The next morning, Tor was up with the sunrise. Eric, who was never an early riser, chose to burrow himself under her pillow to avoid the morning light. Tor shook her head in amusement but let him alone. He would get hot under there and come out eventually. Until then, she had to meet Siris at the corrals and talk business. And a grumpy, sleepy Eric didn't belong in negotiations. She dressed in a pair of pants and a short-sleeved button-up. She pulled on her boots, tied back her hair and settled her hat on her head. She stepped out of the wagon and was pleased to see Larson already making breakfast. He glanced up at her and grinned.

"No little pet this morning?" he asked. "He and Siris' girl sure did seem to get along." His grin showed that he knew the opposite of what he said was true.

"No," Tor sighed. "He wants to stay in bed. And it's better not to have his sour attitude ruining negotiations."

Larson chuckled. "If you say so, Boss. Siris should arrive shortly. He's always a prompt fella."

Tor crouched by the fire and poured herself a cup of coffee. She was halfway through the cup and a slice of cornbread and beef when Siris showed up. She stood and shook his hand and lead him to the corrals. They spent the better part of the morning talking business. Siris picked out mares and geldings that fit his desires. They talked breeding rights to Idiot, fees and ownership shares. When they settled on business, it was lunch time. Tor hosted the older man for lunch before they parted. He would send some of his men later to pick up the horses he had purchased.

Pleased with her morning, Tor selected several horses to be run down to the sale pens. She retrieved Eric, fed him some lunch and led the string of horses down to the main sale tent. Eric reclined against her neck, watching the horses as they moved. He noted their gaits, how they picked up their feet and watched for any obvious signs of injuries. Of course, none of Tor's horses had any, but that didn't mean he couldn't practice the bit of knowledge he had gained from her.

Once inside, he was mildly overwhelmed by the amount of noise. Horses calling to each other, people shouting negotiations, it all added up to a dull cacophonous roar. Eric wished in that moment he was between Tor's breasts, beneath her shirt, walled in and protected from some of the noise. But he wasn't so he had to suck it up and deal with it.

Tor didn't notice his discomfort. What she did notice was her brothers lingering around her sale pen. She scowled and marched up to them. "What are you doing by my pens?" she growled.

Jason gave her a scathing look. "You owe me the family cut of your recent sales, baby sister. I know you sold some mares last night to that Ranger. I also know you made a real big deal with Siris." He glowered at this. "You know Pap worked on him every summer, trying to get him to buy. He offered him dog-food prices for his best horses. How in Divinity did you get him to buy in one meeting?"

Tor's expression shifted to a smug grin as she put her horses in the pen. She patted the big rump of the dappled grey mare as it passed by. She took her time closing the rope gate before looking to her brothers. She crossed her arms over her chest and simply grinned at them. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Dammit, girl!" Jason swore as he advanced on his sister. "Tell me how you landed him when Pap couldn't!"

Tor stood straight, staring down her oldest and biggest brother unflinchingly. "Why in Divinity should I?" she said through clenched teeth.

Jason grabbed her arm and yanked her forward, uncaring of the human on her shoulder who desperately clutched the collar of her shirt so he wouldn't fall off. The Elder man pressed his face into his sister's. "Don't you get smart mouthed with me, Torani Keller. Don't you dare forget who controls all the finances in this little family. You can't get away with being a brat with me. Maybe you think it's cute. It's not. So tell me how you landed his business."

Tor glared up at him with hate and murder in her eyes. If she could, she would kill him. Without a second thought and without remorse. "Fuck you," she spat. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Jason slapped Tor across the face. Hard. Tor bit back a cry, refusing to give him the satisfaction. She glared up at him as her face burned. "I ain't telling you nothing. I'll pay you when I'm paid for my sales. I always do. Until then, get out of my face and get away from my horses."

The oldest Keller was not one for giving up. His eyes landed on the human cowering on his sister's shoulder. With a sneer, he grabbed the boy and tossed him to Brad. The other man laughed and tossed him to Thomas. Tor lunged forward, only to be snagged and whirled around to face Jason. His face was once more in hers. "Tell. Me. You want your little pet back? Tell me how you landed Siris."

