Reluctant Belle (Daughtry House Book #2) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Beth White

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173 pages

English

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Description

Impoverished Southern belle Joelle Daughtry has a secret. By day she has been helping her sisters in their quest to turn the run-down family plantation into a resort hotel after the close of the Civil War. But by night and under a male pseudonym, she has been penning articles for the local paper in support of the construction of a Negro school. With the Mississippi arm of the Ku Klux Klan gaining power and prestige, Joelle knows she is playing a dangerous game.When childhood enemy and current investor in the Daughtry house renovation Schuyler Beaumont takes over his assassinated father's candidacy for state office, Joelle finds that in order to protect her family and her home, she and Schuyler will have to put aside their longstanding personal conflict and develop a united public front. The trouble is, what do you do when animosity becomes respect--and even love--if you're already engaged to someone else?

Sujets

Historical romance

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	04 juin 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493417704
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Cover
Praise for A Rebel Heart
“ A Rebel Heart features characters with depth, a gripping plot with thoughtfully researched authenticity, and unexpected twists.”
Booklist
“White bridges Union and Confederate in this charming post–Civil War inspirational romance.”
Publishers Weekly
“The start to the Daughtry House series is a worthy read.”
Romantic Times
“ A Rebel Heart checks all the boxes on my wishlist for a satisfying novel. It brings a lesser-known slice of history to life and deals honestly with our national past. The characters are colorful and compelling, the setting richly painted, and the high-stakes plot carries the reader to the end without ever slowing down. Full of intrigue, grit, and grace, A Rebel Heart is Beth White at her finest. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.”
Jocelyn Green , award-winning author of A Refuge Assured
“With great skill, Beth White combines intriguing history with inspiring romance, and then adds a good measure of mystery and suspense to her newest novel, A Rebel Heart . From the first page to the last, readers will be wrapped up in Selah’s quest to restore her family’s stately Mississippi home and charmed by the touching romance. Levi’s investigation to solve a series of robberies and find out who is behind the mysterious incidents that threaten Selah and her family will keep readers guessing and turning pages until the very end. Well done!”
Carrie Turansky , award-winning author of Shine Like the Dawn and Across the Blue
“Pinkerton agent Levi Riggins stole my heart, beginning with his valiant rescue of Selah Daughtry after a train wreck in the opening scenes of A Rebel Heart . Selah couldn’t help but lose her heart too, although she has more than one reason to be wary of the former Yankee officer. Beth White’s careful historical research shines throughout this novel, as do her wonderful characters. Highly recommended.”
Robin Lee Hatcher , Lifetime Achievement Award–winning author of You’re Gonna Love Me
Half Title Page
Novels by Beth White
G ULF C OAST C HRONICLES
The Pelican Bride
The Creole Princess
The Magnolia Duchess
D AUGHTRY H OUSE
A Rebel Heart
A Reluctant Belle
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2019 by Beth White
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1770-4
Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
The author is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc.
Dedication
This book is for L.G. and Cindy Catlett, fine examples of my ideal reader.
Contents
Cover
Praise for A Rebel Heart
Half Title Page
Novels by Beth White
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
A Note to the Reader
Excerpt of Book 3 in the Series
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Prologue
June 1860
Tree limbs slapped Joelle’s face as she ran through the woods behind the bathhouse. She could feel the underbrush snatching at her bathing costume, snagging the short, full skirt and balloon-like pants legs under it. Her tender bare feet slid on rotten leaves, tangled on some briars, and she fell hard. Rolling up onto her knees, she sat on her heels and stared at the scratches on her palms.
There was no reason to have run this way, into the woods, instead of along the path toward the road. No reason—except humiliation and horror. She could still feel the weight of that creature in her hair, a blob of sliminess on top of her head, flailing about in its own terror. Literally one of her worst nightmares come to life. It wouldn’t have touched her hair, except she’d removed her bathing cap. “It’s July,” she’d retorted when Selah protested the immodesty, “hotter than blue blazes.” She took off her shoes too and jumped into the pool.
Now she knelt on the forest floor, winded, panting, regretting that decision. The creepy feeling along her scalp, the bruises and scratches on her feet, were a terrible price to pay.
