Embers of Love,
The Christmas Log
. . . It is the week before Christmas and the lives of three troubled people are forever changed by some unexpected heavenly intervention when they purchase an artificial Yule log at their neighborhood convenience store.
. . . Joe Wilson is contemplating suicide after driving his pregnant wife from the house in a spate of alcoholic-induced abuse, but takes pause when he notices that the small log she had lit to cheer their modest home has been inexplicably burning on and off for days. It’s nothing but a drunken hallucination, Joe tells himself hopelessly, but then he sees the light.
. . . Helen Tanner, a bitter and tragically scarred woman, doubts her sanity as the mysterious glow of her Christmas log seems to work incredible magic. Is it merely wishful thinking? she wonders. Or can miracles really happen?
. . . Tom Banes has sunk to the lowest point of his life, yet spends his last four dollars on a single Yule log to warm the home of an elderly neighbor. It’s the least he can do to repay her for caring about him when no one else ever has. But the New Year brings renewed hope his way, along with a very special gift.