'I was too late!'

Sally held her sobbing granddaughter tight and just let her cry.

When Kayo had attempted to tell them earlier that day and had been interrupted, she had been irrationally afraid of what was going to happen.

Sally's 'next time, kid' felt somehow prophetic now, as did Kayo's reply of 'I just hope I'm not too late.' She never thought that the man would reveal the connection himself, nor in such a way that would be so damaging.

She pulled her granddaughter in tightly and rested her chin briefly on Kayo's head.

'You and Jeff were right. I should never have hid my heritage from them.'

'At the time it felt like the right thing. Your uncle was issuing threats after threats against you and the boys.'

'I remember. Ayah was always on the move, trying to find him.'

'We totally understood why you didn't want to tell the boys about him.'

'But I should have been braver. I should have trusted them to handle the knowledge.'

'You're not just talking about your brothers, are you.'

Kayo looked down and swallowed. Scott had been right. She should have told him even if she didn't tell the others. It wasn't like she'd never intended to tell him, it just wasn't something that came up naturally in conversation.

She should have made it a priority to tell him. Instead, she thought she was protecting him, protecting them all, if they didn't know. After all, what was that saying? What didn't know couldn't hurt you?

Now she realised that the only one keeping secrets didn't hurt was herself, not her brothers and certainly not now the knowledge was out in the open. They had all rallied around her but the hurt she'd caused them was clear to see.

Trust was of high importance to them all. It wasn't the first time that the connection between trust, family and their cohesiveness as a team was made, and Kayo wondered how she'd fooled herself for so long.

'Sweetheart, you need to talk to Scott.'

'I – I don't think he wants to talk to me.'

'He will, you know he will. He loves you.'

'And I took that love and betrayed it.'

Fresh tears flowed and Sally tightened her hug. She understood where both were coming from, and knew that they needed to talk this through – something neither of them were very good at. She kissed the top of Kayo's head and once more rested her chin there, rocking gently as the tears fell silently.

It meant she saw Virgil standing in the doorway. He smiled sadly at her and gestured for a drink , pointing at both of them.

'Ten minutes, you and me,' she mouthed. He nodded and soundlessly padded out the room.

By the time he returned Kayo was fast asleep. Virgil put the drinks down and gently picked up the woman he'd viewed as a sister for almost half his life, carrying her to her room. Sally followed behind, pulling the covers back and then over Kayo. They watched for a moment before Grandma placed a glass of water on the night stand and they left.