‘You know I always wondered what “there’s talk” actually means.’ I turn to him disagreeably. ‘Where is there talk? Is it just out there somewhere, like radio soundwaves, floating by on the breeze for everyone to hear?’

‘I can see you’re not used to small-town life,’ Chavez says gently.

‘I guess not.’

He rotates his hat in his hands. ‘Don’t misunderstand me, Alice, I support neither vigilantes nor any of this white supremacist craziness, but if you join up with Hogan it would give both your investment and your family some level of protection.’

‘I don’t want men with guns around my children.’

‘I appreciate that,’ he says in a low voice, ‘but if that’s the case I must ask you to promise me one thing.’

‘Of course. What?’

‘That you come to me personally. If there’s trouble of any kind. If you feel scared or threatened by anybody in any way. I want you to promise not to hesitate and not try to be brave. You call the Border Patrol.’

I turn to look at him but there is nothing but reassurance in his serious brown eyes.

‘Thank you. Of course I will,’ I tell him gratefully. ‘I promise.’

‘And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air . . .

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there . . .

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave . . .

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?’

In the rodeo ring a former Miss Arizona finishes a wonderful rendition of the national anthem in a quavering soprano voice. Everyone sits and the action begins.

Bull Riding, Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Calf Roping, the children watch it all, rapt, teeth chewing on straws poked inside gallon-sized buckets of lemonade. Tirelessly, Chavez explains the rules. Cowboys must ride one-handed. To avoid disqualification they must keep their hand above a certain level. Cowboys may not touch their body, the animal, or the saddle. They must stay on for seven or eight seconds in order to get judged.

‘See those two?’ He points at the men on horseback waiting by the starting gate. ‘If the cowboy does manage to stay on his eight seconds, they’ll come alongside and hoist him off the bronco and get him safely to the ground.’