Behind the lettering was my backyard.
My pool.
My oak.
My stone patio.
The photograph had been taken from inside my kitchen.
I knew the angle.
I stared at it long enough for the screen to dim.
Blue Bonnet Ridge Realty.
Naomi’s employer.
She coordinated client events for them.
I searched the business name from the flyer.
Then Naomi’s name.
Within minutes, I found a social media page.
COLEMAN RIDGE VENUE.
Private Hill Country event spaces.
Family-run.
Booking by appointment.
The new cover image was my backyard.
Older posts showed another yard.
String lights.
Cornhole boards.
Buffet tables.
I knew that property too.
My mother’s house in Comfort.
Two corporate events had already been held there.
Naomi had turned Mom’s backyard into a venue.
And Mom thought she was simply helping her daughter’s employer with parties.
I began taking screenshots.
Post.
Date.
Photo.
Caption.
I saved every one.
That was habit.
Surveyors document before we argue.
Because the moment people know a line is disputed, fences start moving.
Thursday evening, I pulled my survey equipment from the truck.
I checked my property again.
Unnecessary.
Completely unnecessary.
Every corner was exactly where I knew it was.
Still, I wanted the physical certainty.
I found the side entrance along the gravel path.
Then I drove a fresh orange-topped survey stake near the gate.
I took white marking paint and drew a straight line across the gravel.
Fence post to fence post.
My property began there.
The paint glowed in the late sunlight.
I stood over it.
“The line doesn’t move because you shout at it.”
That is the profession in one sentence.
People argue.
Lines wait.
Then I went inside and wrote an email to Blue Bonnet Ridge Realty.
Subject:
Unauthorized Use of Private Property in Company Marketing.
I stated that I was sole owner of the residence shown in their flyer.
I had never leased the property to their firm.
Never agreed to host a company event.
Never signed a venue agreement.
I requested a copy of whatever documentation had been used to represent my property as an approved event site.
I attached my warranty deed.
Recorded plat.
The flyer.
Then I signed my full name and professional license number.
I did not mention Naomi.
If there was an innocent explanation, I wanted the company’s records before my sister had time to create one.
Friday morning, their office manager replied.
The tone was professional and nervous.
Per our records, the property was booked through an approved outside venue vendor. We are reviewing your concerns immediately. Attached is the vendor file presently associated with the booking.
I opened it at my kitchen table.
W-9.
Vendor registration.
Invoices.
COLEMAN RIDGE VENUE.
Three invoices.
The first:
Venue rental — $1,800.
Address: my mother’s house.
The second:
Venue rental — $1,800.
Mom’s house again.
The third:
Venue reservation — $1,800.
Cypress Bend Road.
My house.
Total paid or pending:
$5,400.
Naomi had invoiced her employer for using family property she did not own.
Mom had made tea and carried folding chairs through her own yard believing she was helping Naomi succeed at work.
Naomi had been getting paid for the use of it.
My upcoming family cookout suddenly became perfectly logical.
Fifty-two people.
Kids swimming.
Tables.
Smoker.