«Walking the Dead to Heaven» by Barbara Pleasant

In a paranormal romance story, Stacy Winters falls from a ladder at work, hits her head, and dies. The store manager gives her CPR and brings her back. She wakes no longer as Stacy Winters, but in a strange parallel world, with the new name of Ellen Moore and to her horror, no memory of ever having a life in this new world. Ezekiel is a soul gatherer being punished for the terrible sin of throwing away his precious gift of life by committing suicide. His assignment as soul gatherer was to help Stacy’s soul out of her dead body and escort her to heaven. However, when she was brought back to life, her life’s clock was reset. Ezekiel now waits for her new life’s clock to run down, but something has happened. While Ezekiel watched Stacy from afar, he fell in love with her. Ellen notices an incredibly handsome man watching her who is always dressed in black. She suspects who he is and is sure when she sees Ezekiel on the street helping a soul out of his dead body. She later confronts him with the knowledge. He admits he is a soul gatherer and works for heaven, hoping to gain absolution for his sin. Ellen and Ezekiel continue to meet and become friends, even though Ezekiel knows contact between a spirit from his world and a mortal in this world is forbidden. Their relationship grows and they begin to wish for the impossible, a life together.