6. Olwydd

CHAPTER 6

OLWYDD

Elis leans back in his seat, his chin raised, as we head out on our morning commute. "Don't worry, Uncle Olwydd. No one can resist our charm."

While I steer my transport through the winding caverns of Grotto, I glance at Elis from the corner of my eye wondering what he's up to.

"That's right." Osian nods his head in agreement. "We're the ultimate special ops team and we've got your back. Operation Win Your Mate is underway."

Operation Win Your Mate?!

"Listen, boys," I announce, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I got this. Really. I don't need any help. When we get to school, I'll do my thing?—"

"You mean act all weird and awkward?" Jac pipes up from the back seat.

I shoot him a look in the rearview mirror. "I do not act weird and awkward."

All three boys snort in unison. Traitors.

"Oh, Miss Bambi, look at my enormous biceps," Osian mocks in a sing-songy, high pitched voice.

"Lemme drool all down my fur," Elis joins in.

My cheeks heat. "I do not sound like that." I glower at them. "And I don't drool either." I'm met with raised brows and skeptical expressions. "I don't!"

We drive in silence for a few minutes as I stew.

"Okay, fine, maybe you guys have a point," I concede, scratching my chin. "This is what we'll do. I'll ask her out again. If she hesitates, that's your cue to jump in and beg her to join us for dinner. Got it?"

"Got it!" they chorus. Elis and Osian high-five each other. " Operation Win Your Mate is officially a go!"

As we pull up to the school caverns, I spot Bambi standing near the entrance, looking like a vision in a flowy skirt and blouse. I pointedly ignore the snort-laughs coming from the peanut gallery when my soulstone starts humming.

"Showtime," I mutter, plastering on my most charming smile as I saunter over to her. "Good morning, beautiful. Ready to shape some young Squatch minds?"

Bambi rolls her eyes, but I catch the hint of a smile. "Morning, Olwydd."

I wink, leaning casually against the cave wall. Or at least, I try to. My elbow slips, and I nearly face-plant into the limestone. Smooth, jackass. Real smooth.

Bambi stifles a laugh as I recover, trying to play it cool. "So, about that dinner..."

She sighs, but as sigh analysis goes, it's more of a you're-cute-and-only-mildly-annoying sigh than a go-away-before-I-scream sigh. Progress!

"Olwydd, I?—"

Before she can finish, three furry torpedoes launch themselves into our space. The little fuckers were supposed to give me a chance first.

"Miss Bambi!" Elis exclaims enthusiastically, "Will you please have dinner with us tonight?"

Jac, eyes wide and pleading, presses his hands together in prayer pose. "Please, please, please? Uncle Olwydd's cooking."

What? That wasn't part of the plan. I can't cook. Last time I tried…

"That's right," Elis agrees. "Uncle Olwydd will cook for you."

I try to subtly wave them off, but they're on a roll.

"He makes the best...uh..." Osian falters, realizing he has no idea what I can cook.

"Burnt toast!" Jac supplies helpfully.

I groan internally. So much for my master plan.

But then something magical happens. Bambi laughs. Not a polite chuckle, but a full-bodied, genuine laugh that makes her eyes crinkle at the corners. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

"Well," she says, eyes sparkling, "how could I possibly refuse such a tempting offer?"

Wait, what?

"Really?" I blurt out, hardly daring to believe it.

She nods, still smiling. "Really. If these little fur balls are going to be there, count me in."

The boys cheer, high-fiving each other. I'm too stunned to speak for a moment, which is probably for the best. I might start howling with joy if I open my mouth. I mean, my plan was a romantic dinner just for the two of us, but I'll take what I can get.

"Great!" I finally manage, grinning like an idiot. "It's a date! I mean, not a date-date, unless you want it to be, but if not, that's cool too, and?—"

Bambi mercifully cuts off my rambling with a gentle pat on my arm. "I'll see you all tonight. Now, I've got a class to teach. You boys get on to where you're supposed to be first period."

As she herds the kids into the cave, I stand there, still processing what just happened. I've got a date. With Bambi. Well, sort of.

***

The rest of the day passes in a blur. I'm pretty sure I spent most of my shift in the monitor room daydreaming about dinner instead of actually monitoring anything. Oops. Good thing the only visitors we've had lately are squirrels and the occasional confused hiker.

Before I know it, it's time to pick up the boys and start preparing for the big night.

"Okay, team," I announce as we enter my cave. "We've got a new mission: Operation Dinner Date ."

"I thought you said it wasn't a date," Elis points out.

I ruffle his fur. "Details, details. Now, what do we know about cooking?"

Three blank stares meet my question.

"Right," I sigh. "This might be trickier than I thought."

We dive into the kitchen with more enthusiasm than skill. I figure, how hard can it be? You just throw some stuff in a pot and heat it up, right?

Wrong. So, so wrong.

An hour later, my kitchen looks like a war zone. There's a suspicious black smoke coming from the oven, something that might have once been a vegetable is plastered to the ceiling, and I'm pretty sure the pot on the stove is plotting revenge.

"Uncle Olwydd," Osian says, eyeing the chaos warily, "I don't think dinner's supposed to look like this."

I'm about to agree when the smoke alarm starts blaring. Perfect. Just perfect.

As I'm frantically waving a towel at the alarm, trying to shut it up, there's a knock at the door.

"She's here!" Jac yells, bouncing with excitement.

Panic mode: activated.

"Quick!" I hiss, shoving burnt pots into cabinets. "Act natural!"

I smooth down my fur, take a deep breath, and open the door with what I hope is a suave smile. "Bambi. Welcome to Casa de Olwydd."

She takes one look at me—fur singed, apron covered in mysterious stains—and bursts out laughing.

"Oh, Olwydd," she wipes tears from her eyes. "What on earth happened in here?"

I glance behind me at the disaster zone that used to be my kitchen. The boys are frozen in various states of "acting natural," which mostly involves awkward poses and forced smiles.

"Well," I drawl, leaning against the doorframe in what I hope is a casual manner, "I thought I'd try my hand at gourmet cooking. Turns out, I might have overestimated my culinary skills. Just a tad."

Bambi's still giggling as she steps inside. "A tad? It looks like a food bomb went off in here."

I shrug, feeling my cheeks heat up under my fur.

She shakes her head as she stares up at the ceiling. "How did you…never mind." At least her eyes are twinkling with amusement. "Alright, Gordon Ramsay. How about we order something from Sizzle and I'll help you and the boys clean up this mess?"

"You'd do that?" I ask, touched by her offer.

She nods, rolling up her sleeves. "Of course. But you owe me a rain check on that home made dinner.

My heart does a little somersault. A rain check means another date, right?

As we start tackling the kitchen disaster—scrubbing, scraping, and scouring—my cave is full of laughs and chatter. My heart feels as though it's too big for my chest as I imagine her mothering our own children. There's no doubt she'd be the best mom.

Sure, this isn't the romantic dinner I'd hoped for, but watching Bambi laugh as she helps Jac wipe tomato sauce off his fur, I realize something.

This is better. In fact, it's absolutely perfect.

And as she catches my eye and gives me a radiant smile, I think maybe, just maybe, she might be starting to soften to my charms.

My soulstone hums contentedly, and for once, I don't try to hide it. I don't even care that the boys giggle about it behind their covered hands. Because this? This feels like the start of something amazing.

Now, if I can just figure out how to get the burnt veggie mush off the ceiling before it becomes a permanent decoration...