Resurrecting Harry

by Phillips, Constance

  “What made you go to estate? To talk to Gail?”

  As they continued their walk, Bess recounted each and every event from the moment she’d left him standing in the park, until he’d found her at the Cooper’s. She waited until they were alone back in the hotel room to ask the question that he guessed weighed the heaviest on her mind. “How and why are you here?”

  He supposed she wanted all the complicated details. Ones he didn’t know how to explain. The kernel of truth was simple, though. “I’m here because of Harry’s will.”

  She fidgeted and then paced the room for a moment. He suspected she was taking time to choose her words instead of letting her heart spew. “Why do you say Harry’s? Aren’t his and your will the same?”

  Erich lowered himself to the edge of the bed. “No. It was Harry’s desperation to get back to you that instigated his deal with Jaden. He put Harry’s soul in my body, animated it and set it down next to you. Even with all his memories and feelings, from that first moment, it was like there were two different people inside of me. I’m not Harry, but I’ve learned from his mistakes, his success, his time and these experiences.”

  “But you thirst for danger.”

  He shook his head and pushed his fingers through his short hair. “I enjoy the skills he mastered, but I don’t crave a spotlight. I do understand his hunger. His memories are as real as my own, and you’ve misjudged him.”

  Bess twisted her heel into the floor and crossed her arms in front of her. “Don’t stand there and say Harry didn’t yearn for the crowd’s applause.”

  “I won’t lie to you. Not ever. But you don’t understand what drove his desires. Both of you knew great struggles. He went to work at a tender age, to compensate for what his father couldn’t provide and never wanted to fail you like that, Bess. He took the stage when he was bone tired — or deathly ill — because not doing so put your future at risk. He loved you from his heart to the bottom of his soul. Your welfare and succeeding for you, was always at the forefront of his mind. Always.”

  “His mind? His soul? Don’t you share these things?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” Erich exhaled and stood. He could really use Jaden’s help now. Reaching out, he hoped she’d give him her hand. She complied, and he kissed her knuckles. “I guess our souls are one in the same, but his memories are a distant past, one I feel removed from.”

  Bess hesitated, eyed him up and down, and he couldn’t blame her. The last year had been Hell, and she used the time for careful examination of her life with Harry. A moment passed, and then she inched closer and slid her arms around his waist. “You were so kind to Martin at the hospital.”

  “We’ve reached an understanding.”

  “Forgive me if I’m confused.”

  He smiled, leaned in and brushed her lips with his own. “At first I harbored all the ill will Harry died with. I clung to it. His suspicion that everyone would want to cash in on his fame breathed within me, and finding out Martin was so much a part of your plans confirmed those fears. Watching you mourn and understanding your pain, I began to see inside Martin’s. He explained to me Gail’s need to make a place for herself in this town. I understand Harry’s anger and hurt, but time has passed — a lot of it. And I’ve also learned that life is just too short for resentment and hate, especially when it’s misdirected.”

  “Grieving is hard. I hope it isn’t something Martin has to endure again.”

  “We have to have faith that Martin and the other doctors can help her.” Erich laid his hand against her cheek. “Can you love me, Bess, now that you know the truth?”

  “As hard as it is to imagine going back, there’s no way I can move forward without you.”

  “I’ve learned from my mistakes, and that’s the truth. You are the only dream I want to chase. No spotlights. No screaming crowds.”

  “Just go back east and what?”

  “Live the remainder of our days together. And maybe open a little diner of our own?”

  Bess laughed. “You always hated manual labor.”

  “Harry did. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t thrilled at first, but I like the interaction with people, and I like the idea of working together. Face it, we do it well.”

  Her whole face lit up with her smile, and even though her eyes were glassy with tears, he had no doubt they were tears of joy. “I love the idea.”

  He leaned in, laying his forehead against hers. “But we should wait and see what happens with Gail. Martin may need some of the same support he’s shown you this past year.”

  “It’s going to take a while for me to get used to all the changes,” Bess said.

  He brushed his lips to hers and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I plan to spend the rest of our lives surprising you and keeping every single promise I’ve made.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  When Erich escorted Bess into Gail’s hospital room this time, he held her hand and tried to ignore they were being escorted by the police. From the moment Stanley had said Martin sent for them, Erich feared the worst. If Gail had lost her battle, it would devastate both Bess and Martin, neither of which deserved any more pain. His reunion with Bess would be tainted if they celebrated in the shadow of Martin’s grief, and Erich would forever regret his actions if he never got the chance to make amends for the things he’d said to Gail because of Harry’s memories.

