Kris lay there, curled up in a ball on the hospital bed, for the next three days. Eventually Pablo came in and talked to her. It was a comfort to have him there, but she couldn't talk back. All she could do was just lay there with her eyes closed, the words, "Junior is dead" flashing through her aching head every few seconds.
After a few minutes-or maybe it was a few hours, there was no difference anymore-he stepped out of the room to call everyone at Raintree. Matt had been planning on working with some of his horses that morning, but instead he and Jean came to the hospital to see Kris. Even they couldn't make her feel any better.
None of them bothered telling her what had happened. It was obvious that she already knew.
For the next three days, nothing changed. Even though someone was always there with Kris, she could never bring herself to say a word to anyone. All she do was replay the doctor's conversation in her head over and over. Junior had died. He had gotten her a new jockeys' license first. They had been on their way to get married. To start their lives. Not to end his. Her head and her arm were still throbbing, but she didn't care. The physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional aches she was constantly feeling.
"Come on, Kris. Please eat something," pleaded Jean. "You won't be able to leave the hospital until you're off the feeding tube." Then she sighed and started rubbing the younger girl's back. "I know it's hard, honey. I know."
"Dani just called to check on you again, Kris," said Pablo. "She said she'll visit you as soon as you get out. In fact, she said you can recover at her place if you want."
Kris said nothing. She was annoyed that Dani hadn't come to see her or spoken with her since the accident, but at the same time she understood that she couldn't be near the hospital right now.
"That's very sweet of her, but I think it's best if I bring Kris back to Raintree," said Jean. "You and Dani are both out of your houses working all the time, and it would make no sense for her to be at Davis Farms with Ken when Junior isn't even there."
Kris closed her eyes tightly. Junior wasn't at Davis Farms. The words themselves made her so sick that she wasn't sure if she would be able to go back there ever again.
"Of course you should bring her back to Raintree," said Pablo. "You're her mother, and it's her home."
Jean sat down on the side of Kris's bed and gently pulled her up into a sitting position. Kris was submissve but hunched over and looked down so she didn't have to look at the world. "Kris, listen to me. You don't need to like the taste of anything you put in your mouth. You just need to start eating again so that we can get you home." Kris looked up slightly. "Come on, Kris. We all miss you. Especially me and the boys. And Wildfire."
That did it. She picked up a spoon with the hand that was connected to her good arm and started taking little, little bites, not even knowing what she was eating. It tasted so dry it might as well have been the shavings from Wildfire's stall. Maybe that was because it was hospital food. Or maybe that was because nothing mattered anymore.