Another Chance at Love

The Ride To Base Camp

Justine rode Lady thru the long grass, the late afternoon sun shining on the rippling grass as it danced to and fro in the gentle breeze. It was still quite warm out, but the breeze made it manageable, and had persuaded Justine to take the horse and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

She could hardly believe it had already been 6 weeks since the film crew for "I Saw the Light" showed up. It had been more than wonderful. Justine knew it was an experience of a lifetime and she tried to enjoy everything about it. Besides the obvious excitement of having a movie being filmed on your property, was the thrill of getting to know Tom Hiddleston. She only knew a little bit about him before all this. She had seen him 2 years ago in the first Avengers movie, and had been intrigued by his character of Loki. She was sure she had heard his name on other occasions also, but never really put two and two together as to who he was. Maybe because he looked so different in real life from his Loki character. But from the moment he showed up in her kitchen to introduce himself, she was smitten. She was trying to keep things light, she didn't want to set herself up for disappointment. She knew Tom would have to go one day, and then life would return to normal again. When she thought of that she felt a pang of sadness...the last six weeks had been so amazing. Having a man in her life again made Justine realize just how much she missed it. Someone to share things with, to cuddle with, and make love with. As much as she told herself not to get attached, she felt her heart getting wrapped tighter and tighter around this tall, handsome, articulate and kind man. She knew when the time came, it would be painful to say goodbye to Tom. But that was all part of the package and she knew it from the beginning. Tom hadn't promised her anything. He had given her his precious time and by doing that he made her feel beautiful again and also gave her the most fun she'd ever had. Yes, it was going to be very hard to say goodbye.

The last bit of the trail was thru the forest that bordered the camp. It was fairly narrow, only room for a horse and rider, no vehicles. The film crew had to drive around the forest to make it to base camp, but Justine knew this shortcut shaved about 10 minutes off the ride. It was much cooler here in the thickest part of the woods. Only the occasional ray of sun shot thru the leave and provided warm pockets of air here and there, that were very noticeable as Justine rode thru them.Thru the still air she heard voices and laughing. 'Almost there,' she thought. The open meadow ahead was framed in dark cool greens, and inside that frame the light glowed a brilliant yellow as if the very sun itself was a masterpiece. Tom had dropped her at home to get ready for the barbeque, after their day out, and drove the jeep back to camp. He told her to call when she was ready and he would come get her. But she decided it would be more fun to ride over and surprise him.

Finally riding into the bright sunlight, Justine took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the difference. Scanning the camp, she looked for Tom amongst the campers, trailers and picnic tables. She spotted him seated at a picnic table, engrossed in a game of cards with three other men. A petite woman about Justine's age, with long dark blonde hair, was standing and leaning on Tom's shoulder with her forearm, giggling. A loud cry came from the table and Tom turned to the girl and they high fived. He must have won the hand, or the game, but he was grinning madly at the girl, who was now hugging him around his shoulders.

"Justine!" she hear her name called from the other end of the camp. Looking over she saw it was Robert and he was striding across the camp towards her, grinning and waving. Justine darted a look at Robert and smiled, but had to look back at Tom trying to assess the relationship between him and the blonde. The girl and Tom looked up at the same time upon hearing Robert call Justine's name. While Tom's grin remained and he jumped up to come greet Justine, the blonde looked suddenly embarrassed and took a step back from Tom as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't. Justine felt a stab of jealousy as she wondered who this girl was and what her intentions were. Her eyes glinted with anger and hurt, until she saw Toms grinning face coming towards her. It was pretty obvious if there was anything going on it was one sided, because there wasn't a trace of guilt in Toms face, only delight at seeing her.

"Shit! Look at you! I wondered why it was taking you so long to call!"

Toms long legs had him over to Justine in a few strides.

"Lady, hello baby." Tom reached out and grabbed the bridle, holding on so he could pet Lady, and give her a scratch behind the ears. Justine decided there wasn't anything to be concerned about with the blonde and threw on a big smile just for Tom, looking down at him from her perch.

"It just seemed like a fun idea, and I've been neglecting poor Lady lately, so riding her here seemed like an excellent plan."

"Oh, it was Love. Lady, how are you? Did you enjoy the trip out here today? Come along Love, I've got just the place for you to rest and have a drink," Tom talked to the horse like she was human, and Lady acknowledged that to Tom by gently nuzzling his arm as they walked. She loved him already, and she didn't make friends very easily, being that she was wary of many men. Justine suspected she may have been treated roughly by her first owner, who was a man that bred horses for a living.

"Hey, right over here Tom..." Robert came alongside the horse and guided Tom over to the shade of a large Maple tree. Helping Tom they tied the reins around the trunk.

"Would you like me to get her some water, dear?" Robert addressed Justine.

"Yes, thank you so much. She might need a few buckets if you can manage."

"Don't you worry," Robert said, "Anything for this lovely Lady." He gave Lady an affectionate pat on her rump. Lady gave him a whinny and everyone laughed.

"Come here you," Tom pulled Justine into him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, giving her a chaste kiss and a big hug. She felt totally enveloped in Toms body as he held her tightly against him, and she loved the feeling. Grinning into his chest she let out a contented "mmmmm."

When he released her, Justine turned her face up to meet Toms lips again. Their kiss was sweet and slightly lingering. Finally, he grabbed her hand and said, "come, you've got meet everyone."

Tom practically dragged her across the camp with his long strides, holding her hand, to where he had been sitting. The three guys at the table had finished their card game and were sitting and talking comfortably, drinks in hand.

"Everyone, this is Justine. Justine, this is everyone" Tom said glibly with an endearing grin.

"Hello everyone," Justine said smiling and with a nod of her head. One fellow, a big guy with a crew cut, stood up and extended his hand to Justine, "Pleased to meet you Justine, I'm Brendan."

He had a baby face and a very sweet look to him, "Pleased to meet you too," Justine smiled at him.

"I'm Tony, please to meet you ma'am," the next fellow stood up and leaned over the table to shake Justine's hand.

"Hello Tony"

The youngest of the group addressed her last, "And we've met before, but not officially ma'am. I arrived with the very first truck, remember?"

Justine did remember, he was very young, tall and wirey, he looked every inch a country boy. Right down to the sun bleached hair and the farmers tan that peeked out the arms of his plaid shirt.

"Yes, I do ...its a pleasure to see you again....uh.."

"Petey, ma'am."

"Its nice to meet you again Petey." Justine smiled warmly at the young man.

"And this is Elizabeth..." Tom motioned behind the table over to the blonde. She was sitting on a trailer step now, one leg crossed over the other, with a disinterested look on her face.

"Hey," Elizabeth met her eyes and gave her a mild smile.

"Hey," Justine said in return and gave her a nod. Tom seemed oblivious to the slight rudeness of Elizabeth's greeting. He was so excited to have Justine there while it was still daylight so he could show her around.

"Hey mates, we'll catch up with everyone later at the barbeque. I'm going to show Justine around here, give her the 5 cent tour." He gave them all a wink and they gave him grins in return. With that Tom took Justine's hand again, and they went to check on how Robert was making out with the water for Lady.