They were best friends who were never meant to fall in love, but for one of them, it was already too late.
Willow ‘Banjo’ Paterson and Tom Forrest were raised on neighbouring cattle stations in the heart of the Kimberley. They shared the same dreams, both drawn to the bright lights of the city to study sustainable agriculture, hoping to make a real difference to the family properties on their return.
Aged fifteen, the pair enter into a blood pact, swearing that they will never do anything to screw up their friendship. But, just as Willow and Tom are preparing to leave for university, something comes between them that Willow cannot forget.
While Tom makes the tough choice to defer his university placement and remain at Quintilla station, Willow sets off to Perth alone. After completing her Masters and taking up a university teaching position, it has now been a decade since Willow has even spoken to Tom.
When her father falls ill Willow is given the opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to take over the family property, Paterson Downs. As a staunch vegetarian, Willow’s vision is to turn all 3700 square kilometres of the station into a ground-breaking, sustainable, organic beef operation.
Jumping at the chance to put her studies to use in the real world, Willow books a one way flight home to Mount Clair. But as she is packing up her room, she rediscovers Tom’s heartfelt, decade-old pile of letters stashed unread at the bottom of a drawer.
Upon her arrival at Paterson Downs, Willow realises Tom has changed. Gone is the lean, lanky boy-next-door. Gone are the warm smiles and playful digs and gone are the familiar nicknames. ‘Banjo’ – coined by Tom at school when they were forced to learn The Man from Snowy River – is now Willow, spoken only with a formal, cool indifference.
As Willow starts to take over management of the station, she discovers that winning over the stockmen and implementing her humane production methods is proving harder than she first thought. She needs Tom’s help, but is it too late, and all too complicated, to make amends?
The first of three novels in the ‘Daughters of the Outback’ series, Dear Banjo is a wildly romantic and utterly captivating story about first love and second chances from exciting new kid on the block Sasha Wasley.
Sasha Wasley was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. She has completed a PhD in cultural theory and loves nature, Jane Austen and puns. Today, she lives and writes in the Swan Valley wine region with her partner and two daughters, surrounded by dogs, cats and chickens. Find out more at www.sashawasley.com.
