Page 52 of Promised Secret
“Aw, c’mon! They’re even cuter in person. And if you give Hook treats, he might even let you touch his belly. It’sreallysoft,” I tried persuading her.
I hated how misinformed people were about rats. One bad news article about them and their entire lot got categorized asdirtyanddiseased, when in fact, rats spent more time grooming themselves than cats did.
The way they used their little hands to fluff their fur was stinkingcute, too.
Rosa didn’t seem impressed by the temptation of soft, chubby bellies. “No, thanks,” she replied curtly.
I shook my head while Frederick just chuckled.
“How are things going with the dude from the club?” I asked Frederick on the drive back to my place. I left my minivan at the clinic and figured I’d catch a ride with Clay tomorrow. Or walk, depending on the weather.
Frederick shrugged. “Things kinda fizzled out,” he replied, but I had a feeling there was more to it than that.
I wanted to probe, but his jaw was tightly set, and he had the steering wheel in a death grip. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to discuss his relationships, so I changed the topic.
“What did you get my babies, anyway?” I asked and turned to the back to take a peek.
Frederick’s grip on the wheel loosened, but there was still a strain in his tone when he replied, “I got my bunnies an inflatable pool to use as a playpen, but they’re not really a huge fan of it, so I thought the rats might like it. Have you taken them swimming yet?”
“Not yet, but I bet they’d look super adorable in the water!” I said, now excited.
I knew rats could swim, and some even enjoyed it, but I was honestly too busy feeding and cuddling the cuties to do much more. Clay had been the one to teach them little tricks, with him having much more patience than I did. Plus, he would actually wait to give themtreats as rewards. Unlike me, who gave them whatever they wanted as soon as they twitched their cute little noses at me.
Frederick worked on inflating the pool in the playpen I’d set up for them in the corner of the living room. Meanwhile, I went to say hi to my babies.
They’d probably just woken up for the night and immediately came running when I called their names. I hugged them to my chest, and Captain let out a high-pitched happy noise, and Hook licked my chin. My boys were always so affectionate.
“Do you guys remember Frederick?” I asked as I walked over to him.
They sniffed the air, probably trying to place Frederick’s scent. They must have remembered him, since neither of them tried to run from him when I set them inside the playpen.
I watched them explore the inflatable pool and Frederick for a bit. I left them to get reacquainted while I did some spot cleaning on their cage and filled their bowls with fresh food and water.
By the time I finished, Frederick had already filled the pool just deep enough for them to float. I pulled one of their climbing toys from their cage and set it inside the pool for them to stand on if they wanted.
I gently placed them on the toy, and both Hook and Captain sniffed the water and spun around to look at me like they were confused about what they were supposedto do. It made sense. My boys were smart, but they’d never swum before.
“Do you have frozen peas? That might entice them to explore,” Frederick suggested.
I retrieved the bag from the freezer and plopped a few peas into the pool. The treats immediately got their attention.
Captain tried to stretch his short little arms to reach the closest pea, to no avail. Hook was more courageous. He climbed down the toy’s stairs and bravely paddled toward the closest pea.
“Look at him go!” I cheered for my little boy and whooped, and Captain followed closely behind his brother.
I always thought it was funny how, despite his name, Captain was the more timid one. Instead of taking charge, he always waited for his brother to lead him.
“They’re natural swimmers,” I commented and slid down into the space beside Frederick.
Frederick smiled and nodded.
We watched the boys play for a while. Hook finished his first pea and jumped into the water for another. Bypassing the closest pea, he opted to swim further out as if he were enjoying himself.
Their happy squeaks were the only sound in the room for a couple breaths when Frederick finally let slip, “He came to visit me.”
I didn’t need him to clarify who he meant. Therewas only one person who could make Frederick look thisvulnerablewhen he spoke about them.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” I asked.
