"Never Gone For Long"
"Kris! Come here!" Both Kris and Junior heard as they reentered Raintree holding hands.
They both ran over to the practice racing track where Matt had been waving his arms and yelling Kris' name. "What is it Matt?" Kris said, stopping in front of him and another unfamiliar man.
"Kris, I'd like to introduce you to Joe Parker. Mr. Parker, this is the famous Kris Furillo," Matt introduced them.
The strange older man wearing an expensive black suit shook Kris' hand as she said, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Parker."
"Oh please, call me Joe," the man said, pulling his hand back and wiping it on his dress pants.
"What's this all about, Matt?" Junior asked as he slipped his arm around Kris' waist. Matt smiled inwardly since he figured that everything was back to normal with Kris and Junior. He was glad that everything was at peace and Kris would be able to function once again.
"Well, Joe here is a big time racing expert and he wants Flame and five other horses to race in the Dupoint Stakes (A/N: I couldn't think of another horse race for the life of me so I just used this one)," Matt explained excitedly. Having that many Raintree horses in this race would give them a huge opportunity and Matt was thrilled about it.
"All at my expense of course, " Joe said, placing his hand on his chest flawlessly.
"Oh my gosh! That is awesome!" Kris shrieked.
"Oh but that's not all. I want you to be our leading rider, Kris. After all, you are one of the best," Joe stated as he finally allowed a smile to pass his lips.
Kris' mouth dropped; she was so excited. "That's fantastic, Kris!" Junior proclaimed happily as he hugged his fiancé.
Kris pulled away from Junior and her smile faded instantly. "The race is in two weeks," she said blandly.
"What's the problem with that?" Joe asked after he heard Kris' tone.
"Didn't Matt tell you what happened to me?" Kris asked sharply.
"Not yet Kris. But I'm sure you'll be fine by then," Matt said.
"Tell that to Jean," Kris said coldly. Junior just stared blankly at the love of his life. He had never seen her act this way. Especially when they were talking about horse racing. She loved being a jockey more than anything and when she lost her jockey's license, it nearly tore her apart. Now that she finally had her license back, he was in complete awe that she would be acting this way currently.
"I'm sorry. What's going on here? Are you or are you not going to ride?" Joe asked the crowd of people, getting straight to the point.
Matt and Junior both answered loudly at the same time, "Yes."
Junior backed up from all three men, raised her arms in the air and said, "You know how badly I want this. But I don't think I'm ready yet. I'm really sorry Mr. Parker. Please don't pull Raintree though." She felt a hot tear roll down her cheek so she turned and ran away from them.
Joe turned to the remaining two and confusedly said, "What just happened?"
"Matt, explain our dilemma and I'll go talk to Kris. Okay?" Junior stated. Matt shook his head at a fleeing Junior who went following in Kris' direction.
"Kris!" Junior looked everywhere for Kris but couldn't find her anywhere. He looked in the Ritter's house but she wasn't there. He looked in Wildfire's stall where he thought she most definitely would be, but again she wasn't there. He looked in his own large mansion but knew deep down she wouldn't run off there. It was as if she disappeared. Suddenly, Junior realized where she would be and he wondered why hadn't he realized that before.
He slowly stepped up onto the hill that overlooked both Raintree and Davis Farms – the place he just proposed again. "Kris? Are you here?" he called out gingerly. He walked up farther and found Kris sitting behind a large rock, hugging her knees close to her chest. "Kris, come on, what's wrong?" he asked her as he stood above her.
Kris looked up at a concerned Junior, who then sat down next to her. "I'm not ready to race again."
"Why?" Junior asked her.
"Because I'm the one who caused Nosering to fall in the first place," Kris lied.
"You know that's not true at all, Kris. Now come on, what's the real reason?" Junior said.
Kris bit her lip for she knew Junior could tell when she was lying. He knew her all too well and she really loved that about Junior. "It hurts," she simply answered.
"What hurts? Racing?" he quickly asked, trying to clear up his confusion.
"Just walking. Breathing, running. Everything hurts," she said as she dug her face into her knees.
"What do you mean? Are you still injured?" Junior asked, scared that something was wrong with her again and that he would have to endure more pain.
"No. Not that at all." She stopped to take a deep breath. "Before I fell off Nosering and went into that coma I…" she began before her tears interrupted her and she couldn't speak anymore.
"You what honey?" Junior asked as he slipped his arm around Kris' shoulder, drawing her closer to him.
"I was pregnant," she quickly announced.
Junior was stunned. Had he really heard what he thought she said? "What do you mean?"
"I was about a month pregnant. With yours of course," she explained through her tears.
Junior had no idea what to say; he never imagined that could happen. Well, he knew that could happen but he never thought about it happening until after they got married. He scratched his head as if he were trying to get the gears in his brain to work again. Finally he found the words to say, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to wait until after the wedding. Tell you on our honeymoon or something. But then the accident," she answered him.
"So you're…" he trailed off, not knowing how he would word what he was trying to say.
"Not anymore. Apparently the world is trying to save a kid form having a mother like me," Kris bellowed.
"Look at me," Junior said, holding her hands in his," it's not your fault. You would be a great mother. But sometimes, things just happen. Even when we don't want them to."
Kris wrapped her arms around Junior's neck and sobbed into his cotton shirt. After they pulled apart, Junior said, "What does this have to do with not racing?"
She pulled her hair back as she said, "I'm just too upset to race."
"Hey, we can still have a baby. It takes time though. But you love being a jockey. Probably more than you love me. But you can't let a chance like this go by. If you were riding Flame, the two of you would win," Junior said kindly but honestly.
"I know, but-" she began before being interrupted by Junior when he heard her say but.
"But nothing. If you love racing, then race. If you love me, then race. But if you say you really don't want to race, then it's almost like you're saying you don't love me."
"I do want to race. But I don' know if I can," she explained.
"Kris, I know you can. Matt knows you can. For crying out loud, that Joe guy said you were the best!" Junior nearly shouted.
"That was kind of nice to hear," Kris admitted, a slight smile appearing on her lips.
"See! You love racing. You didn't get your license back just to pass up and opportunity like this!" Junior shouted happily while jumping up.
"You're right! I will! Flame and me! This is so exciting!" Kris announced as she jumped up and jumped into Junior's arms.
"That's my girl," he whispered into her ear.
They walked back down the hill and went to tell Joe Parker that she would gladly race. Joe was very happy and left to go and tend to some other business. "7:00 practice tomorrow morning. Do you think you'll be okay for that?"
"I'll be fine, it's perfect. It's the best time for a practice," Kris explained with a smile.
After she talked to Matt about strategies and who the other horses that were going to be in the races would be, Kris ran out the Ritter's front door and stopped in the front yard. Junior stood on the porch as he watched the love of his life raise her arms up, lift her head to the sky and scream, "I'M BACK!"
A/N: So I hope you at least liked this chapter. I figured it was about time I get some races in the story. I only got a few reviews for the last chapter and it made me sad. So I really want a bunch this time since I love to hear what you all think. So please please please please review for me. I would like at least five reviews before I post the next chapter. So, hit that button and review!!
