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    Looking For Ward
    Looking For Ward
    Looking For Ward
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    Looking For Ward

    By Laurel Osterkamp

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    About this ebook

    What if your love disappeared and your loyalties changed? Would you change your life, or would it change you? In Looking For Ward a bride-to-be confronts these questions as she faces the ultimate threat to her wedding plans.

    Meet Chloe Langley, a wannabe jewelry designer and spoiled Daddy’s girl. Chloe is used to getting what she wants, and for months she’s been planning the dream wedding for herself and her finance, Ward. Then, thirty days before their wedding day, Ward disappears, leaving only an e-mail, instructing her not to look for him.

    In the month leading up to her wedding, Chloe must decide if and how she should find Ward, whom to trust, when to let go, and what to do about their wedding plans.

    The story is told through a series of e-mails between Chloe, her best-friend Bethany, and Ward’s best man Owen. As the month goes on and the wedding date gets closer, secrets come out that change the lives of everyone involved. In the process Chloe discovers the true meaning of love and loyalty, and finds that she’s capable of more than she ever thought possible.

    Looking For Ward is a wonderful story about what it means to believe in love, and to believe in yourself.

    Minnesota author Laurel Osterkamp originally wrote this 22,000-word novella for fans of her chick-lit novel, Following My Toes. Those readers received a new installment of the story by e-mail each day during the month of March 2007. Now the ebook edition offers Looking For Ward to the general public.

    Laurel Osterkamp has been a comedy writer for Minneapolis performance groups over the last seven years. She currently teaches creative writing to high school students, and lives in Minneapolis with her husband, son and daughter.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPMI Books
    Release dateFeb 22, 2011
    ISBN9781933826837
    Looking For Ward

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      Book preview

      Looking For Ward - Laurel Osterkamp

      Looking For Ward

      a novella

      by

      Laurel Osterkamp

      Smashwords Edition

      Published by:

      PMI Books, Boulder, Colorado

      Looking For Ward

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2011 by Laurel Osterkamp

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Discover other titles by Laurel Osterkamp at http://www.laurelosterkamp.com

      March 2007

      To: bethanyjones45@hotmail.com

      From: chloelangley@origingifts.biz

      Date: March 1, 2007

      Subject: Something weird has happened

      Hey Bethany…

      I need your help. You need to tell me I’m freaking out over nothing. I’m having a day that can only be described as crunchy, like when you think you’re getting a smooth PB&J, but you bite into it and there are all these unwanted chunks. Everything I do, think, feel, or see is just off and it scares me.

      Why, you may ask.

      Well, this morning my entire world was flipped upside down like the loosing side in a coin toss.

      I’ll elaborate.

      Last night Ward came over, we had dinner and talked about the wedding. He seems to forget that it’s in a month, and I wanted to figure out the seating chart and talk about our vows. So I made Chicken Kiev and opened a bottle of wine, and soon things were finer than Hugh Jackman in a wet t-shirt. Afterwards we watched CSI and went to bed (although we didn’t go to sleep, wink, wink, for sometime after). This morning he got up, took a shower, kissed me on the cheek, and said he’d call me later.

      So I went to work. The store needs to be restocked, but I was in a lazy mood and things were slow, so I wasn’t doing much – except checking my e-mail. My mom still e-mails a kazillion times a day about the wedding. ANYWAY, at about 10 am, Ward sends me this (I cut & pasted):

      Chloe,

      I have to go away. I’ll explain later, but I’m not sure when that will be. I love you, and if you love me in return you’ll let me have this time, and you WON’T look for me. If you do decide to track me down, I won’t come back at all.

      Please forgive me, and know I’ll be thinking of you constantly.

      Love,

      Ward

      I e-mailed back, but there’s no response. I called his cell, same thing. Then I called his work, and they said he hasn’t come in today, and he doesn’t have any clients booked for the NEXT MONTH! He’s the most popular personal trainer at the Y, so can that be?

      Maybe this is a joke? If so - not funny! I mean, obviously the wedding means more to me than it does to Ward, but I would hope the marriage is important to him. And if he has a problem, why wouldn’t he say something instead of just sending a cryptic e-mail? I really don’t get it.

      Unless he’s in danger? Or something terrible has happened? But who would want to harm Ward, and what terrible thing could happen that he wouldn’t be able to tell me about? True, he’s always been an enigma of sorts; do you think this could have something to do with how he spends his mysterious Saturdays?

      Please write back and tell me I’m over-reacting. Say that everything is going to be okay, and Ward is just having a moment of kookiness that will disappear soon.

      Thanks…

      Love,

      Chloe.

      To: bethanyjones45@hotmail.com

      From: chloelangley@origingifts.biz

      Date: March 2, 2007

      Subject: Continued Confusion

      Bethany –

      It was tremendous to talk to you last night! With the two hour time difference it’s so hard to coordinate phone chats, and I appreciate that you called. You really made me feel better. And I’m sure you’re right that Ward just has pre-wedding jitters, and I’m going to do what you said and try not to worry about it. I decided I’m not going to mention this to anyone (other than you). I mean, my parents have already dropped THOUSANDS on this wedding, and at this point, most of it is nonrefundable anyway – thirty days notice and all. Besides, Ward will be back soon, so there’s no need to say anything. He’s got to be back soon, because there is just no other option.

      But I haven’t heard from him yet.

      As soon as our conversation was over though, my phone rang. Of course I was hoping it was Ward, but it was Owen. Uhg. I could describe our conversation, but it’s better to just recount it to the best of my memory:

      Owen: I need to speak to Ward.

      Me: He’s not here.

      Owen: Well where is he?

      Me: I don’t know.

      Owen: He’s not at work, or at home. I tried his cell too. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him all day.

      Me: What do you need to talk to him about?

      Owen: Umm… Shouldn’t you be a little more concerned about Ward’s disappearance?

      Me: Disappearance? What makes you think he’s disappeared?

      Owen: Umm…because he’s nowhere to be found. Look, if you hear from him, tell him to call me, okay?

      Me: ( in a resigned voice) Sure.

      Click! Dial tone. Sound of fury raging in my ears.

      He can be so rude! No goodbye, no thank you, and certainly no How are you, Chloe? You would think as Ward’s best man that he could at least pretend to like me. I suppose given our history that’s too much ask. But come on, it was years ago! Ward’s forgiven me, so I don’t see why Owen can’t. His attitude should have been adjusted a long time ago.

      Sigh.

      Okay, I really should start on inventory. I’m already behind on stocking the cucumber soap (huge seller), and this afternoon I have to go sign the contract with the

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