Time to Remember

The first time someone pointed a gun at me, I was still holding a stethoscope.

I’ve faced life-and-death situations before — I’m a doctor. Pressure is part of the job. But nothing prepared me for the moment I walked into an exam room expecting an emergency… and found myself staring down the barrel of a weapon.

And somehow, that wasn’t even the worst part of the day.

Outside the hospital walls, reporters are swarming Holly Well Springs. Magazine covers accuse James and his brothers of betrayal. Headlines scream scandal. And the Love at Christmas festival — meant to celebrate joy and devotion — is now overshadowed by my fiancé’s father trying to drag this town through the mud.

James wants to shield me from it all.

But I didn’t fall in love with Holly Well Springs because it was easy. I fell in love with it because it was worth protecting.

As the media storm grows louder and secrets about the Well and its magical origins are finally laid bare before me, I’m forced to make a choice.

Do I hold on to logic…

Or do I trust the man I love and the calling that brought me here?

Because loving James doesn’t just mean standing beside him at festivals and council meetings.

It means standing firm when the world is watching.

And this time, the battle isn’t hidden in the shadows.

It’s happening in plain sight.