title: The Ring
author: Ayer, Tim
description: Rogan Orlando, a boxer from an old, wealthy Texas family, is juggling the competing demands of Olympic competition, college and just living his life. It's a stressful life, one filled with expectations, pain, and responsibility, one from which even a competitor at his level needs the occasional distraction. Her name was Melissa. A pretty, lustful, brunette, she wrangled a low-level support staff job in the Olympic Village, just so she could be closer to the athletes she craves. For Rogan, she is just what he needed to blow off a little steam. A week later, Rogan leaves Atlanta-and his pretty little Olympic fling-behind. A few weeks after that, she shows up at his home in Lubbock with a bit of news. She came all the way to Texas to congratulate him-on the impending birth of their child. Stunned, he then learns that the mother of his child is a pragmatic young woman who isn't really interested in motherhood. She gives him a choice: raise the child on his own, or she will abort it and be out of his life as if it never happened. A college student and nationally ranked boxer, Rogan barely has time to sleep as it is. He knows he doesn't have time for fatherhood, but he also has strong feelings about family and what is right. He decided that this innocent child, while unplanned, is not unwanted. He invites Mel to live with him as they await the birth, both tentative about the future. Will their baby draw them together or force them apart?