  In the room, they found Gail semi-alert. The weight lifted from his shoulders, he smiled. Bess’s hand slipped away, and she went to the other woman’s bedside. “Oh, thank the Heavens. You’re doing better.”

  Gail’s eyes fluttered as she opened her mouth and reached to Bess. However, no voice emerged.

  Martin touched his wife’s cheek. “It’s okay, honey, your voice will come back.” He turned to Erich. “You were right about the licorice root tea. Its taste is strong enough to hide Oleander.”

  “You found it in the sample from the flask?”

  “Eventually, but we had to work in reverse. It would have taken forever to test the sample for everything it could have been. We sent a lab technician out to the estate to make a list of poisonous plants on my property. They started by searching the garden shed and found a small jar of dried Oleander. It’s highly toxic, but has a very distinct odor and taste. That’s why he needed something with a unique smell – the licorice root.”

  “Dear Heavens,” Bess said. “I still can’t believe it. He was so kind while caring for Erich.”

  “With Louise too. He had all the components of a good doctor: smart, resourceful, caring.”

  Erich watched Gail. Her eyes filled with sadness, and she tilted her gaze away from the conversation. He had more in common with this woman than he’d ever realized before. They both would always share the heart of the person they loved with a ghost. Erich had somehow made peace with that in the last day; maybe he could help Gail do the same.

  He sat on the edge of her bed and laid his hand on the blankets covering her legs. “You don’t need to feel threatened by the fact he’s loved before, Gail. All that shows is that he has the capacity to do so.”

  Gail lifted her gaze, meeting Erich’s eyes for the first time since he’d walked in the room.

  “I know it’s hard. You sort of feel like you have to compete with a ghost, or at least that’s how I felt at first. But I realize now I was wrong…about a lot of things. Just because Bess loved Harry, that doesn’t mean she can’t love me too. Martin loves you, Gail, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

  Her lips parted as if she was going to try and speak, but she clamped them shut and covered his hand with hers, squeezing it tight to show her appreciation.

  “There’s something else. I owe you an apology. I judged you — and your husband too — and for no other reason than idle gossip and misrepresented tales. I’ve said some pretty nasty things to the two of you, and I had no right.”

  Martin said, “I think there’s plenty of regret to go around. We’ve all let ourselves be guided by past
angers and hurt. I’d like to try and let it go and move forward, start anew if that’s possible.” Martin extended his hand, and Erich hesitated before he gripped it.

  As his fingers closed around the other man’s hand, a pang from the past tapped his heart and his mind. It was that piece of Harry that still tumbled around inside him, remembering the touch of a dear friend.

  ***

  Erich fought to keep his eyes open as the clickety-clack of the train rolling down the tracks lulled him toward sleep. It had already worked its magic on Bess, and she slumbered against his chest. This moment — one Harry had experienced time and again as they had criss-crossed the country — was now somehow sweeter. Moments like this would not be ignored. Life. Love. Family. They were the precious moments.

  In the days after her ordeal with Joseph, Bess found peace. Together, they shipped the remainder of Harry’s stage props to the founding museum, and upon her insistence, they sold the car to a young couple just embarking on a life together. As the two of them drove off in what had been a part of her past with Harry, Bess commented that the young lovebirds reminded her of the two of them.

  He had a second chance at life with Bess. There were no regrets.

  One by one the other passengers who had shared the car got up and moved.

  Were he and Bess the only ones who thought the expense of a sleeper car was too lavish?

  He dismissed it, blessed to have this time alone with his bride-to-be. His heart still beat like mad when he recalled the moment she’d agreed to a private, family ceremony once they arrived in New York.

  From the corner of his eye he saw a man wearing an all-white suit push himself to his feet. The great height and long black hair registered, it must be Jaden. Erich shifted his weight and readied himself to welcome one more conversation, but surprisingly Jaden knelt in front of Bess and touched her knee. She startled awake, and his voice came soft and reassuring, unlike the brash thunder it had been for Erich.

  “It’s all right, Bess. I didn’t mean to wake you, but there is something I need you to know.”

