A Photo Finish

Billie encourages Violet to avoid feeling angry with Cole for being overbearing after her fall, citing his apparent fear. Violet counters that this is her job and that she wouldn’t interfere with Cole’s work. Billie suggests that love means sharing priorities with one another. By the time Violet leaves the track, she accepts that she was too brusque with Cole. She finds him at the farmhouse, visibly upset. He acts distant, and Violet realizes that she underestimated the effect of his past trauma on him. She proposes that they strategize how to make him feel less worried about her work; he breaks up with her, citing his inability to support her as a jockey.

Violet grows angry, both because Cole pursued her despite knowing that being a jockey is her dream and because he implies that if she quits, he won’t break up with her. She sees his reluctance to change as a parallel to his refusal to reveal himself that precipitated the end of their online relationship. She accuses him of letting his father’s death define him and tells him to inform her when he’s “ready to make other moments just as important” (336): She can’t make him change, so until then, she’ll keep her distance.

Later, Violet is sad but resolute: She doesn’t want her relationship with Cole to end but is unwilling to sacrifice her career. She complains that she wants to be the “New Violet,” which leads Mira to suggest that Violet reframe her change as a continuum of growth rather than two disparate versions of herself. Mira is pleased because Vaughn and Cole are building a veterinary clinic at the ranch. She observes that Cole, during their meeting, looked even worse than Violet.

Billie, Mira, and Violet watch the stars and drink wine, which they note parallels Billie’s first night at Gold Rush Ranch. Mira and Billie encourage Violet to speak to Cole, as both she and Cole have been miserable for days. Mira asks if Violet has spoken to Dalca, surprising both her and Billie. Violet hasn’t spoken to him and is curious about why he might wish to speak with her. Violet reflects that she wishes to talk about her success with Pipsqueak’s training with Cole.

That night, intoxicated, Violet walks to the farmhouse and finds Cole outside. He apologizes for the emotional pressure he put on her during their two-year association and admits that he loves her. He laments that his mental health “doesn’t just get better because [he wants] it to” (347). Violet challenges whether he does want this, since he seems “pretty stagnant.” She tells him to choose a quantifiable goal that is less vague than “getting better.” She gives him until Pipsqueak’s first race, in two weeks, to decide if he’s “going to try or not” (349).

Cole lies on a couch in Trixie’s office. He jokes that this is a stereotype of therapy, but Trixie contends that this is progress for Cole, since he can’t see the door from his position. He explains his panic after Violet’s fall and how he broke up with her. Then, he lists the things he likes about Violet, and Trixie summarizes that he likes her “drive. Her passion” (353). She encourages him to try to see how meeting and connecting with Violet is lucky, a quality he has never seen himself as possessing.

Cole waits in front of Vaughn’s cottage, planning to tell his younger brother about his amputation. Billie arrives instead; Cole is suspicious when she’s kind to him, since he knows she’s friends with Violet. He and Billie sit together, and she encourages him to “level up” so that he can see himself as being “worthy” of Violet (357). Billie reveals that she already knows about his prosthesis, which she figured out via his body language. Vaughn doesn’t know. She dismisses Cole’s concern about Vaughn forgiving him, contending that there’s nothing to forgive.

Cole admits that he feels more traumatized by his father’s death than by his time at war and that he’s struggling to “figure out a way around” his fear of seeing Violet on a horse (359). When Cole admits that he can’t face the possibility of losing Violet, Billie contends that she has “a plan” to help him win Violet back. Vaughn arrives, and Billie leaves so that the brothers can speak privately.

On the day of Pipsqueak’s first race, Violet is frustrated that she still hasn’t heard from Cole. Dalca approaches and apologizes for Cassel’s sexual harassment. Apparently sincere, Dalca tells Violet that he fired Cassel has. Dalca seems surprised when Violet graciously accepts his apology.

Violet begins the race with Pipsqueak, immediately becoming confident in her mount’s success. Pipsqueak runs with far greater speed than she has ever shown, and the duo win the race easily. Violet looks around for Cole and is surprised to find him riding a pony whose role is to calm the racehorse post-race. He explains that he learned how to ride not only for her but for himself, too, which pleases Violet. He declares his love; she returns the sentiment. He encourages her to go enjoy her win, promising that he’s “not going anywhere” (374).

A year later, Cole is annoyed with Billie’s coaching on riding. Billie holds Cole and Violet’s daughter, Lilah, who is only a few months old. Billie is unsympathetic when Cole blames his riding form on his prosthesis. Violet arrives. She returned to riding after having Lilah, which makes her quite happy. Mira has been called out to Dalca’s farm, which Billie dislikes, as she still doesn’t trust Dalca. Violet and Cole married shortly after Violet learned she was pregnant, and Cole is pleased that they’re a family formally as well as emotionally. Vaughn and Cole have grown closer; they continued to speak frankly about their feelings after Cole admitted to having a prosthetic leg.

Cole reflects that his father would have been happy to see where his sons ended up. Cole now rides an older horse named Golddigger, after his old screen name. GD, as the horse is nicknamed, is the official pony horse that guides Pipsqueak on the track, which gives Cole a sense of belonging in his wife’s jockey career.