Read Online A Singular and Whimsical Problem by Rachel McMillan - Free Book Online Page A

from the sky,” Ray told us. “Five years in Canada and every time I see it is like I am seeing it for the first time.”
    â€œI want to go taste it!” Merinda bounced up and, without putting on her coat or boots, rushed out the front door. Of course, we all followed her.
    The night was hushed, the streetlights extinguished. But there is a sound to snow, and its soft sweep whooshed and tickled the air and spun around our cheeks. We stood outside, our funny quartet, noses reddened by the chill. The night had fallen dark, but the stars pricked all the more brightly.
    Merinda grabbed Jasper’s hand and propelled it toward the constellations. “That’s Polaris, the North Star!” she pointed proudly.
    â€œNo, it’s not,” said Jasper.
    â€œWhat are you now, an astrologer? And that one, my friend, is what the Irish call King David’s Chariot.”
    â€œAstronomer,” Jasper corrected.
    Merinda painted the universe with her tight grip on Jasper’s hand again, rotating it North. “And that’s the Christmas Star. The Star of Bethlehem.”
    â€œMerinda, you’re hopeless.”
    â€œI like the idea,” Ray said. “I do like the idea, Herringford.”
    â€œThe idea of what?” Jasper snuffed. “An erroneously labeled cosmos?”
    â€œThe Christmas Star.”
    Merinda bopped on the balls of her feet. “You’re to wish on it, DeLuca.”
    â€œI don’t believe in wishing.”
    â€œMake an exception.”
    â€œAll right” he cleared his throat, “I wish… ”
    Did he look at me just then? Did Jasper or Merinda see that infinitesimal flicker of light as his eyes brushed me in the dark? Secrets gathered in my head, secrets that rendered me at once vulnerable and strong.
    Merinda shushed him “You can’t tell anyone your wish, DeLuca.” Then she turned to me. “Jemima!”
    â€œYes, Merinda?”
    â€œYour turn.”
    I squeezed my eyes shut and I wished with all my might. The black canvas spreading over Toronto and to the great beyond fell away and everything was an elaborate and sparkling puzzle.
    I wished for winter snow and cozy fires and a home of my own. I wished for all the romance I could bottle up in a make-believe jar I swept across the sky, pooling Polaris and the Christmas Star and all of the prickling white jewels in their brilliant galaxy.
    And the night was calm and the night was bright and as snow magic danced around us, fluttered on my eyelashes, and kissed my cheeks, a world of certain possibility stretched before me. I watched Merinda and Jasper’s profiles, him stealing a look at her when he was sure she wasn’t looking, her chin upturned, wide eyes drinking in the snow. As I turned to watch Ray, I saw that he was already looking at me. Our eyes locked for a moment just as a film of cloud pulled back from the moon like a curtain, and I could see his whole face.
    He stepped closer and leaned into me. We were the same height, a perfect match for his mouth to meet my ear. “What did you wish for, Jem?”
    I bit my bottom lip, smiled, and bounced up the front steps into the solace of the sitting room as the fire raged and the tree twinkled light. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes and whispered a prayer—more effective than a wish—ending in, You. Just you. I’ll always wish for you.

The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder

    Can’t wait to read more of Merinda and Jem’s adventures? Find out what’s next for the intrepid detectives in The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder. In 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, the two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer.
    Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda