Erik's Revelation Read online

  Erik’s Revelation

  Carmen DeSousa

  Erik’s Revelation

  Copyright© 2021 by Carmen DeSousa

  ISBN: 9781945143946

  www.CarmenDeSousaBooks.com

  www.WrittenMusings.com

  Cover Design: www.AustinWalp.com/GraphicDesign

  This is a fictional work. All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are solely the concepts and products of the author’s imagination or are used to create a fictitious story and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, without the prior permission in writing, except in the case of brief quotations, reviews, and articles.

  For any other permission, please visit www.WrittenMusings.com for contact links.

  Contents

  The Midnight Sons

  Series Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  The Midnight Sons

  Men as Wild and Rugged as The Last Frontier Itself

  Five brothers risk their lives to rescue those caught in the death grip of the Alaska wilderness … and risk losing their hearts to women as tough as the Land of the Midnight Sun.

  Series Description

  The siren call of Alaska’s untamed wilderness, vast mountain ranges, and majestic glaciers draw thrill-seekers from around the globe. But with more unsolved missing person cases than anywhere else in the world, the Alaska Triangle has an ominous reputation. Enter the Midnight Sons, a team that risks their own lives to rescue those in peril.

  Being a hero isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, though. The pay sucks, as does the fact that the team leaders must be ready to spring into action 24/7, 365 days a year — a lifestyle not conducive to a healthy love life. Worse, while the brothers are experts in their individual fields, they each harbor inner demons and secrets that threaten to tear their family apart… and jeopardize any chance of finding the women who could complete them.

  Erik’s Revelation

  A Midnight Sons Novel

  Chapter 1

  ~ Erik ~

  Erik stared at his eldest brother, wondering if Sam’s worried expression was because he knew the truth about Erik’s heritage, or just brotherly concern. More father-like than brother, Sam had been watching over him, teaching him, ruling him…

  Erik shook off that thought. That wasn’t fair. Sam had always been good to him. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder what Sam knew. Couldn’t help but wonder if all the Belgardes knew the truth about his past.

  Had that been the reason Sam had nearly vaulted out of his chair when he found out that Erik had done the DNA tests on himself and his brothers? It was supposed to have been fun. Instead, for the first time in his life, Erik felt betrayed by his adopted father, Adam, the man who’d supposedly rescued him when he was a toddler lost in the woods. Felt betrayed by the family he’d thought of as his own because they’d wanted him, not because he was a mistake one of them had made.

  Sam set aside the paperwork he’d been working on, leaned back in the worn leather chair, and drilled Erik with another concerned stare. “Are you sure you want to take this on, Erik? Your plate is already full. How do you propose adding another role?”

  Erik pushed back his thoughts, he’d come to Sam to discuss a new business idea. He wasn’t ready to discuss the DNA test findings. As much as he wanted to demand answers about his past, until he learned more, he didn’t want to reveal what he’d discovered. Especially if it was all a big mistake. Even though he was sure he’d followed the instructions for the DNA tests perfectly. No way had he mixed his DNA with Sam’s, and yet, the test had shown Sam as a DNA match.

  So that Sam wouldn’t question his resolve, Erik checked his attitude, which had sucked royally for the last few weeks. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said, answering Sam’s guarded expression with a nod and a forced smile. “You said that the guided tours were bringing in more money than rescues, so why not me? Everyone else has taken on extra work. Alex and Irene with flying tours. Vince and Valerie with boat tours. Daire’s been leading kayak tours. Even with a new baby, Nora’s been scheduling and keeping the websites up to date. I’ve always been good with horses. Who better to take vacationers on a horse-guided tour than a trained mountaineer? We have the barn and property. We just need to purchase some trail horses and, if we can swing it, I think we should hire a horse trainer, too. At least until I get comfortable. Alex said we have the money in our budget. He even loved the idea. And you know how worried Alex gets about money.”

  Sam stretched, rolling his shoulders. “But I need you, too, Erik. I truly appreciate how Alex’s ideas have brought our company out of debt, but if he takes all my rescue workers, we’ll no longer be the Midnight Sons.”

  Erik leaned against the wood-framed window. Autumn was here; tourist season was over. They didn’t have near the number of rescues after summer ended. “We’ll always be the Midnight Sons, Sam. I’ll never stop working search and rescue. But I want to do this. I’ll train on my off days, see how it goes. We have nearly seven months before we’ll be able to start booking tours.”

  Sam chuckled. “You spend your little bit of free time rock climbing. Since when are you interested in horseback riding?”

  “I’m twenty-eight, Sam. A man’s gotta grow up eventually, right? I can’t rock climb forever.”

  Sam exhaled and spun his chair away from his desk. “Whatever you say, brother. For the record, I’ve never seen you as anything but grown-up.”

  Reflexively, Erik’s lips turned up. Sam had always championed him. “Thanks, Sam. I appreciate that.”

  His big brother stood and clapped his hands. “So, what’s the plan? What did you and Alex decide behind my back?”