Tor glared up at him, but her resolve was slowly deteriorating with every cry she heard from Eric. They weren't screams of pain, yet, but ones of absolute fear. He was begging for her help, begging to be released. Jason was the one grinning now. "I can see it in your face. You want to save your little human. You don't want him hurt. Well then you better speak up."

"Give him back and I'll tell you," she growled out. "I won't tell you a thing until I get him back."

Jason chuckled darkly. Brad tossed the human to him and the oldest Keller caught him with ease. He dropped the human into Tor's waiting hands. "Alright, little sister. You got your pet back. Now talk."

"Fine. It's not like you would earn his business, anyway." She kept Eric close, hating how he shivered and shuddered in her hands. "He doesn't want pretty horses like yours. He wants big-boned sturdy ones like what I breed. He wants ones that will pull wagons across this land without an issue. Ones that can step in holes and keep going, that can roll down a cliff-face and shrug it off like they were rolling in grass after a day under saddle. That's what he wants! But you're too damn stubborn and cling to Pap's bloodlines like they were Creator-given manna!"

Both Kellers were staring each other down, neither daring to move. Hatred was clear in both pairs of eyes. Neither wanted to be the first to look away. Jason wanted to strangle Tor then and there. But the middle of the sales tent was too obvious a place. He would have to cool his temper. For now.

"Watch yourself, Torani," Jason said in a deceptively calm voice. "Watch what you say about my old man. You're the one sullying his legacy by breeding those range rats that you have the nerve to call a pedigreed horse." He stared her down for a moment before speaking again. Never was their height difference so clear. Tor was tall for a woman, but Jason was tall for a man, standing a full head above the average men of their race. Tor had to crane her head back to look him in the eye. But she did so with all the brass Kellers were known for. "Pap had a good eye for horses, best there ever was, and he had a head for business. He would not have appreciated you selling off your share of the inheritance and buying those scraggly mutt horses. He rolled in his grave the day you did that. Count your blessings his spirit doesn't haunt you."

Tor laughed at that. It wasn't a joyous one, but one full of bitterness and resentment. "Pap couldn't give two shits about what I did with my share. He's with Mama and the Creator now. He don't care about nothin' else. And bless him for it."

Jason's face was nearly purple when Tor mentioned her mother. His brothers behind him held similar looks. "Don't you speak about that whore in my presence," he ground out. "That trollop broke up my parents' marriage. And then had the gall to produce spawn like you and that spineless animal you call a brother."

Now it was Tor's turn for her face to turn an unnatural color. Eric was hidden in her hands, curled into a ball. The anger of the giants around him was frightening in its intensity. He didn't want to become a target for its release. Not again. It had been terrifying to be tossed so carelessly through the air, as if he were an inanimate object, a toy to be played with and discarded if it was broken. So he stayed small and silent.

"Don't you talk about my mama that way," she said in a voice so calm it was unnerving. "She may have not been a saint, but Pap sought after her. Your mother cheated on Pap. That's known to anyone who knows our family. Pap got rid of her real quick after that. It was just lucky timing he met Mama when he did. She didn't have anything to do with Pap divorcing your mother."

Jason glared and stepped forward into Tor's personal space again. "Hearsay. That's all it is. Mother was a good woman. She would never have slept outside the marriage bed. Don't you sully my blessed mother's name by repeating those lies."

"Then get out of my face and away from my horses," Tor said evenly.

Jason stared her down a moment longer before turning and leaving. Brad and Thomas glared at her before following after Jason. When they were out of sight, Tor's jelly-legs gave out from beneath her and she crumpled to the ground. This wasn't the first time a confrontation with any of her brothers had gotten physical, far from it, but this was the first time it had been so public. She leaned her head back against the post and sighed.

Her gaze drifted down to her hands when she felt Eric slowly beginning to move around. She opened her hands and looked down at Eric. The poor human was terrified. She could see it in his face. Her thumb brushed across his back, trying to offer him comfort.

"I think," she said after a couple of minutes. "I think you and I are overdue for a ride. Just you, me and Idiot. It's been too long since I rode without a deadline or destination." She lifted Eric in front of her eyes. "What do you say to that?"

Eric slowly nodded. "It sounds good. A ride would be good." And a chance to get away from this overcrowded place.

Tor smiled, just a bit, and pulled herself to her feet. "Then a riding we will go."