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“I can’t read,” Keaton said at last. “I’m guessing you can.”

“Yeah. My grandma taught me. Luckily, she was pretty good at reading and writing before the world went to shit.”

Keaton nodded, his finger still tracing something on the book. “There are a lot of pictures, so I’m getting by.”

“I could teach you,” I offered, the words slipping out before I thought better of them. Because I wasn’t just offering lessons, I was offering a future, a promise we’d stay together.

“Maybe.” Not exactly the enthusiastic response I’d hoped for. Perhaps Keaton realized it too, because he closed the book and set it carefully aside. A moment later, his hands were on my skin, his lips on my neck, and I vowed to stop thinking.

Caroline’s smile was strained. “You could stay longer?”

I pulled her into a hug, mindful of her frailty. “We’ve stayed five days.”

“So make it a week.”

“We can’t.” I might have said “we,” but we both knew I meant Keaton. With vengeance almost within touching distance, he was keen to be on his way.

Caroline nodded and stepped back. “I have something for you before you go,” she told Keaton. He shot me a questioning look as she left the room. I shrugged. I couldn’t tell him what I didn’t know.

When she returned, she had a watch she’d been tinkering with for months. It had a thick brown leather strap and a large face. “You finished it?” I asked.

“I did,” she said proudly. “And it’s good as new.” She held it out to Keaton. “I’d like you to have it.”

He recoiled, caught between shock and surprise. “I couldn’t possibly.”

“You could,” Caroline insisted, grabbing his wrist and fastening it in place. “And you will. I’m an old woman who doesn’t get to meet many new people, let alone give them gifts. You wouldn’t want to hurt an old woman’s feelings, would you?”

“No, of course not.” Keaton turned his wrist, the watch face catching the light. “It’s lovely. Thank you.”

I hid a smile at how easily he’d been manipulated into doing what Caroline wanted. It wasn’t difficult to see where I’d inherited my skills.

Caroline wasn’t done. “It’s customary to thank people with a hug.”

Keaton obediently stepped forward, my grandmother disappearing in his arms such was the discrepancy in their sizes. “You make sure you take care of him for me,” she said.

We made good progress for the next few hours, the bike showing no ill effects from Oz’s interference and running better than it had for some time. Most of the roads were relatively clear of abandoned vehicles, and when they weren’t, they weren’t so blocked we couldn’t squeeze by. I didn’t bother stopping to search any of them. On a major route like this, they’d all been picked over long ago.

Despite the brief span of time we’d spent together on the bike compared to how many years I’d gone it alone, I’d grown used to the solid weight of Keaton at my back. It was reassuring. Us against the world rather than just me. I refused to dwell on how temporary that feeling might be.

It was mid-afternoon when I slowed the bike at a junction, the front wheel angled so I could go either way. “What?” Keaton asked in my ear, breath hot against my skin. I pointed left. “That road would cut at least a day off our journey.”

Keaton lifted his gaze to the rusted blue and white sign, the word on it still legible. “London,” he said.

“Thought you couldn’t read?” The bike shifted as he shrugged. “Have you been telling lies?”

He laughed. “Right. I’m the liar.” We both stared at the sign until Keaton broke the silence. “I know letters, and I can put them together at a push. One word is about my limit.”

I nodded, still weighing the choice.

Keaton leaned his chin on my shoulder. “You promised her.” The words were like having a bucket of freezing cold water tipped over my head. “I’ve waited this long. What difference is another day going to make?”

“No difference.”

“There you go then.” Keaton rocked his chin so that the point of it dug in. “You could just admit you want to see it.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Maybe. But I want to reach my objective more. And given what your grandma described, there’s no saying it actually is quicker.”