Tin Angel (30 page)

“That’s a bit of good news, at least. I could tell you had soft spot for her.”

Good news? He wished she was a grifter. At least she’d still be alive, but Ally and Alice were one in the same, and he’d lost them both.

He waited until the pastor left the room, then closed the door behind him before getting down on one knee and taking both of Alice’s ice-cold hands between his own.

“Please don’t leave me,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “I know you’re old and tired, but you’ve got a lot of life left. I know you do. Besides, if you leave me, who’ll play Rachmaninoff?”

A tear ran slowly down his cheek, and he didn’t bother to brush it away. He stared into her old, withered face, relaxed and peaceful now. If it weren’t for the occasional rattle in her chest with each shallow breath, he would think she was merely asleep.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” He squeezed her hands. “If only we could have spent a lifetime together instead of just ten short days.”

Off in the distance, the wail of a siren alerted Jack that the ambulance was near. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Twenty-five or ninety, you’re the most wonderful woman I’ve ever known.”

His throat tightened, but he managed to get out the words he’d been longing to say. “I love you.”

* * *

Alice was afraid to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was Jack’s kiss. She’d wanted to tell him she loved him, but she couldn’t speak. Not only that, she couldn’t feel anything. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. Her ninety-year-old body was full of aches, and feeling no pain was a relief, but something wasn’t right. She risked lifting one lid slightly. A thick fog surrounded her. Where in the world was she? This wasn’t any place she’d ever been before.

Fighting her rising panic, she opened her eyes wide. Clouds of white drifted past her. A sinking feeling took hold. She must be dead!

Slowly, she scanned the area. This couldn’t be hell; it wasn’t hot enough. But if it was heaven, then where were all the other souls? Maybe she was in purgatory? It wouldn’t surprise her if the tin angel had gotten it wrong. She took a small, weightless step forward. Through the mist, a familiar figure emerged. The sparkle of his medals stood out sharply against his uniform.

“Tom?” she gasped.

He opened his arms to her, and she accepted his embrace. He looked just as she remembered, although maybe a bit younger, but then it could be that she was just so much older.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” she whispered against his chest.

“Too much, I suspect.”

She looked up at him in surprise, and he cupped her chin in his hand.

“I loved you.” His voice was deep and rich. “We should have had a life together, but it didn’t work out that way. My journey was short and yours…well, look at you, you’re an old woman. You were blessed, given many years to live a long full life, yet you shut yourself away and did nothing but grieve for a love that could never be.”

She bit back a sob. “It was easier that way. I couldn’t bear to let you go. Besides, no one could ever take your place.”

He held her gaze with deep chocolate eyes. “And I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t have loved another. I think there’s more to it than that. I think you were afraid.”

She pulled back slightly from his embrace. “I couldn’t go through that again. The pain…was just too much.”

“Everyone suffers loss, different degrees of it, but it hurts just the same. It’s part of life, but you shouldn’t stop living to avoid it.”

Alice took a deep, ragged breath. Tom was right. If only she’d met Jack sooner, then she could have had the life she was meant to have
—
with him
—
but it was too late now.

Her lips quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. She’d felt Jack’s love and his grief when he’d spoken to her as she lay dying, and she hoped he wouldn’t make the same mistake she had. He mustn’t give up on life.

“You’re worried about that young man,” Tom stated, seeming to know her thoughts.

Alice nodded.

With a wave of his arm, he parted the fog, and as if she were watching a movie, the scene at her home unfolded.

Sirens cut through the silence of the night. Flashing lights swirled in her driveway. Two men jumped from the back of an ambulance and pulled out a stretcher. A uniformed police officer was talking to Pastor Riley. All of this was as she’d expected. What looked to be chaos was the systematic procedure used when someone reported a death. But where was Jack? Was he still inside? Her stomach contorted into a knot.

She shifted her gaze and was shown her parlor. Jack was on his knees, holding Alice’s hands. His usually ruddy complexion, drained of color, was now a pasty shade quite similar to Alice’s in death. His hair was ruffled as if he’d pulled at it in frustration. A faraway look glazed his eyes.

“I waited my whole life to meet you, and then I blew it. I didn’t trust you.” His tone was flat. “I treated you like a criminal. If I’d believed in you, I wouldn’t have gone on that wild-goose chase to Syracuse. I would have been here with you, where I should have been. Maybe then you’d still be alive. Maybe I could have saved you.” His voice cracked.

Alice wasn’t sure she wanted to listen to any more.

“It’s my fault, and now you’re gone,” he said. Maybe you were right to live your life as you did. You’d found your soul mate, and no matter how short-lived, you carried your love with you your entire life. Best to live alone with your memories than to settle for something less.”

“No, you’re wrong,” she shouted. “Don’t do that. Don’t waste your life. You’ve got so much to offer…so much love to give…”

She turned to Tom. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please, do something. Don’t let him give up on life.”