  “Well… Nothing yet.” Erik chuckled nervously, staring out the window that offered a spectacular view of Denali. As first born, Sam had commandeered the best room in the house as his office. Now that he and Nora were parents, they’d bought a fixer-upper a few miles away, but Sam still came to their mother’s house daily to work. Apparently, Nora was appreciating her alone time with their new son, Adam, named after the family’s beloved father. Erik’s adopted father…who may not have been the superhero Erik had thought he was.

  Sam stepped up beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “What’s up, Erik? You haven’t seemed yourself for the last few weeks. It’s not like you to brood. That’s my job, I’m told.”

  Erik huffed out a chuckle at the truth of those words, but the jovial feeling didn’t last. Nothing could keep him in good spirits these past few weeks.

  “I’m just…thinking,” he told Sam, which was the truth. “Maybe I should talk to the Native community to find a horse trainer.”

  Sam made a grunting noise, indicating he understood. “Ahh… And you’re not sure what you’ll discover… Alaska’s a big place, Erik. I wouldn’t worry too much about digging up skeletons.”

  And there went his tumultuous thoughts again, wondering the true story about his past. Did Sam know what Erik would discover if he went searching? He
wanted to confide in his brother; he really did. But he also wanted answers first. What if he had made a mistake, mixed his DNA with Sam’s? What if this was just some sort of pipe dream? Didn’t every adopted kid want to make their past more than it really was?

  After all, one fact he actually remembered was that his adopted father, Adam Belgarde, had found him in the wilderness. His father was a superhero. That’s what he’d always believed. He’d never suspected that his adopted father might be his real father. Had Adam Belgarde had an affair? Could Erik’s biological mother still be alive? Did he have other siblings who hadn’t had a chance to live the life he had?

  Erik looked up at his brother. Nothing but truth filled his heart as he chose his words. “I never wanted to discover anything new about my past, Sam. I love my family. No man could want anything more than what I’ve had. I’m thankful every day that Dad found me and adopted me.”

  “Me, too, Erik!” Sam patted him on the back. “All right then, go find us some horses and a trainer. We have plenty of time until the season starts. Although, knowing my sociable wife, she’ll want to start talking about the possibilities and booking tours now.”

  “One step at a time, right?” Erik couldn’t help but laugh about Nora’s enthusiasm. She had plenty of troubles of her own, and yet she’d taken on the family’s problems and business as if she’d been with them forever. “Tell Nora to allow me time to put this together before she starts booking my summer.”

  And time to handle whatever I might discover about my past, he thought, but he still held his words from Sam. It wouldn’t be right to cast the family’s past into shadow if he’d made a mistake, prompting the results of the DNA report.

  No way could Adam Belgarde be his real father. The memory of the other people in his past was grainy, but it was there, embedded into his brain for as long as he could remember.

  The yelling. The crying. The crashing of objects.

  Many a night after the Belgardes had adopted him, he had awakened screaming. Without fail, Adam or Claire had been at his bedside in seconds. He’d wake to their soothing words, and the images of the people in his nightmare would instantly fade as his mother or father caressed his head, whispering that he was safe and sound.

  But the bad dreams refused to stop. Especially the ones where he was running through the woods, shivering and crying, wanting food and warmth, but not wanting to see the two people fighting.

  Had he conjured up an imaginary past? Had the fuzzy images been Adam and Claire fighting—or his real mother? Obviously, he had Native American blood running through his veins, so he wasn’t a product of both Adam and Claire, so who then?

  “Erik?” Sam’s voice broke him from his thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  “I was just rambling, but you didn’t hear a word I said. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Erik shook his head to dissolve the images in his head. “Yeah. Just thinking how to go about finding a trainer and the right horses.”

  “Why don’t you ask Gina for help? She grew up on that ranch in Wasilla. She might be able to point you in the right direction.”

  “Good idea, Sam. I’ll call her.”

  Not that he wanted to talk to Gina right now. She was the reason he was even in this mess. She was the one who’d suggested he order a DNA test. Then again, that’s what he got for hanging out at Grizz’s after-hours. Gina was a great listener, so he’d said more than he meant to after having a few too many.

  Without waiting for Sam to press him for more explanation of his sullen mood, Erik pulled out his phone and left the office. Yep, Gina was the perfect person to help him. Like him, she had Native American relatives, but she’d been raised by her non-Native grandmother, who’d known Adam Belgarde since he was a teenager. Maybe he could kill two birds with one stone.

  ***

  Erik leaned against the rough wooden railing, watching the horse trainer lead a golden-yellow palomino around the muddy ring. He tried to ignore Gina’s glare, but she was waiting for an answer, he knew. Every few minutes or so, she’d just stare up at him.

  He knocked one of his boots against the fencepost, kicking off mud and anything else he might have stepped on after they’d left his truck. “I don’t want to talk about it, Gina.”

  “Come on, Erik. You’re the least sullen Belgarde I know. I expect moody dispositions from Sam and Alex, even Vince and Daire, but not you. Your not wanting to talk about the results of the test means you discovered something…something you don’t want to talk about. But you have to spill to someone, so spill to me. I have wide shoulders.”

