“I told him to try your bakery. I have no idea if he will or not. We have Tish following him in a subtle sort of way, just to make sure he isn’t getting into any trouble.”
“Holy shits.”
Hyperventilating. Was he hyperventilating?
“Hogan? Hoges? You still with me?”
“I didn’t have any idea. I would have…I would have made something better, something special.”
“Okay, first of all, everything you make is amazing and special. Everything you make is better than the best out there.”
“I’m not ready.”
“You are. You’re going to be fine, going to be perfect. You have four out-of-town businesses begging you to keep delivering to them…”
“Six,” he breathed.
“Six. Hey, congrats. You’re a fantastic baker. All I need you to do is give him a free pastry when he stops in. I’ll cover it.”
“No, it’s good. It’s on the house. No worries. I got it.”
“Maybe give him a cup of coffee or tea?”
“Sure, yes, whatever he wants.” He sounded a little more like himself, the shock having worn off quickly.
“So other than being your normal spectacular self, and letting him enjoy one of your normal spectacular treats, I need you to do one more thing.”
“I’ll try.”
“Take a good look at him, and tell me what kind of supernatural he is.”
“Oh,” he said. “He’s not a normal, huh? Okay, yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”
“Thanks, Hogan. You are going to impress the hell out of him.”
“Thanks, yeah, I gotta go. See ya.”
“Bye.”
I disconnected and called Jean.
“Wedding dress shopping at three,” she said.
“Myra already chewed me out about it. Hogan has a social media influencer who might be visiting his bakery today. He sounds a little star struck. Can you stop by and help him stay calm?”
“Which social media influencer?”
“Patrick Baum.”
“Road Bomb! Oh, man, that’s sweet! Why is he in town?”
“Bertie invited him. There’s a small town contest he’s doing. Also she wants the marketing that comes along with one of his visits.”
“Yeah, of course she does. I heard he was in Boring for three weeks or something.”
“Bertie heard that too.”
“Oof.”
