Saving Alyssa (Mills & Boon Heartwarming) Read Online Free PDF

anyone had told him he could list bike parts, let alone repair them, he would have called them crazy. “If they won’t hold a weld, I’ll have to order new parts. Your chain is history, and I wouldn’t put any confidence in this crank set, either.”
    Billie groaned softly. “In other words, I’m really not racing next Saturday.”
    â€œWell...” Noah stood up and, with one hand on the bike seat, said, “Not unless you believe in miracles?”
    â€œAbsolutely not. ”
    She’d answered fast. Too fast. It made him wonder what—or who—had turned her into such a pessimist.
    â€œDo you need a deposit?” she asked.
    Noah waved the offer away. “Nah.” He picked up the notebook. “I know where you live. And I have the Cannondale as collateral.”
    Billie hopped down from the stool, wincing when she landed.
    She’d walked the bike to his shop; going home the same way would cause further damage to her ankle.
    â€œTuesdays are slow,” he began, “but even if they weren’t, we’re practically neighbors. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes, so why not let me drive you home?”
    Billie stiffened. “I appreciate the offer, but—”
    â€œIt looks like you stuffed a bowling ball into your sock. I’d bet my bike your doc told you to stay off it, keep it elevated. And iced down.”
    â€œAs a matter of fact, he did.” She exhaled a sigh of frustration. “So okay, I’ll take you up on your offer. Thanks.”
    Noah had never been good at accepting help, either, and these past three years had only heightened his mistrust of people.
    â€œMy pickup is out back,” he said, aiming a thumb over one shoulder. “Give me a minute to load Alyssa into her car seat, and I’ll drive around front so you won’t have to traipse all the way through the shop and into the side alley.”
    By the time he turned off the TV, secured Alyssa in her child safety seat—promising to make her favorite for supper—then flipped the store’s Open sign to Closed, locked the door and double-parked in front of the shop, fifteen minutes had passed.
    â€œSorry, got a little waylaid,” he said to Billie. While she slid into the front seat, he checked the locks on the Today’s Specials bikes in the rack outside the shop.
    Alyssa leaned forward as far as the seat restraint would allow. “Does your ankle hurt much?” he heard her ask.
    Billie sat stiff and straight, facing forward, even as he got into the driver’s side, as if being around his daughter was an imposition.
    â€œNo. Not much.”
    â€œI twisted my ankle once, jumping on my bed. Is that what happened to you?”
    â€œI fell off my bike.”
    â€œOh. Did your elbows get all busted up, too?”
    â€œBroken,” Noah corrected. He put the car into gear. “Sounds more ladylike than busted . ”
    â€œBut...I’m just a kid. Why do I have to talk like a lady?”
    â€œBecause I said so.”
    As he turned onto Main Street, his daughter said, “My name is Alyssa. What’s yours?”
    â€œBillie.”
    â€œBut...but Billy is a boy’s name.”
    â€œOnly if you spell it B-i-l-l-y. I spell it B-i-l-l-i-e. ”
    â€œThere’s a boy in my class,” she said, “and his name is Billy— Daddy! Look!” She pointed across the street. “Isn’t that little white dog the cutest   thing ever!”
    If he ever said yes to getting a dog, it sure wouldn’t be a yippy ankle-biter like that one. “Uh-huh,” he said. When he’d been forced to leave her favorite doll at the airport, Noah had soothed her tears by promising to replace it with a kitten. Mouser was nice enough, as cats go, but certainly not the in-your-face pup Alyssa had always dreamed about.
    â€œIf I had a dog,” she said now, “it would be big, with a happy face. Like the