Montana winters were nothing to take lightly. But she had a feeling the chill in her bones would never go away after seeing Levon’s lifeless body.
“I just have a few questions for both of you, if you have a minute,” Caleb said.
“Sure,” Kas said.
“You were both in the arena when you heard the commotion in the barn?”
“Yes, I was just finishing a barrel run with my horse.” She suddenly remembered that she’d left Tenterhook in one of the stalls in the arena. “Tenterhook is still out there.”
“He’s fine. I checked on him,” Trip said. He looked as if he’d aged ten years in the span of hours. Trip had known Levon a long time, much longer than she had. And he was clearly hurting. But knowing Trip as she did, he wouldn’t fully allow himself to feel it until he was alone.
She knew that because that was how he’d been when her father died. She’d known that he’d been hurting, too. But he never showed it. At least not to her. It was just his way.
“Did you see anything or anyone in the barn before you went into the arena to do your run?”
Tabby shook her head. “No, just the other ranch hands. But Dusty and Hal left to head over to the Crow Reservation to visit Hal’s mother and sister right around that time. They weren’t here when…it happened.”
“What about the farrier?”
“Hunter Williams? He was here today. This morning. He came by to change Tenterhook’s shoes.”
“Hunter has been my farrier for years,” Trip added.
Caleb turned to Kas. “How long have you known Levon Taper?”
“I just met him a few days ago,” Kas said. “My understanding is Levon didn’t move to Sweet until after I’d left for college.”
“How long have you known him, Tabby?” Caleb asked.
“I met him when I moved here from Missoula. That was about eight years ago. My father bought Tenterhook from him as a graduation present shortly before my parents’ death.”
Caleb looked at Trip, who nodded to verify her story, and then wrote a few things in his notepad. “Graduation, huh? I just realized you must be around my sister’s age. Twenty-six?”
“Yes.”
“If you’d grown up here you would have gone to school and graduated with her.”
“Does she still live in Sweet?” Tabby asked.
Caleb closed his notepad. “No. She left Sweet around the same time you moved here. Hasn’t been back since.”
“I guess it’s not for everyone,” Kas said.
“Guess so.”
“Caleb, what…happened to Levon?” Tabby asked.
“As best we can tell, he was struck in the head by a thrown horseshoe. Since Mad Dog is missing his shoe and he took off on a pretty good run, I’m guessing something spooked him while Levon was grooming him. He may have started bucking. At any rate, we found the bloody horseshoe in the far corner of the grooming room. Nothing else though.
“The coroner will check him for any other signs of injury. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are bruises or other markings from being kicked. Looks like a freak accident. I’m really sorry for the loss of your friend, Trip. Do you want to contact his family or should I?”
Trip drew in a deep breath. “He has a brother in Colorado. I suspect that’s where they’ll want to bury him. I’ll call him as soon as I get back to the house and direct him to your office if he has any questions.”
“Okay. Give the station a call when you do so we can release Levon’s name to the papers should they ask for information about his death. I’m real sorry about this, Trip.”
Trip nodded. “Thank you. I best be getting at that.” He turned and headed back to the house. No one would notice the heavy gate of his step except someone who knew him the way Tabby did.
She turned to Caleb. “What happens now?”
Caleb glanced at his notes. “Most of this information is routine for my report. But to me, it looks like a clear case of accidental death.” He picked up the plastic bag with the bloody horseshoe in it from the table in the grooming room. “Levon must have been shoeing Mad Dog, or grooming him and maybe hit a spot the horse didn’t like or the horse got spooked by something. He bucked and threw the shoe. From what I can tell, the shoe hit Levon right in the temple, a pretty delicate place for an injury.”
“A single strike to the temple caused death?” Kas asked.
“He hit him spot on and looks like pretty hard. I’ve seen lots of freak accidents over the years. A single hit to the head can rupture an artery if it’s done with enough force. A horse has that kind of power in their kick. Of course, the coroner in the next county will have to looked at everything and come to a definitive conclusion. But that’s my take based on what I’ve seen.”
“Thank you, Caleb,” Tabby said.
He adjusted his hat on his head and they said their goodbyes.
She smiled, not trusting her voice to cooperate given the emotional surge that struck her. As Caleb walked out of the barn, Tabby turned to the horseshoe over the doorway. It was still turned upside down. Bad luck? Some would say yes. The events of the day certainly gave credence to it.
“What’s wrong?” Kas asked.
She took a deep breath, pulled her gaze from the horseshoe and looked at Kas. “Besides Levon being dead?”
He reached for her, but she put her hand on his chest and pushed, keeping her distance. She wanted his comfort. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted it from him or just wanted comfort from someone. She’d only met the man two days ago. She knew nothing about him except what other people had told her.
“I’m sorry. I know you must be hurting.”
“That pretty much sums
