Mike lifted the splash of whiskey he’d poured in a shot glass for himself. He didn’t normally drink while working, but he needed something warm to soothe his restlessness. He’d agreed to be patient with Zoey, but the waiting was grinding on his nerves. He’d tried to discuss it with her. Tried to convince her the secret would continue to become heavier—worse than the truth. But no matter what he said, he was wrong because he wasn’t a parent.

Zoey never said exactly that, of course. But she didn’t want her two worlds colliding, and the strain was wearing on them both.

“That is one very long face for a Friday night, Michael.” Father Joe looked over the rim of his beer glass. “Why so glum?”

“Oi, he’s got love problems, Father,” Finn said. He immediately stopped, mouth open and eyes wide. “And I’m a complete eedgit for saying that. Blame the lack of sleep that comes with fatherhood. Sorry, Mike.”

Mike wasn’t sure which was more annoying—that Finn had spilled the beans about him having a relationship, or that he’d brought up parenthood. Some days it felt like everyone he knew was a parent except him. Wait. He looked at Logan.

“You don’t have kids, do you?”

“Excuse me?” Logan’s broad shoulders straightened, his voice hard. “Did you really just ask me that? You know damn well I have two children. Ethan and Lily.” Logan leaned forward, squinting at Mike, his anger fading. “Did you hit your head or something?”

“I know you have Ethan and Lily, but—”

“Stop right there,” Logan warned, the cold edge returning to his voice. “I may not be their biological father, but those two are my children and I love them as much as I love Piper.”

Finn took a drink order from a group of young people who had just walked in. He nudged Mike. “Why don’t you take a break, yeah? You’re all wound up in your head tonight. Timmie is here, and he and I can handle the bar for a bit.”

He wanted to object, but he was wound up. Father Joe patted a barstool between him and Logan. “Come on out here, Michael, and tell us what’s got you so...confused. Is it true you’ve found love again?”

As Mike was lifting the bar gate to join them, Logan answered the priest, his voice quiet.

“It’s not public knowledge, but Mike and Zoey Hartford have been, uh...getting acquainted.”

Mike stared at Logan. Everyone at the cookout had been sworn to secrecy, and Logan hadn’t even been there. Then again, this was Rendezvous Falls. “If it’s not public knowledge, how the fu—” he glanced at Father Joe and reworded his question to Logan. “How do you know about it?”