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"Be more specific, please."
"Jack and I get on well enough. No problems there, so I have nothing to tell you about that."
Uncooperative doesn't even begin to describe Callum MacTaggart. While Jack had told me his brother is easygoing and happy, he'd left out the details about Callum's current attitude problem. To be fair, though, Jack did mention his brother had changed lately, ever since he reinjured his knee. My job is to find out why.
This might take more than four weeks.
"So, there isn't anyone you would talk to," I say. "Not even a friend? Or one of your cousins? Jack said you have lots of those."
"Aye, I do." Callum swings his legs off the bench. "But I donnae share my innermost feelings with them either. It's private."
"But you do have things you need to discuss with someone. Right?"
"I can work it out on my own."
Oh yeah, more than four weeks. This might take years.
Since it's my job to be nosy, I press on. "You must have one friend."
He flattens his lips, then blows out a breath. "Ye willnae give up, will ye?"
"Nope. Might as well share one little thing with me. If you answer this question honestly, with no evasion, then we can go into the exercise room to start your recovery routine."
The pigheaded Scot growls under his breath. "I have a friend. Hugh Parrish has been my best mate for years."
"But you won't talk to him either."
Callum shrugs. "Hugh lives in England, and he's busy with family matters. We haven't seen each other in person since last summer and haven't spoken for almost two months."
"You've never heard of the telephone?"
He flashes me another scowl. "Of course I have. But we both have too much going on in our lives to be havering every night the way lasses do. We email, though."
"You should do more than that." I hop off my stool. "If you agree to call Hugh tonight, I won't ask any more nosy questions today."
"But you'll harass me again on Wednesday."
"Yes." I lean in to stare straight into his gorgeous blue eyes. "It's my job to harass, harangue, and generally hound you. That's therapy."
"I will ring Hugh tonight. Satisfied?"
"This is for your benefit, not mine. But yes, I'm glad you're going to talk to your best friend. Now, let's head into the exercise room to start your physical therapy."
"Ahmno leaving this room until—Well, just not yet."
Oh, I get it. He's still freaked about the hard-on incident. I glance at his groin, and I see why. He's still semi-hard.
"If you need a minute," I say, "I can wait in the hall until you're ready."
"In the hall? How am I meant to, ah…recover when I know you're standing just outside the door?"
Wow, he's bent out of shape about this. "Okay. I'll go into the exercise room to get things set up. As soon as you're ready, just turn right when you leave this room and go all the way to the end of the hall. You'll see the sign for the exercise room."
"All right."
I leave, shutting the door behind me, and head for the exercise room. For the next ten minutes, I putter around getting things set up for Callum's session. It doesn't take me that long, but I do things very slowly to waste time until the grumpy Scot recovers his male pride. Cheerful and laid-back? Oh yeah, Jack MacTaggart has some explaining to do. Either that, or I bring out the snarling jerk hidden inside Callum. I know I can be a bit tough, but I do it for my clients' own good.
Just as I'm wondering what to do now that I've set everything up, Callum pushes through the swinging doors and limps into the room. He stops a couple of feet inside the doorway, glancing around the space like he's never seen an exercise facility before.
