“Tyler?” I called out to the boy as I came closer. When his head whipped around, there was a big grin plastered on his face. He called the dog and the two of them came sprinting over, sand and water flying from their feet.
“Aunt Liv!” he greeted me, stopping just inches before giving me a hug as he realized he was soaking wet. The canine sniffed excitedly at my feet, its long, thin tail wagging at a furious pace.
“Whose dog is this?” It looked like the one from yesterday before jet-skiing. I held out my hand, expecting the pooch to smell it, but instead a warm, wet tongue kissed it.
“Spock,” Tyler stated. He pet the dog's head and Spock wiggled with happiness. “Dr. James said he's a local stray, but that's it's fine if I play with him.”
“Does your mom know you're playing with a stray?” I asked.
“She's busy with a pottery class.” He threw a stick and Spock bounded gleefully after it. I raised my eyebrows and put my hands on my hips. He hadn't answered my question. Tyler sighed. “No. But Dr. James says he is really nice. He's really smart, too.”
I gave the dog a skeptical look. It had just returned, but with a different stick than the one Tyler had thrown. The dog was pure mutt. There might have been some sort of lab in his genetic history, but the individual breeds had become so mixed it was impossible to tell what heritage the dog could claim. I had to admit that his floppy ears and doggy grin were rather adorable.
“Spock, sit,” Tyler commanded. The dog promptly dropped to a sitting position, his tail still wagging furiously. Tyler grinned at me. “Spock, speak.”
Spock yipped, dropping the stick in the process. Tyler dropped to his knees and began rubbing the dog's body and showering him with praise. Spock's ribs were even more clearly visible today, as well as several other signs of hunger and lack of attention.
“Did you teach him that?” I asked. I reached out to scratch Spock's ears and was rewarded with a doggy moan of pleasure that made me giggle.
“Yeah. He's really good,” Tyler said. He smiled with just a hint of sadness at the mutt. “I can't believe nobody on the island wants him.”
I wanted to hug Tyler close to ease the sudden ache in my heart. I knew he was really struggling with the abandonment by his father. The two had been close before his dad decided to run off with one of his clients and leave everything behind. Unfortunately, the new love interest didn't like kids, and so Tyler's dad had pretty much disowned him. It hurt Tyler far more than he let on.
“What else have you taught him?” I asked, changing the subject. Tyler's eyes lit up again.
“He can come, and we're working on rolling-over, but he keeps getting distracted.” Tyler threw the stick again and Spock barked joyfully as he chased it. I watched as the dog picked up the discarded stick and then sprinted proudly back to his new best friend.
“Come here, Spock,” I called, patting my leg. To my surprise, he came and snuggled his mangy head into my leg. Maddy was going to be thrilled. She wasn't a dog person, but there was no way Tyler was going to give up this mutt. I could feel the tension of future drama building as I saw the love in Tyler's eyes when he looked at Spock.
“He likes you, Aunt Liv.” Tyler grinned at me. I peered down at the very cuddly puppy and sighed. I was going to be helping Tyler convince his mom that the dog was a good idea. I never could say no to a big pair of brown eyes.
“Give me the stick, Spock,” I commanded. The dog quickly dropped it at my feet and stood waiting with bated breath for me to throw it. I tossed it into the waves and he bounded off to fetch it. “How long have you been out here with him, Tyler?”
“Since breakfast.” Tyler's eyes followed the dog, and he grinned as Spock sprinted back to drop the stick at our feet. “I met him yesterday by the storage shed at the dock. Dr. James says he likes to hide there. I brought him some of my breakfast because he looked hungry yesterday.”
The thin ribs suggested that the dog looked hungry every day. “I see why he likes you so much, then.”
“It's not just the food, Aunt Liv.” Tyler looked at me with solemn eyes. “I think he's lonely. The other dogs ignore him. We're a lot alike.”
The simple truth in his statement broke my heart. Tyler saw himself in this mutt.
“Seems like you two were made for each other, then,” I said softly. I made a mental note to look into how to bring a dog back to the United States. If I took care of that part, Spock stood a fighting chance at convincing Maddy.
“Yup.” Tyler looked up at me and smiled, then waved to someone coming down the beach behind me. “Hi, Logan!”
I closed my eyes and tried not to look sour. I’d been hoping to avoid him today. The man seemed to be able to annoy me without even trying. Just the fact that he was here, wearing those low-slung board shorts and doing jet-ski tricks, drove me nuts. I hadn't even noticed him coming up the beach because I was busy playing with Spock.
“Hi, Tyler. Hello, Olivia,” he greeted the two of us. “Is this the same dog from yesterday?”
“Yup. This is Spock. He's my dog,” Tyler informed him. Spock ran over and licked Logan's hand. So much for the good sense of dogs.
Logan bent down and rubbed Spock's ears. He was wearing a light gray t-shirt that clung to him like a second skin, as well as those ass-enhancing board shorts he had worn yesterday. They still looked flipping amazing on him. “He looks like a great dog.”
“He's the best. I think I'm going to keep him.” Tyler grinned. I was not looking forward to having this conversation with Maddy. I hoped Tyler had a plan to help Spock win his mom over.
“Good luck with that,” Logan told him, as if he’d read my mind. “Have you taught him to play dead yet?”
Tyler shook his head. “I hadn't thought of that one.”
Logan grinned. “His name's Spock, right? From Star Trek?” Tyler nodded enthusiastically. “Then, here's what we're going to teach him...”
Logan leaned forward and started whispering in Tyler's ear. I stood back and watched as a grin slowly overtook Tyler’s face. Whatever Logan's idea was, Tyler loved it.
“Do you think you can teach him that?” Logan asked, stepping back.
“Definitely. Spock's smart.” He rubbed the dog's head, and Spock's tail thumped against the sand. “I'm going to go work on it now. No watching, Aunt Liv- I'll show you when he's ready. You'll love it.”
“If you need any help, you let me know,” Logan offered. Still smiling ear to ear, Tyler picked up Spock's stick and started running. Together they sprinted down the beach to where they could practice his new trick without being seen. Logan and I stood quietly, watching the two of them run.