Chapter 4
After almost an hour in the car, they still had two and a half hours to get to their destination. Hannah had dozed off forty minutes into the drive. Samuel still couldn’t believe how easy it had been to get her to agree to this trip. Okay, he may have neglected to share some details of their getaway. However, he would cross that bridge when they arrived at it. He had to be wise about how he handled everything. Things had been going well the last few days. They had been meeting up to have discussions about their vision for the ministry. While Hannah was more conservative leaning, he found she was far more open-minded than he thought she would be. She had a heart for all the flock. No matter their background.
The meetings had been going so well, Samuel had suggested the idea of the retreat ahead of the schedule he had planned. She agreed immediately, but more importantly, with minimal questions. He had breathed a sigh of relief. He would never lie to her. However, he wasn’t above withholding information she hadn’t asked about.
He”d planned and prepared for their trip?—
Hannah let out a little yawn. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I should be up keeping you company.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s all good. You obviously need the rest.”
“Trust me, I have done lots of resting the last few months. Even after I had a great night’s sleep last night. I think it was the combination of the classical music and the motion of the car.”
“If you would like to change the music. Feel free.” Samuel offered.
“No, it’s okay. The music is enjoyable. I wish I could help you drive. I should have taken my dad up on his proposal when he offered to teach me to drive a manual.”
“Again. It’s no problem. I find driving relaxing.”
“Would you like a snack or something to drink?”
“Sure, some water would be great.” Hannah had been kind enough to pack a cooler with some snacks and drinks. She was so thoughtful. Not only did she get him a bottle, but she also opened it for him as well.
“Hey, do you still play instruments?” She asked.
“I do. Mostly the guitar and piano.”
“I hope you didn’t give up the violin. You play it so beautifully.”
“I still play the violin. I brought it with me. It’s back there somewhere.”
Hannah declined his inquiry about stopping for lunch, as she was eager to reach their destination. However, at his insistence, she did have some fruit.
“It’s beautiful out this way.” Hannah mused.
“Mm.” He answered as he navigated the long road to the cabin. When they finally drove past the gate leading to the cabin, Samuel sent up a prayer that his plan would be successful. It was a pretty bold move considering he set all of this in motion with the thought, ‘it was better to ask for forgiveness than to ask permission’.
“Okay, we are here.” He announced as he stopped in front of the cabin.
“Oh good. I need to go to the washroom.” She was already opening the door. He smiled at her action, but as he came around to her side of the vehicle, he grinned as she fidgeted, doing the adult equivalent of the pee-pee dance. He’d seen his niece and nephew do it.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
He used the code the owner had sent him to open the door. “If I remember correctly, the powder room should be…” Opening up the first door on the left, “…here.” She rushed past him, into the washroom, and shut the door.
“While you are in there. I will unpack the SUV.”
Samuel made quick work of unloading their bags. On his final trip, he found Hannah standing in the foyer. “This place is beautiful. Let me help you finish unloading.”
“I’m all done. Why don’t you decide which room you’d like, and I’ll put your bag in there.”
Hannah laughed. “So, we are just going to take whatever rooms we want because we beat everyone else up here.”
It’s time to man up. “No.” Don’t drag this out. Rip it off like a band aid. “It will just be us.”
Hannah’s smile crumbled. Thank goodness he had the sense not to laugh as her expression transformed into the little guy from that eighties show. Even her comment was very much like his catchphrase. “What are you talking about, Samuel?”
“No one else will be joining us. This cabin is ours for the next several days.”
She placed her hands on her hips. Her tone was so frosty it dropped the temperature in the room. “But you said we were going on a retreat.”
“We are on a retreat.”
“Not alone. In this cabin. With no one else around! You said—” Her words died on her tongue as the realisation hit her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. “Lord, how did I let you trick me?!”
“Now, Hannah, I didn’t trick you. I suggested we get away from everything. I believe my exact words were. ‘We should get away on a leadership retreat.’ Isn’t that what I said?”
Her hands dropped from her hips as she marched towards him. She poked him in his chest, hard, sending a nasty glare his way. “Are you insane? You call us— being away, alone! In a cabin, a leadership retreat!?” The screech she let out was enough to pierce his eardrums.
“Take. Me. Back. Now.”
“Now Hannah?—”
She poked him again. This time, it was harder.
“Ouch. I just drove for almost four hours. There is no way I will be repeating that drive anytime soon.”
“You are impossible!” Hannah screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. She stomped away from him. Then left the cabin in a huff. He gave her a moment. Looking out the window, he could see her sitting on the top stairs of the porch.
Samuel hadn’t lied to Hannah, nor said anything, or led her to believe there would be other people joining them on the leadership retreat. However, he was aware she had that impression, and he did nothing to correct it. He grabbed a bottle of water and joined her on the stoop. Sitting beside her, he remained silent. Hannah didn’t acknowledge his presence. She looked ahead into the woods. The offering of the bottle of water was refused as she pushed it away.
After a few moments, she finally spoke. “How could you put us in such a position? Me, in such a position?” She turned and looked at him. For the first time since he thought up his plan Samuel had a moment of pause. “We are two unmarried people alone in a cabin. It will cause a scandal!”
“We don’t have to be unmarried.”
She swung her head so quickly he feared she would get whiplash. “I couldn’t possibly have heard you correctly. Tell me you didn’t say what I thought you did.”
“You heard me correctly.” He sounded calm, but he was far from it. “If you are so concerned about the scandal of this situation. We can get married.”
“You and I?” She shook her head not waiting for an answer. She placed her hand on his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you were unwell?”
“What? I’m not sick.” He answered in confusion.
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.”