  He leaned back, glanced from shoulder to shoulder. “I’ve noticed.” The lighthearted remark earned him a playful smack on the arm.

  Gina planted a hand on her hip. “Hey… It’s fall. Nothing but sweatshirts and jackets from here until May, so why not put on a few pounds? It’s not like anyone’s going to see me naked.”

  “I was kidding, Gina. You look great, as always. Now stop trying to pick my brain and help me choose some horses.”

  Instead of pointing out anything about the palomino in the ring, Gina continued to stare at him. He ignored his friend, keeping his focus on the woman leading the horse. It was hard to see much of the trainer beneath the wide-brimmed felt hat and chunky scarf. But she looked like the Native American horse trainer Gina had mentioned with her light reddish-brown skin, petite build, and long thick braid, which nearly reached her waist.

  “I’m not trying to pry,” Gina continued. “But I know you, Erik. Normally, you’d be sharing whatever you found with the world. I haven’t seen or heard from you since the reception.”

  “I said…” He groaned with as much force as he could muster. Gina knew him too well, knew his grumpy attitude was unusual. “I don’t want to talk about it. I brought you here to help me. Are you going to help me or bug me?” He smiled to lighten his gruffness. Outside the family, Gina was his only friend.

  “Okay. I’ll change the subject then.” She shoulder-nudged him. “She’s cute, huh?”

  Gina also tried to hook him up with every woman who passed through town, but he wasn’t biting. The last thing he needed right now was another woman trying to get him to spill his guts.

  He chuckled. “The palomino? She’s beautiful.”

  “The trainer, you goob. You’d like her. She’s quiet. Not pushy like me. She’s been working for Grandma Ana for nearly six months, and I don’t know squat about her. And you know I’ve tried.”

  “That, I know. You’re here to help me find horses and a trainer, not a date,” he reminded her. But, of course, he’d noticed the woman. How could he not? As petite as she was, she walked with confidence, posture straight, head held high. She hadn’t smiled and, still, he could see her high cheekbones. She didn’t look Aleut or like any of the other tribes in Alaska. Her skin was a shade darker, like a fine amber ale.

  “You want me to introduce you?” Gina pressed.

  “As a horse trainer, yes. If she knows her stuff.”

  “Grandma Ana says she’s one of the best she’s ever seen, a regular horse whisperer.”

  “Then, yes, I would like you to introduce us.” He raised a hand when her dark eyebrows lifted. “To help me purchase some horses and as a possible trainer. Nothing else, okay?”

  “You haven’t dated anyone in more than a year, Erik—”

  He cut off her complaint with a sigh. “I don’t have time for a woman in my life, Gina. You know that. Besides, no more locals, right? Isn’t that what you and I decided?”

  “No locals,” she agreed, her tone as solemn as he felt.

  The two of them had dated their share of locals who didn’t work out. She’d even dated Sam a few times, about eleven years ago, but Sam had been in a bad way. The entire family had. Erik had lost the only father he’d ever known when he was only seventeen.

  “Technically…” Gina continued in a chipper singsong voice; she didn’t stay down for long. “Kimi isn’t a local. She’s not from Alaska,
and even the ranch is more than an hour from Falcon Run. I doubt she runs with the same crowd as we do. Probably’s never even set foot inside Grizz’s. I haven’t seen her anyway.”

  He pulled his gaze from the trainer’s graceful jog, which matched the tempo of the palomino. Or, more than likely, the horse was matching her strides. Not that he was interested, but he asked out of curiosity, “Where’s she from?”

  Gina lifted her eyes as if looking at the low cloud cover. “Won’t say. Drifter. But you know how Grandma Ana is. She has no issue taking in strays…as long as they earn their keep.”

  That, he also knew. That’s how Gina’s grandmother supposedly met his father, long before Erik had even been born.

  The trainer, Kimi, stroked the horse’s white mane, then patted its golden coat. She looped the lead rope around the saddle horn, then headed to the exit. She pulled the gate tightly behind her, then stopped to talk with a family who’d been eyeing the palomino.

  Gina tapped his arm. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to Kimi before someone else buys that beautiful golden girl.”

  Erik followed, finding himself nervous, heart racing. Even his hands felt clammy, which should have been impossible since it was barely forty degrees.

  Chill, dude. You’re not meeting a woman to date; you’re meeting a horse trainer. He just hadn’t expected the horse trainer to be beautiful…and shapely…and—Stop it! You don’t have time for a woman in your life.

  He redirected his thoughts outward, taking in his surroundings, something that usually worked to clear his mind. The ranch was busier than the previous times he’d been there. Every ranch hand was actively doing something. Mostly shutting down sections for the winter, it seemed. While business on the ranch was year-round, the tourist end of things shut down mid-September when even daytime temperatures hovered near freezing.

  He also noticed the ranch smelled better than the last time he’d visited. Previously, ammonia dominated all other scents. But today, he actually inhaled deeply, appreciating the sweet aroma of fresh hay and oats. The scent took him back to when his family had horses—how much work they had to do to keep those horses clean and fed.