The Atlantic Ocean had seen both new begins and endings of relationships. It would probably see a million more after his time was up. The only person on the beach thought as the setting sun turned the Atlantic a mixture of turquoise and teal blue.
He thought back to the case he and his team had solved and uncovered a drug smuggling / dealing at a private and wealthy high school. The person who found out about it was beaten, shot twice then dumped in front of the lab. The girl was smart, smarter than the other people her age and with luck, she'd be able to walk with the aid of a cane or a knee brace.
"Everyone deserves some sort of happiness, sir, even you." Bre Mcallen told him, smiling and looking up at him. A smile of his own crossed his face and shook his head. "To each his own, I suppose. Thank you Lieutenant Caine, sir." With that said she placed two fingers against the bill of her hat and flicked them off. She walked towards the building, leaving him to shake his in wry humor.
The girl would be alright she had a good head on her shoulders. But it was what she said that really had him thinking, and was why he was standing on the beach at sunset.
"Everyone deserves some sort of happiness." That one sentence had affected him more than in the brief time he had known the girl who had even more piercing blue eyes than him, known as Bre. He thought he had found that happiness with Marisol but she had been killed.
"I was told you would be out here." A lightly accented voice said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Just came out here to think over some things." He replied, taking his azure blue eyes off the crashing waves and looked at the female who had joined him.
Private Detective Yelina Salas had thick brown, curly hair, warm chocolate brown eyes. She was the widow of his younger brother Raymond Sr. and the mother of his nephew.
"I heard that you solved a case that involved a young woman and a huge drug bust care to tell me?" She asked.
Horatio knew where his heart truly lied and who it belonged to. "As you said it involved a young woman and a drug bust." He deflected effortlessly. No way was he going to tell Yelina that Bre Mcallen had wormed her way into his heart with just a brief time of knowing her.
Yelina smiled and shook her head making her curly hair fly in her hair. She had heard that the red head had to the point of being dragged out of the hospital room, in which Bre had been placed in until she had woken up.
"You think that will work, Horatio?" She asked, watching him swallow painfully hard. He had been caught hook, line, and sinker.
Horatio looked away and spoke quietly, "That girl has been through so much that it gave her a toughened outward appearance and yet she's smart and compassionate. Bre Mcallen's one person who I'll never figure out." A wry smile and chuckle followed.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his face making him look at Yelina. A small smile graced her beautiful features as he stared into her eyes.
"That may be true but the girl will do some thing unexpected because that is her nature and you realized that." She said, not pulling her hand away, "She broke down the walls you had built around your heart effortlessly."
His reply was so soft that she had to ask him to repeat it. "I said, 'Everyone deserves some sort of happiness, including you.'" Horatio slowly and cautiously her closer, she didn't put up a fight.
Yelina was going to ask what he meant only to get out, "Wha-" when his lips gently pressed against hers. His eyes had closed and hers followed suit. She ran a hand through his red hair as his greedily pulled her closer.
Both of their lungs screaming for oxygen caused them to pull apart slowly. He laid his head on top of hers and breathed her scent in, fresh vanilla and strawberries. She rested her against his breastbone and smiled. He smelled like a mixture of sandalwood, mint and the ocean breeze, so uniquely him.
"What was that for, Horatio?" Yelina finally asked, looking up at him.
A slow genuine smile crossed his features as he looked deep into his sister-in-law's chocolate brown eyes. This is where his heart lied. No matter how much he tried to deny or just plain ignore it, Lieutenant Horatio Caine; Day supervisor of the Miami- Dade County Crime Lab, loved Yelina Salas his brother's wife.
"I guess I finally worked up the nerve to do something I wanted to do for a long time." He said, placing a small kiss on her brow.
A smile broke across her beautiful face as she inquired, "And what would that be, Horatio?"
Al light chuckle answered her, "I wanted to hold, kiss, and love you as you should be loved." A light gasped followed this statement as he continued, "I have loved you from the moment I saw you but I knew I couldn't have you because of Ray so I built up those barriers then Ray staged his death and everything else that's happened up to right up to this moment." He knew he was rambling but charged forward, swallowing hard. Yelina opened her mouth to say some thing, only for Horatio to gently place a finger against her lips, "You'll have to forgive me because it took a mouth little blond to show me that I love you, Yelina."
Yelina at this point had tears in her eyes from his confession. "I have waited many years to tell you that I also love you, Horatio, even when you start to ramble." A giggle followed but was cut off by a pair of warm lips.