“The problems were big,” Houndstooth said. “The problems threatened to end several careers, derailed others, and uprooted a family from their lives and hometown. She likes and falls in love with everyone and it’s only because of us being attentive that she didn’t actively let herself be the prey of a villain group or dangerous lunatic in some desperate hope of finding a connection with them.”

“She’s not prey either,” Ashley said, more heated. “She’s Kenzie Martin. She’s a person. You may have only seen her cry once but I’ve seen her cry more times than I can count.”

“Really?” Tristan asked. “When?”

“During the meetings. After. During private conversations.”

“Crying is good,” Houndstooth said. “It’s a step forward. It’s very possible she’s made a lot of steps forward. It’s clear you guys care about her and believe in her. But I’ve met and interacted with Kenzie Martin, and I have a really hard time envisioning a Kenzie that’s fixed.”

“Like she’s a broken machine,” Ashley said.

“I don’t want to say better because better can mean partway. What I’m saying is that I can’t see a Kenzie that was that badly off, who’s… normal now. Or ever.”

“I hate that word,” Ashley said.

“I don’t think there are any good words for something that hard to encapsulate,” Houndstooth said.

“What do you advise?” I asked. “About the non-school, non-Ward stuff?”

“Pay attention when she talks about new friends or people in particular, get ahead of that, introduce yourself, keep a close eye on things. Talk to her teachers. Talk to her foster parents, or the people at whatever institution she’s at. They’re probably pretty overloaded, but make them pay attention. Get everyone on the same page. Same rules for everyone, boundaries, sticking to those boundaries, limit physical contact and gestures of affection unless okayed by the therapist.”

My eyebrows drew together. I glanced at Tristan, and he gestured, hand moving as if to dismiss, urging me to move on. I was pretty sure Houndstooth saw it too.

He didn’t speak up or act on it, though.

I made a mental note about the emphasis on foster parents. I’d need to have a conversation with others and pay more attention to Julien and his wife.

“Frankly, I’d really lock down the school thing. See if you can have her rotate classes or do something non-classroom. Discourage friendships with classmates, because that’s not going to go well. If she starts showing true romantic interest in anyone, shut it down hard. I wouldn’t advise her being on your team, frankly.”

“That’s extreme,” I said.