Page 70 of Shift the Tide

“You okay?” Izzy asked. Her voice was thick with exhaustion, but there was no surprise in her tone. Like she had expected this, or needed the company, too.

“Yeah, just… couldn’t turn my brain off,” Kiera admitted.

Izzy reached and pulled the covers aside, inviting her into the bed.

Kiera hesitated for only a moment before slipping into the bed behind her, careful not to jostle Izzy too much.

For a moment, there was only silence between them. The steady tick of the clock on the nightstand. The distant creak of the house settling. Kiera exhaled, slow and deliberate, beforeinching just a little closer, letting her arm drape lightly around Izzy’s waist. A small ask. A quiet permission.

Izzy didn’t pull away. Instead, she shifted just enough to fit against Kiera more fully, her back to Kiera’s chest, their ankles entwined.

The way they fit together felt... easy. Right.

Kiera closed her eyes, feeling the steady rhythm of Izzy’s breathing beneath her palm, the way their bodies naturally aligned. It wasn’t like the hesitant, fleeting touches they had shared before — brushes of hands, quick embraces, lingering glances. This was something quieter, something steadier. Something she wasn’t quite ready to name but wasn’t willing to let go of either.

She wasn’t sure how long they lay like that, just breathing, just existing together.

Then, softly, Izzy murmured, “You leave tomorrow.”

Kiera nodded against the pillow. “Yeah.”

Izzy was quiet for a long moment, her fingers resting lightly over Kiera’s hand where it lay on her waist. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m gonna miss you.”

Kiera’s heart squeezed at the admission, simple as it was. She could feel the truth of it in the way Izzy’s grip tightened, just slightly, like she didn’t want to let her go.

“Me too,” Kiera admitted, her voice just as quiet. Maybe even quieter.

She had spent the past few days watching Izzy — watching the way she had taken care of Maggie, the way she had held everything together even when no one asked her to. She and Izzy had cleaned the house, taken the kids to the local playground to get out their energy, and spent most evenings sitting out on Maggie’s back patio, drinking iced tea and beer and relaxing with one another in mostly exhausted silence. They hadn’t hadany time for intimacy past a stolen hand squeeze or lingering look. And now, lying there, pressed close in the stillness, Kiera realized how much she didn’t want to leave Izzy’s side.

Her voice was hesitant when she finally asked, “Are you heading back to San Francisco after this?”

Izzy tensed slightly, just for a second, before she let out a slow breath. “I don’t know yet.”

Kiera frowned, lifting her head to look at her. “You don’t know?”

Izzy’s thumb traced a small, absent-minded circle against the back of Kiera’s hand. “I’ve been thinking… maybe it’s time for something new.”

Kiera’s pulse jumped, though she tried not to let it show. “Something new?” she echoed carefully.

Izzy let out a small, quiet laugh, turning slightly so their faces were closer. “Yeah. A change of scenery. I’ve been thinking about Denver.”

Kiera stilled in surprise, trying not to overreact. She tried — really tried — to keep her body language neutral, to not let the words sink too deep before they were real. But the thought of Izzy in Denver, of her not leaving, of this — whatever this was — not ending before it even really began, sent a warmth through her that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

She should be careful. She should temper her expectations. Izzy moving to Denver didn’t even necessarily mean they were going to date. But instead, she found herself smiling.

“You’re thinking of moving?” she asked, her voice softer now.

Izzy turned in Kiera’s arms until they were facing each other, her eyes searching Kiera’s face in the dark like she was looking for an answer before she even asked the question. “Would you hate that?”

Kiera barely hesitated before shaking her head. “No,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t hate that at all.”

Izzy’s lips twitched, like she was holding back a smile of her own. And Kiera, lying there, heart beating too fast, realized she had already lost the battle with herself.

For the first time in a long time, shewantedsomething.Reallywanted it. That terrified her, but it didn’t stop her from pulling Izzy just a little bit closer.

“Can I sleep in here tonight? Nothing… you know, just sleep,” Kiera asked.

Izzy didn’t answer right away. Instead, she studied Kiera, her gaze flickering over her face like she was committing every detail to memory. Then, slowly, deliberately, she reached up, brushing a loose strand of hair from Kiera’s cheek. Her hand stayed, her thumb tracing over Kiera’s cheekbone.

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