Somehow, some way, at some time when he least expected it, Schuyler Beaumont was going to pay. This was all his fault—him and his giant bullfrog. His idea of a joke.
Boys .
She and Selah and Camilla had been laughing over some silliness, when the frog crashed the party.
She put her stinging palms to her cheeks and shoved the angry tears away. Thirteen wasn’t a baby, for heaven’s sake. Control regained, she sucked in a deep breath. Frog successfully outrun. Now what? All desire to swim with the other girls was gone.
The sound of running footsteps through the woods made her leap to her feet.
“Joelle! Where are you?”
That was Schuyler, she could tell by the abrupt octave shift in the middle of the last word. She’d enjoyed teasing him about his changing voice for the last couple of days while his family visited from Mobile.
What if he had another frog? The hair on her arms lifted, and she took off running again.
He was upon her within a few seconds. “Joelle! Stop! I just wanted to say I’m—”
“Leave me alone!” As she whirled around, her hand hit him in the stomach.
He doubled over with an oof , and she stood there shaking like a jelly. Served him right.
Under the blond hair falling over his eyes, his face was red, the wide mouth clenched. “I said I’m sorry,” he said through gritted teeth.
“That was a foul thing to do.”
“Amphibian.” He gingerly stood up, clutching his skinny middle.
“ Foul , not fowl ,” she spat. “Horrid. Disgusting. Mean.”
He flinched. “Yes, it was mean,” he said quietly. “I apologized.”
“And then made a joke.”
“You’re bleeding.” He walked up to her and took her hands to turn them palm up. “Better wash this, or they’ll rot and fall off.”
She snatched her hands away. “Don’t touch me.”
His eyes were a dark, stormy blue-gray. It was the first time she’d been close enough to notice their color. She also noticed that she had to look up to meet them. He’d gotten taller over the summer.
Something shifted between them. His gaze dropped to her nose, then her lips. Then lower. She suddenly realized her dress was still damp, and inappropriate for mixed company. He was a boy. A boy , becoming a man.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s wrong with you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.” Now his voice was deep and rumbly, which rattled her even more.
“Well. Go home. I mean, back to the house. Just leave me alone.”
“I can’t leave you here by yourself. It’s—it’s not safe.”
He had that right. She did not feel safe at all. Not that he would actually hurt her. He might scare her half to death, but he would never lay a hand on her in anger. When she thought of Schuyler, laughter came to mind. “I’m sorry I hit you,” she blurted.
“I deserved it.” He sighed. “Sometimes I do things without thinking about the other person’s feelings. I know how much you hate frogs.”
She blinked. “How did you know that?”
“Selah told Camilla a long time ago. They were laughing about it. I thought it was funny too.”
Selah was Joelle’s older sister, Camilla was Schuyler’s, and they were best friends. “It’s not funny,” she said. “I have nightmares.”
“Listen.” He tilted his head for a moment, holding her eyes. The noises of the woods took over, birds twittering, a breeze rustling the leaves, and underneath it a harsh, monotonous cheeping sound.
She started to speak, but Schuyler held up a hand and walked over to a tree. He scooped something off a limb onto his palm, cupped the other hand over it, and came back to Joelle.
“Look,” he said, showing her what looked at first like a large green bug. Then it moved and spread out, tiny fingers clinging to Schuyler’s big, bony hand, throat pulsing. It was a tree frog. “See? Not scary at all.”
Joelle stared, fascinated. “That’s not what you put on my head.”
“No, but it was his big, clumsy cousin.” He grinned at her. “Kinda like me.”
He had pretty teeth, too big for his face, but white and even in his sun-browned, ruddy face. Something about his smile moved her, scared her. “I’ve got to go. Selah will be looking for me.”
“Let me walk you back.” He deposited the tree frog on its limb and returned, wiping his hand on the seat of his pants.
They walked through the woods together in awkward silence, occasionally bumping elbows. They hadn’t gone very far before Joelle was limping.
Schuyler halted to look down at her with a frown. “Where are your shoes?”
“In the bathhouse.”
“Of all the—” He gave a grunt as if taxed beyond endurance and suddenly bent to put his shoulder against her middle, then stood with her flopped over his shoulder like a sack of meal.
“Schuyler! Put me down!” She elbowed his shoulder blade.
He kept walking. “I’m not going to take you home with bleeding feet and hands.” Within a few yards, he was huffing and puffing. “You’re heavier than you look,” he observed with clear irritation. “Over a hundred pounds, I’d say.”
“I told you to put me down. We can go slowly.” The blood was rushing to her head. That was why she felt so flustered, with his arm hooked over the back of her legs and her chin bobbing against his back. She didn’t know what to do with her hands.
He slowed and stopped.