Five years after the final shot was fired in the War Between the States, Selah Daughtry can barely manage to keep herself, her two younger sisters, and their spinster cousin fed and clothed. With their family's Mississippi plantation swamped by debt and the Big House falling down around them, the only option seems to be giving up their ancestral land. Pinkerton agent and former Union cavalryman Levi Riggins is investigating a series of robberies and sabotage linked to the impoverished Daughtry plantation. Posing as a hotel management agent for the railroad, he tells Selah he'll help her save her home, but only if it is converted into a hotel. With Selah otherwise engaged with renovations, Levi moves onto the property to "supervise" while he actually attends to his real assignment right under her nose. Selah isn't sure she entirely trusts the handsome Yankee, but she'd do almost anything to save her home. What she never expected to encounter was his assault on her heart. "Full of intrigue, grit, and grace, A Rebel Heart is Beth White at her finest." -- Jocelyn Green , award-winning author of A Refuge Assured Five years after the final shot was fired in the War Between the States, Selah Daughtry can barely manage to keep herself, her two younger sisters, and their spinster cousin fed and clothed. With their family's Mississippi plantation swamped by debt and the Big House falling down around them, the only option seems to be giving up their ancestral land--until a hotel management agent for the railroad offers her hope for the future. If she'll turn her home into a hotel, Levi Riggins says, he can all but guarantee it will be saved. Selah isn't sure she entirely trusts the handsome Yankee. Yet what other options does she have? She'll have to stay on her guard . . . but she never expected to have to guard her heart. "With great skill, Beth White combines intriguing history with inspiring romance, and then adds a good measure of mystery and suspense. Well done!"-- Carrie Turansky , award-winning author of Shine Like the Dawn and Across the Blue "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 Beth White 's day job is teaching music at an inner-city high school in historic Mobile, Alabama. A native Mississippian, she writes historical romance with a Southern drawl and is the author of The Pelican Bride , The Creole Princess , and The Magnolia Duchess . Her novels have won the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, the RT Book Club Reviewers' Choice Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award. Learn more at www.bethwhite.net. Beth White 's day job is teaching music at an inner-city high school in historic Mobile, Alabama. A native Mississippian, she writes historical romance with a Southern drawl and is the author of A Rebel Heart and A Reluctant Belle , as well as the Gulf Coast Chronicles series. Her novels have won the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, the RT Book Club Reviewers' Choice Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award. Learn more at www.bethwhite.net. A Rebel Heart By BETH WHITE Baker Publishing Group Copyright © 2018 Elizabeth White All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8007-2689-8 PROLOGUE April 20, 1863 Ithaca Plantation Selah could hear the horses thundering closer, oncoming hell and destruction. Cowering in the darkness under the porch with her arms around Joelle, she felt her sister's body heave with great, gulping, silent sobs. She had no idea how Mama had known they were coming, but thank God they'd had time to hide. "Get under the porch, girls!" Mama had screamed, cloak billowing as she ran up the path from the gate. Mama, who never ran, never raised her voice. Dropping their books and sewing, Selah and Joelle ran down the steps and scuttled backward into the hidey-hole they'd loved as children. Their full skirts took up most of the space, and the thought of mice and spiders made Selah's scalp crawl. "Mama, aren't you coming in too?" Joelle asked as their mother replaced the latticework and pushed at it to make sure it was secure. "I have to warn the servants, make sure they get somewhere safe. Now back up out of sight, pray hard, and don't make a sound no matter what you hear. If something happens to me, I want you to go to Grandmama and Grandpapa in Memphis." "Mama!" Selah burst out. "What —" "Do what I say!" Mama's eyes blazed. "Promise me, Selah!" "Of course." Selah wasn't going to cry. She was nineteen years old — a grown woman, for mercy's sake. But she wasn't going to Memphis like her little sister Aurora had either. Papa had left her in charge of Ithaca, made her promise to watch out for Mama and Joelle. Mama's mouth relaxed a bit. "This will be over soon, and we'll have a silly story to tell over tea this afternoon." She stood, and her skirts