Streiker: The Killdeer - Softcover

"Why, Desirée?" Fletcher asked. "Something bothering you?"

His sister looked away in distress. Her husband stood back with patiently folded hands and a look that said, Great. Here it comes. Adair tried to smile at Charity while telling herself that Fletcher had everything under control. "Why are you doing this, Fletcher?" Desirée asked.

"I thought you'd want to meet my family," he said.

"Not that. I mean--why must you make such a--a scene? You turned mother's funeral into a circus!" she said in a restrained voice.

"Just because I thought Aunt Margot deserved a little familial support, like the minister said?" Fletcher asked innocently. Clay's face betrayed a grin before he caught his wife's glare and sobered. Fletcher added, "Would you be interested to know that the minister who stepped in for Father Cho works for a competitor of mine in Dallas? Would you care to know how much that 'minister' pulls down a year?"

"No," she said stonily.

"Or that he's the one who fed information about the funeral to the press? Where do you suppose they got the photos of her lying in the casket?" Fletcher pressed.

"Stop it!" Desirée cried. "Fletcher, just stop it! I--don't know who you are anymore. I don't understand you."

"Why? Because I wouldn't finance your friends' ventures? Because I won't do everything you ask me to?" Fletcher asked coolly.

Her pretty face screwed into a miserable pout. "You had no good reason for turning them down. You made me look like a liar."

"You should know not to try to set my agenda for me, Desirée. I love you, and I'll always be your safety net, but nobody pulls my strings," Fletcher said.

She shot a quick look at Daniel in his arms. "Looks like somebody has," she returned. Adair cringed.

Fletcher squeezed Daniel. "You're right. Two somebodies have. They sneaked in and displaced you as my primary family. Adair weaseled her way in by loving me enough to do whatever I asked, and Daniel did it by sheer need--not to mention that he was mine to begin with. I'm sorry that I embarrass you, Desirée, but the fact is that you just don't have all the information that I do. If you're going to be my sister, you're going to have to turn a deaf ear to all the gossip and criticism because I will not explain myself, defend myself, or change my agenda to suit you or them. Anybody who's really interested in what I've done can look at the public records and draw their own conclusions about me. Everybody else can just--go their own way."