"Laura and Wesley, I would like you to meet my brother Almanzo and my sister Amanda," Miss Wilder said.

Almanzo was tall, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a good-natured smile. He looked to be about twenty-five years old. Amanda had brown hair, brown eyes, and a shy smile. She looked to be about Laura's age. Wesley thought that she was the prettiest girl he had ever met.

"Howdy," said Almanzo, shaking first Laura's hand and then Wesley's.

"How do you do," Amanda said politely. Wesley felt his heart beat faster as he looked into her eyes. "It's so nice to meet you," he told her.

"Thank you." She blushed.

"Where are you from?" he asked, falling into step beside her.

"I grew up on a farm in New York. My parents still live there. I came west with my brother and sister. Where are you from?"

"A long way away from here," Wesley hedged. He knew from experience that to say more usually elicited a response that was less than positive. Only the Ingalls seemed to accept his circumstances as they were. Amanda looked satisfied with his answer, so he just left it at that.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, it's just me. My father died when I was only five years old."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Amanda looked awkward for a moment. "My brother and sister are both much older than me, so it's almost like I'm an only child too. My ma thought that she was too old to have any more babies, and then all of a sudden I came along as a later-in-life surprise." She laughed softly, and Wesley laughed with her.

"So is your mother remarried then?" asked Amanda.

"No."

Amanda frowned. "Who takes care of her then?"

"She's a doctor. She takes care of herself."

Amanda gasped. "I never heard of a woman being a doctor before!"

"Well, now you have." Wesley grinned, amused.

"So is your mother staying in Walnut Grove as well?"

"No, she's still back home. The Ingalls are friends of mine, and I'm staying with them for awhile."

"For a long while, I hope," Amanda said softly.

Wesley grinned and took her hand.

After that it became the usual custom for Almanzo to walk Laura to and from school and for Wesley and Amanda to walk together. The more Wesley saw of Amanda, the fonder he became of her. They talked of many things, but Wesley stopped just short of telling her his whole story. Every time he thought that he should, he began to wonder what she would think of him and lost his nerve.

One afternoon, Ma wanted to bake a cake but discovered that she didn't have enough eggs. Wesley offered to go to Oleson's Mercantile to buy some for her.

He had paid for the eggs and was opening the door to walk out when he heard someone speak his name and turned to face Nellie Oleson.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, Wesley. Has Miss Wilder's little sister been keeping you busy?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Nellie. My school work and earning my keep at the Ingalls' has been keeping me busy."

"I don't know what you see in her anyway," Nellie continued. "That flat chest and that mousy brown hair. And you can tell by the way she talks and acts that she was raised on a farm."

"There's nothing wrong with being raised on a farm. And there's nothing wrong with Amanda's looks either."

Nellie gave a cruel laugh. "I don't know why you spend so much time with her when you could be spending time with me instead."

"Leave me alone, Nellie. I have to get back home." Wesley tried to walk around her, but she moved so that she was right in front of him, and all of a sudden he felt her lips plastered to his own and jerked away in shock.

"What'd you do that for?"

"Why? Didn't you enjoy it?"

Wesley's face turned beet red. "I gotta go right now, Nellie." He pushed past her and out the door. He didn't hear the soft footsteps approaching the mercantile. Nor did he see the face of Amanda Wilder as, her eyes brimming with tears, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.