  She stretched her back and rubbed her eyes, as if she couldn’t quite discern whether or not this was a dream. Her glance shot to Erich then back to the man in front of her. “You’re Jaden? My guardian angel?”

  He laughed, full and rich — this was the entity Erich was used to. “Yes, I’m Jaden, but I’m not an angel — guardian or otherwise. I’m the gatekeeper between purgatory and a soul’s ever-after. I bended a few rules so the two of you could reunite, but that’s my prerogative. Harry’s soul still had too much to learn to be put to rest.”

  “I guess I can’t argue with that,” Erich said as he looped his arm through Bess’s .

  Jaden let the remark slide without comment. He was here for Bess. “You’ve been on a rough road, but it wasn’t in vein. Your soul learned several lessons too, but I hope with Erich’s help, you comprehended the biggest one.”

  “That I can be self-sufficient.”

  Jaden nodded. “But thankfully, you won’t have to be.” A sly smile played across the man’s face. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

  “He better not,” Bess said with a chuckle.

  Jaden let his hand brush her stomach. “No. The child you carry needs two parents, and it will have them both for quite some time.”

  “A baby...but I’m beyond—” Her hands began to tremble, and Erich wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her tight to his.

  “No, you’re not,” he whispered. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother, and I’m going to be right by your side.”

  Jaden spoke again. “These last few weeks have been a journey, and I hope the road taught you that hatred stirs up dissention, but love covers up all wrongs.”

  “Where have I heard that before?” Erich asked.

  “The book of Proverbs,” Bess answered.

  “That’s right. And with that knowledge you won’t fail, not as a union nor a family. There was no point in any of this, Bess, if we couldn’t address your one regret. What Erich says is true. Only a piece of Harry remains within him, and that will be passed on.”

  “Thank you, Jaden,” Erich said. “For another chance, the lessons learned and the new life to live. None of it will be lost on me.”

  For the first time since appearing on the train, Jaden met Erich’s eyes. “I know.” Jaden then turned back to Bess. “Are you happy?”

  She wiped a tear away and leaned forward, kissing Jaden’s cheek, “Beyond words.”

  “Then I think I’m done here.”

  As he righted himself and walked up the aisle and through the door to the next car, Erich squeezed Bess tighter. “I can’t find the words to express how happy I am. I promise this time around I won’t fail you or our child.”

  “So many promises, Mr. Welch,” she teased.

  “And I intend to keep every single one.”

  “I don’t doubt it for a minute.”

  Bess closed her eyes again and curled into his shoulder. He held her tight and watched the lights of the city beyond his window whiz by. A lifetime was a brief moment in the grand scheme – a single grain of sand on an expansive beach. Not everyone would be as lucky as he, and he’d never again take for granted the lessons learned or the second chance that came from resurrecting Harry.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to everyone who encouraged and supported me with the book from conception to publication: My husband, Brad Phillips; my children, Josh and Katelynn Phillips; my fellow MVRWA members and the B-I-C crew.

  Thank you to Sloan Parker and Tracy Madison, for their time spent critiquing the manuscript and encouraging me on my path.

  Thank you to some of my biggest cheerleaders, your support has meant the world to me: Shay Lacy, Jill Kemerer, Jenna Rutland, PM Kavanaugh, Kristina Knight, Jayne Kingston, Ray Wenck, Josh Hathaway, Justene Adamec, Cathy Stein, Sagan Arp, Mackenzie Bensch, Geri Call, Gloria Hakala, Mom, and Dad.

  Thank you to Steph Murray and Marlene Castricato of Crescent Moon Press for giving Resurrecting Harry a home and to my editor, Sheldon Reid, for helping to make it the best book possible.

  About the Author

  Constance Phillips lives in Ohio with her husband, two ready-to-leave-the-nest children, and four canine kids. Her perfect fantasy vacation would involve hunting Dracula across Europe with her daughter, who also digs that kind of stuff. When she's not writing about fairies, shifters, vamps, and guardian angels, she's working side-by-side with her husband in their hardwood flooring business.

  Constance is actively involved in her local Romance Writers of America chapter (MVRWA) and the Southeast Michigan chapter of the United States Pony Club. When not writing or enjoying the outdoors, she loves reality television or can be found at a Rick Springfield concert (just look for the pink Converse high tops).

  Constance blogs regularly at www.constancephillips.com. You can also follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.