Dakota Love by Rose Ross Zediker Read Free Book Online Page A

a booth over a table when the hostess asked their preference. They perused the menu while they waited for their coffee.
    “The clam chowder sounds good. Have you ever had it here? I’m fussy about my chowder.” Caroline peered over the menu.
    “No, I haven’t, but I’ve never been disappointed with anything I’ve tried here.”
    “Still”—Caroline returned to her menu—“I think I’ll play it safe and have the creamy tomato and a grilled cheese. Have you decided?”
    Rodney closed the menu. “The vegetarian chili and turkey breast on whole grain.”
    Once they placed their order, Rodney intended to use the opportunity to get to know Caroline better. Had she lived in Riverside her entire life? Did she have siblings? But before he took the initiative, Caroline pulled the notebook from her tote.
    “I’d like your opinion on shipping costs. I’ll talk to Mark about them also since he often makes online purchases.”
    A pang of disappointment caught Rodney off guard. What caused that feeling—the mention of Mark’s name and valued opinion, or that she was definitely looking at this outing as a business trip? At this rate she could write their lunches off on her taxes. He tapped his spoon lightly on the side of the mug before laying it back on the table. He gripped the handle to lift the mug. “I’m probably not much help in that area, but go ahead and bounce your ideas off me.” He raised his mug for a swig of decaf coffee.
    “Of course, this may be presumptuous of me because I haven’t received any inquiries from my website or ads I placed in magazines, but I’d think potential customers would appreciate seeing shipping prices on my cost page since that’s not included in my pricing.”
    “Good idea.”
    “I plan to keep it simple, either certified mail with a return receipt or United Parcel Service. Both of those methods provide a way to track a package.”
    “Does cost go by weight on those shipping methods?”
    “I think so.” Caroline rubbed the spot between her brows before the worry divot formed. “So maybe that won’t work.”
    Caroline slid her notepad to the side as their waitress placed their orders on the table. “It sure smells good.”
    “Yes, it does.”
Thank You, Lord, for this nourishment
. Rodney lifted the soup spoon from the saucer. “Perhaps you’ll have to build shipping into your pricing. I’m sure Mark can shed some light on the shipping problem.”
    “Speaking of Mark shedding some light on a problem”—Caroline swirled her soup with the corner of her grilled cheese sandwich—“I described your quilt to him, and he thinks he knows the name of the quilt block.” She bit the soup-softened corner of the bread.
    “Great, one mystery solved. Two more to go.” Rodney stirred his soup to cool it and slid the sandwich plate in front of him.
    “Two?” Caroline dunked the sandwich half in her bowl.
    “The fabric match and the origin of the quilt.”
    “No replies from family members?”
    “Oh, they’ve e-mailed back but not with any information I wanted. My aunt’s reply was vague. She thought she’d seen it before but couldn’t be certain. She hinted that Mom received a quilt for a gift once. She’s going to look through old pictures and ask around. It seems everything revolving around this quilt is mysterious, including answers from my family.”
    Caroline nodded and let the conversation drop. Quiet settled over the table as they enjoyed their lunch. When Rodney finished, he put the empty soup bowl on his plate as he popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth.
    Caroline picked up her fork and scraped up the cheese that had oozed from her sandwich onto the plate. “Have you always eaten such a healthy diet?”
    Finally, the perfect opening to tell her about his heart health. He shook his head, then held up a finger to indicate he had something to say.
    “Well, I’m glad to see you do now. You won’t have a heart attack like Ted.” Caroline ate the