Hannah jumped up from her seat. “Oh yes, you are! You would have to be out of your mind coming with this crazy plan. Take me back!”
“Nope.”
“Fine, I’ll call someone to come get me.”
“Go ahead.” He dared. Throwing in a shrug for good measure. “Call someone to drive over four hours, to come pick you up here, because to be honest I made really good time driving up here. Then when they get here, they will find you are alone with me in this cabin. Go ahead and do it.”
“Asshole!” she hissed. She went back into the cabin and slammed the door.
This wasn’t going well at all. He had expected her to be upset. However, her use of foul language surprised him. She did have good reason to be upset. Samuel could have been more reasonable. It had been his intention to be, but there was something about her rejecting the idea of marrying him, again, that made him abandon his intention. He wasn’t able to reason with himself. Even though this wasn’t remotely anything like the last time.
He made his way to the kitchen and confirmed that the couple he rented the cabin from had gone above and beyond taking care of his special request of stocking the place with food. It probably had a lot to do with the extra money. Well, it wouldn’t matter. Samuel decided it didn’t feel good getting her this way. No. He was going to drive them back. He found her in the living room, curled up in the corner of the sofa crying.
This was definitely not what he wanted. Bringing her tears of sadness hurt. He sat beside her. “The idea of marrying me was enough to bring you to tears?” The levity of his tone was far from the hurt and sadness he was feeling, but this was the price for setting all of this into motion.
Hannah lifted her head. “What? No. The idea of marrying you doesn’t bother me. There was a time that’s all I could imagine. No, I’m upset because of the circumstances. More so that I have to consider it. Jeremiah made a mockery of our marriage, and you know who was punished for it? Me!” She said, pointing to herself. “They forced me into taking leave. If I don’t marry you, they will blame me for this situation. You will get off unscathed. They’ll probably keep you on as Co-pastor and replace me.”
“I wouldn’t allow that to happen.”
“Oh you couldn’t stop it. The rules have always been different for me. There is a good chance I will still face some scrutiny for marrying you. I’m upset because of the unfairness of it all.”
The conundrum of the situation hit Samuel. He would take her back if she wanted. However, it sounded like the damage of his actions was already done. How could he be so selfish and thoughtless as to put her in a position in which she felt powerless?
“If you want, I will drive you back right now. We can pretend it didn’t happen. I’ll return your bags to the vehicle, then take you back. Grab something to eat. I’ll be ready to go in about twenty.” He instructed.
“My things? What about yours?”
“I think I can benefit from being away. In the morning, I’ll drive back out.”
Hannah reached for a tissue on the end table and dried her face. “That won’t work.” She sniffled. “That will cause all kinds of speculations.”
After this failed attempt, he didn’t want to be around anyone. Time was needed to lick his wounds. He supposed being removed from everyone wouldn’t be an option. “Fine. I won’t come back out here.”
She remained quiet for a while, and he moved to get up from the couch.
“I think we are past that point.” Hannah reasoned out loud. “If we went back, we would have to make up a bunch of reasons. Getting married is the best option. If you are still willing to.”
“It is.” Samuel had a change of heart though. “But I don’t like the idea of you doing something you don’t want to because you feel powerless. I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”
“That’s just it. I don’t feel powerless. The more I think about it, marrying you is a way to take back some power.”
“I don’t think I understand, Hannah.”
“You said you and I could Co-pastor as a team?” She tapped his knee as if asking for confirmation.
“I did. We will be.” He assured her. He would keep his promise to her for the duration of their two-year contract.
“Good! Then let’s get married. I guess we will have to get back home and get my paperwork. Then find someplace to get married.”
Was this really happening? Hannah was on board. He didn’t fully understand her reasoning. He tried to fully make sense of her about turn.
“If I told you we can get married right now, right here. What would you say?”
Confusion marred her expression. Then it cleared. “Of course you’re prepared. You planned this.” In contrast to what he expected, she did not make her declaration with any venom. “Alright, let’s do it.”
ChapterFive
HANNAH
