Chapter 1

Amanda Milton!

How Mandy liked the sound of that name.

She was ... Amanda ... MILTON!

Just the name brought joy to her heart.

Everything that had happened to her in her 17 years and 9 months before she had met Bob, dwindled to dim memories.

All of the hurts and deceptions which her mother had cast upon Mandy, had melted away. Had been eradicated because she had met Bob that life changing day.

Bob had done all that and more for her.

Now it was, all ... right.

She was, all ... right.

She was Amanda Milton, Bob's wife.

Bob had kept his promise not to "Just Throw Her Away."

Not only had he not let her go, he had given her a new name. One she cherished.

Mrs. Bob Milton.

It was difficult, but she smiled at him. Patted his shoulder and stroked his face. Her love spilled over when she kissed him on the cheek and a tear filled the corner of her eye. "I love you," she mouthed to him. "I love you."

She thought back to the day that Bob gave her an engagement ring. It was right after they had become millionaires, each in their own right.

Bob had a photography assignment with Stan Wilson, Lawyer, City Councilman and Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Department. He invited them to lunch in his office after the dedication for a personal interview.

He was her lawyer too. Well, she had found that out during that delicious afternoon.

Bob, a freelance reporter, had known Stan many years and Bob was considered just about the best by Stan. So when they were dedicating a redesigned Veteran's Park in the city center, Bob was Stan's choice.

After an interview with Stan at his office after the dedication, he had told her that her father had left her an estate worth in excess of 4 million dollars. In three weeks, upon her birthday, turning 18, she would get the first million dollars plus a huge interest check.

It was mind boggling.

Then because Mandy stuck up for Bob, they both found out that even though he thought he was penny-less, his wife really owed him about a million dollars too.

Then they had dinner her favorite restaurant, McDonald's.

It had been a fantastic afternoon.

One where they both turned into instant millionaires.

Mandy, even more so.

But, for Mandy, the most magnificent part was that Bob was going to be her Guardian and when she turned 18, he would became her Conservator until she turned 30.