"Almanzo's here to see you."

"I'll be right down," Laura said as she checked her face in the mirror.

Almanzo smiled when he saw her. "Hi Beth."

"Hi Manly."

"Can I…uh…talk to you outside for a minute?"

Laura looked at her pa and then to her ma who was standing in the kitchen. "Sure."

Almanzo opened the door for her and they went down to the creek.

"These are for you," he said, handing her the flowers.

Laura smelled them. "What are these for?"

"You were right; my sister is tryin to break us up. I should have listened to you. But I just…I love you so much…the thought of you with another man drives me crazy Beth."

Laura moved closer to him. She looked up with a tilt of her head and smirked. "Manly, you're the only one for me…since the day we met."

Almanzo held her in a tight embrace. They kissed and the anger between them melted away.

"Would you like to stay for supper?" asked Laura.

"Thanks, but I have to settle things with my sister. I won't have her interferin in our lives."

Almanzo gave her a quick kiss and walked over to his wagon. They said goodbye and he left for home. Laura stood there watching him disappear, worried about what would come next.

----- ----- ------ ----- ----- -----

Almanzo let the horses take it slower than usual. He needed to collect his thoughts before reaching home. After he unhitched the team and tended to the horses, he was ready to face his sister.

He found Eliza Jane in the kitchen making supper. "Hi Sis."

"Oh, hello Almanzo. I wasn't sure you would be here, but I made plenty just in case," she replied without turning around.

"Thanks. Listen, I want to apologize for how I spoke to you earlier." Almanzo walked over to the sink and turned her around to face him. "But you have to realize that I love Beth, and no one is gonna stand in the way of our gettin married…not even you."

"Don't be ridiculous Almanzo! Marry whoever you like; just don't come back to me when Laura decides she'd rather marry someone else."

"Don't you think she loves me?"

"I think Laura "thinks" she loves you. But as soon as another attractive young man shows interest in her, she'll think she loves him too."

"How can you say that after all we've been through?"

"Exactly. When Laura's father told her she had to wait until she was eighteen to get married you asked her to make a choice…and she chose her father. How long before she chooses another man over you again?"

"That's not fair; we're talkin about her pa."

"But she was willing to give you up for his sake. What if he asks her to do it again…for good this time?"

"You don't know Charles Ingalls. It took a lot for him to change his mind and let us get married next year. He won't go back on his word."

"Unless Laura asks him to as a way to break off your engagement."

"The only one tryin to break off the engagement is you!" Almanzo screamed.

"Like I said Mannie; do what you want but don't come crying to me later."

"Sis, I appreciate all the help you've given to me, especially since we've been out west, but I won't be guilted into givin up the woman I love."

Eliza Jane looked at her younger brother. The anger in his face almost frightened her, but she wasn't about to back down.

"I'm leavin," Almanzo stated.

"What?"

"I'm movin out. I'll live at the hotel until the weddin."

"That's ten months from now!"

"I know. As much as I love you and respect your opinions, you're wrong on this one. I can't live here knowin how you feel about Laura. I'll get my clothes together and then take the wagon into town. I'll come by in the mornin to pick you up for school and bring you home if you need me to. But one word about Laura and you'll have to find someone else to drive you."

"That will be fine," Eliza Jane replied, too stunned to say anything else.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

The next morning Almanzo stopped Laura on her way to school. He asked her to go for a drive. They went out to the lake where he had proposed to her. He told her the whole story.

"Manly, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. That day when Tom Dobkins offered me a ride home, I didn't think anything of it. I had no idea it would end up with you leaving the house."

"It's for the best. Eliza Jane and I need to lead our own lives."

"But how can you afford to stay at the hotel, pay for meals and save enough for us to get married."

"Don't worry, it'll all work out."

"I'm not worried."

"What then?" Almanzo asked with a smile.

"I just…I just can't wait to be Mrs. Almanzo James Wilder," Laura said with a thrill. "And I wouldn't want anything to get in the way of that."

"Nothin will. Trust me." Almanzo pulled her into an embrace.

As she melted into his arms, she felt his soft kiss on the top of her head and she replied, "I do."