The Farmer (Bailey Clan Westerns Book 17)

A Quiet Farmer. A Violent Land.

After the Civil War, Logan Bailey seeks peace in the remote Pine Ridge country of Nebraska. He builds a homestead with help from a few neighboring families, determined to leave the past behind. But the land is far from settled. When a ruthless rancher sets his sights on driving out the small farmers, Logan is forced to choose: retreat into solitude—or stand and fight once more.

Logan never wanted to lead again. Haunted by a past marked by loss and war, he came west for a new beginning. But the settlers around him need someone to take a stand. And Ciara Grogan, the daughter of one of the farmers, sees in him more than just a quiet man—she sees a survivor, and perhaps something more.

The Farmer is a gripping western of grit, heart, and hard choices, where survival means facing what you’ve run from—and fighting for what might still be possible. Book 17 in the Bailey Clan Westerns series.

Available now. Start reading The Farmer today.

Excerpt from the book

Logan drove his wagon down the main street of the town. It was midafternoon and the sun shone in a cloudless blue sky. He was bringing in a second wagonload of the produce from his farm, which was twenty miles away near a range of forested hills. His was one of four farms in the area, and all the farmers brought their produce to town and sold it to Fergus Miller. The other three farmers were Andrew Grogan, Robert Graves, and William Hackett. Fergus Miller was the owner of the Miller General Store in the town of Shelbyville on the edge of the Sandhills. He would store and later sell the produce to nearby settlements and to towns as far away as fifty miles in the Sandhills. He was a genial, florid-faced mountain of a man who had been one of the original settlers who had built the town.

Logan pulled up his mules behind another wagon in front of the store. He recognized the horses hitched to the wagon. They were from the Grogan farm. The other farmers used horses or oxen to pull their wagons, but Logan had four big Missouri mules. He jumped down from the wagon seat just as Betty Grogan and her daughter Ciara came out of the store lugging a sack of supplies. He doffed his hat and then said, “Let me load that for you.” Betty Grogan smiled at him and said, “Thank you, Logan, but there are two more sacks in there. If you could get those…” Logan told her, “I’ll load this and get those as well.” He took the sack from them and put it in the wagon. He turned and said, “I’ll get the other two now.” Ciara said, “I’ll come with you.”

They walked into the store and she said, “It’s nice of you to help us.” Logan just said, “It ain’t a problem.” Ciara explained, “Liam isn’t too well and Pa had the irrigation ditches to clear, so Ma and I decided to come fetch the supplies.” Logan just grunted as he looked around and Ciara pointed to two sacks and said, “Those are the ones.” Fergus was behind the counter and Logan told him, “I brought in another wagonload. I’ll take it around to the back and unload it.” Fergus nodded and said, “Looks like your first crop is a good one. I’ll be at the back to help you unload.” Logan picked up both the sacks, one in each hand, and walked out of the store. Ciara glanced at him because she knew how heavy those sacks were, but he carried them with ease.

They went out the door and saw three men confronting Betty. One of the men was saying, “You should tell your man to be smart and sell to Arch Hadden. You farmers ain’t wanted here and you’re spoiling the land for the cattle.” Ciara ran to her mother as Logan put the sacks into the wagon. He heard one of the men say sneeringly, “Well, if it ain’t the young filly — looking good as always.” Logan went around the wagon and the men turned to face him. A tall, dour-looking man said jeeringly, “Hey Kev! Don’t tell me the mare got another stallion!” A square-built man with a flat face said, “No Vic, this here is another of the sodbusters — came in about two years ago. Ain’t that right, Joel?” Joel was a lean, tall, broad-shouldered man, and he said, “Yeah, he’s the last of the sodbusters.”