The Bee's Knees

Chapter 1

Bees buzzed in Sweet Surprise's kitchen, lazily drifting through the bakery's cinnamon-scented air. Anna hummed along with her companions as she whisked strawberry puree into a bowl of frosting. The thick buttercream rose and fell in pink waves until it was as smooth as her bees' honey.

"I think it's about ready, Grandpa," Anna said.

"Only one way to be sure." He ran the tip of his finger through the frosting. "Better hurry before Bertrand tests it for you!"

The black bear huffed, plodding from his massive bed in the back of the kitchen to come sniff the bowl.

"Not for you, Bertie." Anna giggled as her grandpa's companion nudged her arm, his cold nose sending goosebumps running up her dark brown skin.

That was the most the old bear would ever do to her. Like all companions, Bertrand had little in common with his wild counterparts. Sure he loved berries as much as the next bear, but while most of his kind avoided humans, he followed Anna's grandpa wherever he went. The two of them got along as well as peaches and cream and shared a love for all things sweet.

Anna scooped up a fingerful of strawberry frosting, closing her eyes as the creamy sweetness washed over her tongue. As good as it was, something wasn't right. "It needs a little something."

Her grandpa nodded. "Any ideas?"

"Maybe we should add a little more lime juice," Anna said hesitantly, searching her grandpa's face for any sign that he agreed with her. Ever since she'd invented her own cookie recipe back in November, he'd been letting her help out at the bakery more and more, but she still wasn't used to tweaking recipes on the fly. "Tastes a bit too sugary."

"The sweetness definitely needs something to balance it out." Her grandpa's gap-toothed smile warmed the whole kitchen. "One more squirt should do the trick. You take care of that, and I'll get the piping bag ready."

Once Anna finished mixing in the lime juice, her grandpa spooned the frosting into a piping bag with a practiced hand. Despite the flour-filled wrinkles etched into his fingers, he swirled perfect pink peaks onto the waiting chocolate cupcakes.

Despite how delicious the desserts looked, he wasn't done yet. Careful not to smear the frosting, he garnished each cupcake with a strawberry and a sprinkling of chocolate shavings.

"They look so good!" Anna's eyes drank in the slivers of chocolate topping the frosting's elegant curves. She'd give anything to bake even half as well as her grandpa.

"Couldn't have done it without my sous chef." Her grandpa carefully boxed the cupcakes. "Let's go check on your dad. Shouldn't be too long before Mrs. Abrams gets here."

Flickering lights and cracked floor tiles welcomed them to the front of the bakery. Gone were the days of customers chatting in line as they waited to order desserts. Now the fridge where they kept bottles of milk hummed to no one but Anna's dad as he drummed his fingers on the countertop.

"Another quiet day?" her grandpa asked.

Her dad's face brightened, his squirrel chittering as it clambered up his arm to perch on his shoulder. "Someone came in this morning, actually! Bought a couple cinnamon rolls."

Rows of croissants, brownies, and double chocolate chunk cookies sat untouched. Anna's family filled the display case with fresh batches of goodies every day, yet no matter what they set out, only Sweet Surprise's most loyal customers ever visited anymore.