She Loves Me Little House fanfiction

To celebrate the renewal of their vows, Charles asks Almanzo to work on a surprise present for Caroline, a heart with their initials on it. Almanzo likes the idea and decides to make one for Laura. A one shot. Story updated and edited for content. Complete story in one chapter

 She Loves Me

Almanzo was whistling as he finished up Charles' surprise for Caroline. His father in law had asked him while they were taking their lunch break.

"There's something I'd like you to do for me, Almanzo," Charles said as he took a bite of his sandwich. "It has to do with your woodworking skills."

Almanzo smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, Charles," he answered.

"Well, it's a small wedding present for my wife," Charles said, smiling at him. "And I want it to be a surprise. Caroline seems to always walk in on me when I'm working on something."

And when Charles told him exactly what he wanted, he smiled and thought he might do one for himself and surprise Laura with the same thing.

Almanzo put down the one he made for Charles and picked up the one he made for Laura. He smiled as he polished it remembering when and why he had carved one the first time.

"She loves me," Almanzo almost yelled it out, but he had to control himself, especially with Eliza Jane close enough to hear it. She would really think he'd gone crazy.

He ran into the woods not too far from the house, took his pen knife out of his pocket and scrawled the initials into the tree. And then, after realizing what he'd done, he tried to cross it out.

And when he realized he couldn't, he smiled and shrugged. For the first time in his life, he was in love and nothing was going to stop it. He wanted to tell everyone, just not this way.

Almanzo never forgave himself for doing it either. A twenty five year old man doesn't go around carving his and his sweetheart's initials in the nearest tree he could find.

What was worse was that he hadn't carved their real names in the tree, either.

The initials M + B with a heart around it, was all he managed before he tried to get rid of it, but it didn't matter. No one would know except the two people involved anyway. And it wasn't all that far from the house.

And then again, why shouldn't he have done it? It was the first time Beth told him she loved him, but what was better was that it was the first time Almanzo had finally admitted he loved her out loud.

He stared at the wooden version of the one he made for Laura. He made two holes on top of the heart and threaded the leather string through, tying it up.

He stared at both of them and smiled. Charles and Caroline were supposed to come over for dinner tomorrow night and they were going to surprise their wives with them. He couldn't wait to see Laura's face when she saw...

"Manly, what are you doing out here? Supper's starting to get…."

He turned at the sound of her voice.

"What are you doing out here?" he said, trying to find something to cover the two of them up before she saw it.

"Almanzo, what's this?" she said, holding the two hearts up. "I know CI + CI are my parent's initials, but who are M + B?"

Manly smiled; he wasn't sure if she was kidding or not.

"You really don't know?" he said, putting his arms around her waist.

"I could guess," she said smiling up at him.

"It's a surprise for tomorrow night," he said swaying her back and forth. "Your Pa asked me to make one for your Ma. I decided to make one for us. It just kinda reminded me of the one that I did last year?"

Laura's eyes went wide. "Did you just say it reminded you of the one that you did last year?"

Almanzo smiled, "Is that what I said?"

"Show it to me, please?"

"Beth,"

"Come on, I showed you the one I carved."

"All right," he said, "just promise me you won't laugh."

Laura smiled, "I promise."

Almanzo reached up for the lantern, grabbed her hand and they walked into the woods. This was the first time he'd been over there since he carved it last year.

He picked the lantern up and shone it on the carving.

Laura stared at it. "What are those squiggly lines on the side of it over there?" she said trying not to smile.

Almanzo sighed. "I tried to cross it out," he said, still looking at it.

"You tried to what?" she said, trying to cover her mouth with her hands, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Beth, you promised," he said, smiling in spite of himself and they both started to laugh and they hugged each other.

"Why would you even think to cross it out, Manly?"

"I didn't want anyone else to see it, especially Eliza Jane," he said, "but then I realized that no one would even know who M and B were except you and me."

She pulled away from him and looked in his eyes. "And I'll bet you thought you were too old to do something like that in the first place, didn't you."

He smiled and put his arms around her waist. "Do you always read minds?"

"You're never too old to do anything, Manly. Remember that," she said, looking at him smiling. "And I love you."

"And I love you too, Beth," he told her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Just remember to be surprised tomorrow night."

"I'll remember," she said, putting her arm around his waist. "Let's go, supper's ready and it's getting dark."

Almanzo picked up the lantern and smiled as they walked arm in arm toward the barn.