His dark eyes were remorseful. “There’s nothing I can do. People were given free will. You know that. I can’t change the law.”

She grabbed his hands and squeezed tightly. “Then let me go back.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. It’s too late. You’ve left your mortal body.”

“No one knows that. Look!” She pointed down to where the authorities stood waiting for the E.M.T.’s to carry the stretcher across the lawn. “They haven’t pronounced me dead yet. Only Jack’s in the room.”

Tom cocked a brow at her. “Why now? Wasn’t ninety years enough?”

“No, not nearly. I need ninety more…to be with Jack,” she pleaded.

“Alice, I—”

“Please, help me. I know you can do this. You gave me ten days—promised me a lifetime if I found true love.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the procession of people outside move toward the front door. “Hurry, Tom, hurry. There’s not much time. They’ll be inside any minute now.” She twisted her hands in front of her. “Give me a chance at happiness. Give Jack a chance at happiness. I love him.”

A deafening whirl thundered in her head, and her lungs filled with oxygen. She felt as if she was being sucked from the window of an airplane at ten thousand feet. She spun through an abyss of colors more beautiful than a rainbow.

Then the world went black.

* * *

The old grandfather clock chimed midnight…again. How could that be? It had to be close to one a.m. Jack stroked the back of Alice’s hands with his thumbs, then watched with amazement as her old, withered skin changed into that of a young woman.
I must be dreaming
. He shook his head, trying to bring himself back to reality. The skin beneath his fingers felt warm and smooth, though.

“Get a hold of yourself, man, or you’re destined for the loony bin.” He watched, transfixed, as strands of long gray hair become a glistening rich, chestnut. While only a moment ago her lips had been the odd pale color that only death could bring, now they were rosy.

Gently, he touched her mouth, and her soft, even breath caressed his finger. “Ally?” A tear rolled slowly from the corner of his eye. He didn’t care if he had lost his mind; he wanted this hallucination to last forever. “You’re back.”

She was more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. He covered her lips with his own and kissed her with all the passion of a man deeply in love. As if he’d willed her to life, she kissed him back. Her intensity matched his own, and she curved her arms around his neck, holding him close.

He watched her marvelous gray eyes open. “Jack, I…” she murmured.

“Shhh.” He silenced her with another kiss, then drew back and said, “Don’t talk; I don’t want this dream to go away.”

She moved her lips across the side of his face to whisper in his ear, “It’s no dream, my love. I’m real, very real, and here to spend my life with you.”

He widened his gaze, staring at her gorgeous face. “But I don’t understand… How?”

She kissed his neck. “It doesn’t matter. We were destined to be together.” She turned her gaze upward and whispered, “Thank you, Tom.” Before directing her stare back to Jack, it settled on the Venus statue, glistening on the table beside her. “Where did you find it?” she asked, tears filling her eyes.

“Taryn and Ross—I doubt those are even their real names—are grifters.”

She shook her head sadly. “I was so easy to fool, having shut myself away for so long. I’m going to need your help, Jack, navigating this new world.” Just as she finished speaking, the front door burst open, and an onslaught of people flooded inside.

When Pastor Riley entered the parlor, his jaw dropped open. “What the heck?” Where’s Alice?”

Jack winked at her and then turned to the pastor. “Do you believe in miracles?”

Pastor Riley stared at the young woman in Jack’s arms. “Of course.”

“Then you know Alice is right where she belongs,” Jack said with a huge grin.

As if he knew their secret, Pastor Riley turned to the group waiting in the foyer. “Looks like it’s a false alarm, folks.”

When the front door closed and they were once again alone, Jack covered her mouth with a long lingering kiss. When their lips parted, he held her out at arm’s length. “I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight.”

Her smile radiated more warmth than the sun on a bright summer day. “You’d better not. Not now or ever.”

Christmas Eve, one year later

Alice hung the silver bell on the Christmas tree. She stood back and admired the shiny ornament engraved with her wedding date.

“I can’t believe we were married this morning.”

“Believe it, Mrs. Billings, it’s true.” Jack wrapped his arms around her, pushing aside the strap of her silk nightgown.

It hung loosely on her arm. With his finger, he lifted the other one. The bodice clung to her breasts. Any movement would have it falling around her feet.

“And you were an absolutely beautiful bride.” He kissed the side of her neck. A tingle ran all the way down to her toes.

They’d taken a year to plan the wedding, sparing no detail. They were married by Pastor Riley, and the entire congregation attended their ceremony. Everyone assumed Alice had decided to stay in Syracuse with her brother, eliminating the need for any more tales. Only the pastor knew the truth.

Jack brushed her hair away from her face. He touched her trembling lips with a soft kiss. Her legs went weak, and she curled her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. His kiss deepened, his tongue flicking over hers. She was hungry for love, hungry for her husband. His hands slipped slowly over her body, with a promise of things to come.