"Come and Get It"
Gasping for air, Kris said, "Sorry I'm late, Matt."
"No problem." Matt could tell that something was wrong with Kris since he knew her so well. But the only problem was he didn't know how to ask her what was wrong without Kris avoiding the question. All he could come up with was, "Let's go work Flame."
While Kris was riding Flame, all she could think of was Junior and how Junior gave Flame to her. Flame was so special to both Kris and Junior and she couldn't help but feel like a terrible person for not giving Junior and answer to his proposal. "That was a great run! His best time yet," Matt exclaimed with joy when Kris jumped off the horse.
"Snapping out of her train of flashbacks, Kris smiled and said, "What can you expect from the son of a champ?" They both laughed as they walked off together. Just then, Pablo and Jean came running up to Kris and Matt.
"Kris! Kris!" they shouted simultaneously.
"What is it?" Kris asked as the two approached them.
"Guess who I just got off the phone with?" Jean said excitedly.
"Who?" Kris and Matt both said at the same time, equally curious to know who it was.
"Well, Jean and I were talking about what's best for training Flame," Pablo began, "when the phone rang."
"Kris, the racing board wants another meeting with you to reinstate your jockey's license," Jean said, unable to hold in the great news any longer.
"What?" Kris said, bursting with excitement. "Why?"
"Well, as far as Mr. Howard said, Ken Davis called and explained why Senator Nickels made that initial phone call to keep you from getting your license back and the board didn't think it was a good enough reason. So they want another meeting," Jean explained.
"Ken Davis?" Matt asked. "Are you sure?"
Pablo looked confused, "Yeah, why?"
Both Matt and Kris were in awe as they looked at each other. That was completely out of Ken Davis' character to actually help out Kris, someone he despised the most.
After all the excitement, Kris and Matt went over to Davis Farms. Kris wanted to talk to Ken and she needed some support.
Ding-Dong. Junior came rushing to the door. When he opened the door and caught a glimpse of Kris' face, he began saying, "Kris, I'm glad you finally decided to-" but then stopped as the sight of Matt standing next to her made him redirect his sentence. "What's up?"
As Matt and Kris were allowed into the Davis mansion, Kris said, "Is your dad here?"
"Uh…yeah, why?" Junior said.
"I have to ask hi something," Kris answered simply.
"He's in his office, I think," Junior said, pointing towards his father's office. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah. I'll be right back guys," she said as she disappeared down the hallway.
Junior looked at Matt and said, "What's that about?"
"Apparently your dad called the racing board and said that Senator Nickels called under false intentions and Kris might be able to get her license back now."
"My dad?" Junior asked, completely taken aback by what Matt just informed him of.
Kris knocked on the office door lightly and entered before hearing a response. Looking up from his paperwork was an aging, headstrong man who looked like he had been expecting her. "Kris?" he said, acting like he was surprised she was standing in his office.
"Hi Mr. Davis," Kris began. Getting straight to the point, she continued by saying, "Listen, I heard you called the racing board and fixed things for me. So I wanted to thank you. But I was just wondering why you did it."
Ken sighed and signaled for her to sit down. After she was seated in a chair he said, "I didn't want you to find out about that."
"But why did you do it? I never thought you liked me much in the past."
"I don't. And I didn't do it for you," Ken began. "Look," he said, leaning forward on the cherry wood desk, "for some reason Junior loves you and won't let go of you no matter what I say or do. And I also know how you are. You won't be able to do anything with my son while you are preoccupied without racing." He paused to recollect his thoughts. "Junior needs to know that I respect him for choosing you and tha ti respect you. So I am trying to correct my past and start fresh with you. After all, you are in love with my son."
Kris smiled. "Well, I appreciate it greatly."
"Don't thank me yet. Thank me if and when you get your jockey's license back."
As Kris stood up to leave the room, Ken stopped her by saying, "Oh, and Kris. You need to give him an answer. He loves you more than life itself and it kills him to not have an answer from you."
Feeling more pressure upon her, she nodded slightly signifying she knew what he was saying and left the room. Rubbing her palms together, Kris walked into the kitchen where her two favorite boys from Freemont were chatting.
"How'd it go?" Matt asked.
"Good. Better than I anticipated actually," she answered.
"So my dad, of all people, is helping you get your license back? What's his ulterior motive?" Junior asked.
Kris shrugged her shoulders and said, " Maybe he's growing to like me." Both boys looked at each other in disbelief and they walked toward the front door.
"Want to get back to Raintree?" Matt proposed.
"I'm actually going to check on Wildfire first. If that's alright, of course," Kris stated.
Parting ways, Kris stepped in sight of wildfire and grinned. Stroking his thick fur calmed her somehow. "Oh Wildfire, what do I do? I love Junior so much, I really do. But I don't want him to get mixed up in my ugly past. It can destroy people. And he is just setting himself up for disaster." She paused to gently kiss Wildfire's snout. "You are so lucky you're a horse."
After spending a little while longer with Wildfire, Kris left he stable and bumped into Junior. "Have a nice talk?" he asked.
Looking confused in an awkward situation, Kris had no words. "I was talking about Wildfire," Junior clarified.
"Oh, him!" Kris said loudly. "Yeah, he always makes everything better," she said, finding her normal volume once again.
Standing in silence for a moment, Kris finally said, "I have to buy a bus ticket."
Hearing these words made Junior's face dropped, all of his emotions surfacing. "Wha-what?" he shuddered, holding back his tears.
"Well, my brother has to be at my wedding."
Finally, color came back into Junior's face and he smiled greatly. He picked her off her feet and swung her around. Laughing together, their lips meet in a passionate kiss and stayed connected for a long while. When Junior broke free, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box and removed the large diamond ring, slipping it on her finger. "You really scared me there," Junior informed his fiancé.
"That was the plan," Kris said as she grabbed Junior's cheeks and kissed him more.
